Tag: author-s.a. chakraborty

Non-stop tension, action, and angst for this conclusion to the Daevabad trilogy. Great character growth with all the main protagonists; Chakraborty did an amazing job painting complementary pictures of their views of themselves versus how others saw them. The environments were crafted beautifully, both in mundane Cairo and in the magical world, and although the carnage was intense, the characters’ outraged reactions meant that the book never quite hit grimdark in tone. The only annoying bit for me was the djinn Dara’s clinging to his old beliefs despite what was by now a GIANT mountain of evidence to the contrary, but even that I could see as a logical outcome of his character. Really nicely done overall.

Dives right into the mess left at the end of the first book, but with enough detail that you remember exactly why each of the main characters is in so much trouble. Chakraborty does a good job giving them enough agency to express their wishes, but also hems each in with both internal and external pressures. The big showdown at the end is heavily foreshadowed, but she still finds room for a surprise ending and a huge change going into the third book.

A Cairo thief and con artist meets a djinn and is transported to a city out of legend, populated with tribes of magic-users with deep and complicated histories, and thick with tribal tension and layered political infighting. Chakraborty is really good at giving each character a coherent set of motivations, and making them incredibly sympathetic besides; as the reader I found myself pulling for characters with hopes and needs that directly conflicted with one another, and got totally stressed about how all of them could possibly find happy endings. Even the unlikeable characters’ actions come from a logically sound place. On top of that the surroundings are beautifully drawn, really gorgeous imagery. Amazing stuff. So many questions left for the next volume, argh.