The City of Brass

It was about the third page that I first asked myself this question. But why did I take so long to read The City of Brass?

Summary

From an outside perspective, there is no doubt that Nahri has magical powers. But she does not believe in magic. True, she has a supernatural intuition that allows her to detect what kind of evil afflicts the people she meets, but the rest, clairvoyance and her alleged gift of healing for example, are only illusions and deceptions to make a living.

Until one day, she unintentionally conjures up a fascinatingly beautiful djinn named Dara, who reveals to her the existence of a magical city with which she is intimately connected. They then embark on a fabulous journey to reach this city of brass. But Nahri has no idea what she is getting into. Their presence creates upheavals in this society with the fragile balance, and the political intrigues multiply. Her destiny does not seem to be a smooth journey...

Impressions

I don't read much fantasy literature, but I feel like this novel will change that.

From the very first pages, I knew I had in my hands something special. The writing is absolutely beautiful: the descriptions are complete, the pace is good, and from the start there is a sense of mystery that is quite compelling. The universe is complex and fascinating, with political intrigue and multiple fantasy races each with their own history. The plot is well developed: the book is long (more than 500 pages), but there are no long stretches. In addition, a small but welcome love tension develops but is not resolved in this first volume, which makes you want to continue the trilogy. In short, a book with many qualities and very few defects. A pearl.

Then I realized that this book was actually a bestseller and thatit received a ton of rave reviews and awards. That it was the first volume of a trilogy, and that it will be adapted into a Netflix series. And that influencers on Instagram are still talking about it. I was wondering what I had done to not see it come out when it was released in 2017.

If you are avid fantasy readers, you can't go wrong. If not, there's a good chance this book will give you the bug like I did.