The City of Brass
by
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Library Journal | Vulture | The Verge | SYFYWire Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty, an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by--palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing--are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass--a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. Spurning Dara's warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father's corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. After all, there is a reason they say to be careful what you wish for . . .
City of Brass is the first book of a trilogy which follows Nahri, an Egyptian orphan and charlatan in 18th century Cairo. Though Nahri does possess an extraordinary gift for healing, stealing and swindling through fake palm readings and rituals is the only way she's able to keep a roof over her head. However, everything changes when she accidently summons a Djinn during one of her exorcisms and finds herself wrapped up in a world of magic she could have never imagined. This series is a fantastic read for fans of high fantasy and political intrigue. I personally loved the rich world building centered around Middle Eastern history, culture, and mythology which is uncommon in the fantasy genre. The characters and their motivations are complex and compelling, keeping me glued to the book to find out what would happen next. Reading this for my book club was super fun, so I definitely recommend reading and discussing this book with friends!
Audience: Adult/General Content
Related media: The Daevabad Trilogy.
Also available as a Digital E-book and Physical Audiobook.
The Wailing
by
When a mysterious illness begins spreading through a small village, a local policeman is drawn to the incident to solve the mystery.
A Korean occult thriller that I recommend going into blind for the best experience. There are no jump scares, but the film is very tense and unsettling. If you're bored of the generic horror films coming out of Blumhouse these days and are looking for something fresh, definitely check this out!
Rated TV-MA.
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