The City of Brass is a dashing Arabian themed fantasy novel that spices up the usual characters and plots with exotic setting details and complex webs of intrigue. Nahri, our narrator, is a fortune-teller, thief, healer, and scoundrel living in Cairo in the 18th century. When an exorcism turns out to actually work, calling a powerful djinn warrior to her side, Nahri is pulled into a world of strange magic and deadly threats. She may be the last surviving heir of a powerful and sacred bloodline, her new companion Dara is an incredibly deadly warrior with a dark past, and they're being hunted by vicious renegade killers and slavers. The only sanctuary is Daevabad, the legendary City of Brass.

The other half of the story is told from the perspective of Ali, second son of the ruling sultan of Daevabad, an intelligent and empathic young soldier with a reputation for fanaticism, and his own developing sense of duty and honor. Ali wants to help the half-human inhabitant of the city, to serve his brother the future sultan, and to maintain some kind of ordered life. The arrival of Nahri is just the first step in a plot that might topple the entire city.

In some sense, we've seen these characters before. The hidden heir, the honorable man in a city of scoundrels. If this book were about elves, I doubt I'd care, but Chakraborty has spun 1001 Arabian Nights into a unique fantasy setting. And what really elevates this book is that so many fantasy novels have a protagonist side and antagonist side, and it's clear where the lines are. Nahri and Ali have very different priorities and worldviews, but they're both valid, and neither are obviously wrong. Chakraborty has taken to heart the adage that no one sees themselves as evil. Lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to the next book.