Georgia Kostopoulou

After reading “The City of Brass” I was craving for some more of the Daevabad world! Thankfully for me, I could have that “more”, as I already had the second book on my shelf! “The Kingdom of Copper” was even more amazing than the first book, if that’s even possible! I kept wanting more and more, and I kept getting it! More magic, more intrigues, more characters, more of Daevabad! I feel like I can speak or understand the languages mentioned in the book, that’s how much obsessed I am with this trilogy!

“You don’t stop fighting a war just because you’re losing battles. You change tactics.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

The story picks up five years after the events of the first book. At this point, there is no Dara around and Ali is no longer in Daevabad either. He has to find a way to live away from his beloved city and among new companions in Am Gezira. But, being who he is, he finds his place and makes new friends. The young Prince of Daevabad is living a somewhat quiet life in his ancestral land, when he is not being attacked by assassins, until he is forced to return to the city of brass. He has no idea how his father will react to his return, but he is looking forward to seeing his family again, especially his mother and his sister.

“Go steal some happiness for yourself, my friend,” she said shortly. “Trust me when I say the chance doesn’t always come back.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

Nahri has spent these five years without her Afshin and without her good friend and counselor. She still has Nisreen. She still has her mentor. But she lives in a court full of enemies and very few friends and she needs to do everything in her power to survive and at the same time help and save those in need, not only the Deavas that can seek her at the Palace. She leads a precarious life, but, this is how her life has always been, so she’s not complaining. All she needs to do is stay focus and don’t let that tyrant of a king get under her skin! Now, at the dawn of the new century and amidst the celebrations that are expected all over Daevabad, Nahri is looking forward to make her dreams come true. But she’s not the only one looking forward to the celebration. Evil forces are planning to unleash a storm of fire upon the gates of Daevabad.

“I’ve had enough of men hurting me because they were upset.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

I loved how I met all these wonderfully astonishing characters and places in “The City of Brass”. I was even more captivated by how much the characters matured five years later in this second installment. This is definitely adult fantasy, so if this was not so clear in book 1, it is being made more than clear in this second book. We have lots of battles and use of magic and all the more of magical creatures this time. I have come to appreciate Nahri a lot more this book. She is no longer a young girl, she is a more mature woman that has a dream and a passion and she fights to make it real. She never forgets who she was before Dara took her to Daevabad and she cannot forget her ancestors either. She tries to find the golden ratio, a fine balance between different tribes and different worlds. She is amazing and I respect her!

Ali is more mature as well. He is not that much of the fanatic person he was in the first book, although he still remains faithful to his beliefs and lives by them. He has been through difficulties and he has seen how djinns outside Daevabd live. He is facing the same difficulties as they do, but he is also helping them with his newly found and hidden abilities whenever he can. Doing so, he is risking revealing an old family secret, even if he ignores the actual secret!

“People do not thrive under tyrants, Alizayd; they do not come up with innovations when they’re busy trying to stay alive, or offer creative ideas when error is punished by the hooves of a karkadann.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

And then there is Dara. Dara was a character that I really liked in the first book and also during a good part of the second book. However, loyal as he is to his Banu Nahida, he fails to act as he would have, if he trully had that freedom. He had been enslaved by an Ifrit and he has been through hell during that time. But he has also been a warrior, not simply a warrior of justice, but a warrior under someone’s rule, and as such, he always had to obey. Which doesn’t really sound very different to the time he was a slave, come to think of it. That pretty much says it all, I think. I just hope in the third book, he becomes the ruler of his own self and he starts acting as he should…

“Ah, Darayavahoush, there are always people to save. And always cunning men and women around who find a way to take advantage of that duty and harness it into power.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

For those of you that get really confused with the different tribes, the different languages, the many creatures and characters or even some words used in the book, the author was so kind as to include a summary of all of that in the book’s last pages. And there is always the beautiful map in the beginning of the book, so as to always know where is what! Have this as a companion if needed! And that’s not the only good thing to say about the author! She has done a marvelous job, evolving her story beyond expectation! The magic inside this book blew my mind away! Her writing was a tad more mature as well and we get to see more than magic, djinns and other magical creatures. We get political intrigue, family secrets and fight for justice and the rights of those that are oppressed. We get to see evolution on all characters, not only the main characters but on the secondary characters as well. And we get to see humor and funny moments too!

“Are you ready?” Nahri asked when she and Munthadir were alone.
He laughed as he strapped a wicked-looking sword to his waist. “Not in the slightest. You ?”
“God, no.” Nahri grabbed another needle-sharp dagger and flipped it into her sleeve. “Let’s go die.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper

Overall, I loved this book, even more than the first one and I really cannot wait to delve onto the third book, which thankfully, awaits me on my shelf!

“He bowed. “You hear correctly.” His gaze didn’t leave her, the examination making her skin crawl. He shook his head. “Astonishing. I never imagined I’d meet a real Nahid.”
With a curse, Zaynab followed. “If I’ve not said it lately, I think I hate you.”

“You know, for a magical being, you have a terrible sense of adventure,” Nahri replied, touching one of the eddies of paint, a blue swell that looked like a wave.”
― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper