The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy, #3)
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager
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Cover Description
***Description is spoiler for The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper but my review below is NOT***
The final chapter in the bestselling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.
Daevabad has fallen.
After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.
But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.
Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.
As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt.
TL;DR Review
The Empire of Gold is the incredible conclusion to the Daevabad Trilogy that we’ve been waiting years for!
For you if: You loved The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper.
Full Review
Thank you, Harper Voyager, for providing me with an advanced electronic copy of this book!
I have love love LOVED the Daevabad Trilogy since I first read The City of Brass two years ago. The Kingdom of Copper solidified it as one of my favorite trilogies of all time, even before I’d read the conclusion. That’s how confident I was in this story’s promise, how much trust I had in S.A. Chakraborty’s skill. So I knew before I even started The Empire of Gold that I was going to love it.
And, of course, I did. Nearly 800 pages of action, new mythology, looong-awaited answers, and falling even deeper in love with these characters.
No spoilers, so here are my thoughts on the trilogy overall:
The story takes place in Egypt and across the Middle East and is set in the world of djinn, with characters that practice a religion modeled after Islam. (Just note re: author representation, S.A. Chakraborty is white and converted to Islam in her teens.)
It's got everything: a fierce female protagonist with mysterious beginnings, a swaggering legendary warrior, a smart and kind-hearted prince, a cunning larger-than-life king, a beautiful presentation of cultural mythology, and holy heck what a complex political situation.
That political situation and the moral complexity it comes with is the thing that makes this trilogy especially fantastic. By the middle of book two, you honestly have no idea which "side" of the conflict you're even rooting for anymore. No character or cultural group is fully good or bad. Nothing is black and white. Everyone is impacted by prejudices and built from their own form of trauma. You have no idea how this could ever end. I bow down to Chakraborty's ability to build a world like that; it's truly incredible.
Those who haven't read CoB yet: Get on it. Those anxiously awaiting EoG: You will not be disappointed.
Trigger Warnings
None
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