The Kingdom of Copper
Ratings178
Average rating4.3
An astonishing sequel to The City of Brass, this book does not suffer from middle-book syndrome.
Even though there's a time gap of five years between the last events from book one, the action picks up quickly and we get to know more deeply our main characters and we're introduced to some new ones which make the world of the Djinn expand.
The second book of a series can be a bit of a let down, but no so kingdom of copper. If anything the world is richer for you having the first, the characters consistently developed and expanded and a genuine concern because of how much you have come to care about them. Except the ruler F* that guy.
Oh my god. This series is one of the best fantasy series I've ever read! So well thought out. The action is intense, the world building is colorful and deep, and the politics are intricate and compelling. If you've been on the fence about this series, do yourself a favor and just read it, man.
It took me a lot longer to get into this book compared to the first one, but overall this book goes hard. While portions of it are a little predictable/tropey, those same plot points are just as often turned on their heads. Genuinely no idea how the trilogy is going to end, but the whole thing is so far very much worth the read.
I liked loads of the side characters, although I would have loved to see more of the newly added ones. They felt like they barely had any backstory or depth to them.
This book ended up being a little bit of a struggle for me, although I enjoy political turmoil this just went on for about 200 pages too many.
Unfortunately, maybe only 20% of the ending really moved the story forward. Most of the book could be summed up in 15 pages at best.
Our three narrators are wanting good things, but they are going about it in contrasting ways. There is so much drama and then at the end we are left with so many questions. I can't wait to get to the third one.
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Everything that I liked about the first book is still here — the sweeping beautiful descriptions of the city, the magic that awes, and the stellar cast. But compared to the first book, this one just didn't hit quite as well for me. I'm not entirely sure why — The Kingdom of Copper moves at a remarkably quick pace, and everything really comes to a head right at the end — but I found myself not enjoying it at as much as The City of Brass. It's possible its just a me thing, but who knows. Perhaps I just missed Nahri being amazed and shocked at how most of the djinn and daevas live, and in aw of the city around her. In The Kingdom of Copper, Nahri is seemingly done with being amazed, and has circled back around at being annoyed at the lack of progress and the amount of bigotry present.
Poor Nahri has been through a lot in her relatively short life, and everything just seems to be getting worse for her. She's handles it all admirably though, so she continues to be one of my favorite characters in the bunch. Dara, on the other hand, I want to shake silly. I can't really get into it too much without spoilling anything, but he makes some really crappy decisions here, and doesn't fight hard enough, in my opinion. Instead of fighting to break the circle of war, he just...goes along with it. It was frustrating to the extreme. And Ali, oh Ali. Yes, to all of those who said he grows on you, he definitely does. But that doesn't mean I still don't want to slap him sometimes. He's remarkably short sighted, and makes some really stupid decisions, but he's infinitely more likeable in this book than the first.
I think a lot of the conflict in this particular book could have been avoided (obviously) if anyone ever, actually bothered to explain to Nahri what was going on, and what was being planned around her. Instead, everyone just assumes that she'll go along with whatever they're concocting. I really loved that she didn't just fall into line. She remained herself, and kept who she was in spite of everything.
Overall, still enjoyable! I'm giving it 3.5 stars. I'm barely into the next book, but keep your eyes peeled for my review of The Empire of Gold soon!
Contains spoilers
Prompt 6 from 2021 Popsugar Challenge: A book with a gem, mineral, or rock in the title
Book: The Kingdom of Copper Author: S. A. Chakraborty Narrator: Soneela Nankani Genre: fiction, fantasy Dates Read: 05/12/2021-0524/2021 Format: audiobook - Hoopla Other prompts: A book by a Muslim author, a book about do-overs or fresh starts, a book with a pretty cover Rating:
I'm still in love with this world and these characters. I can't recommend this series enough. I feel like there was an incredible amount of development both in the overall world and for the characters and their relationships. That ending made me immediately pick up the next book because I need to know what happens next RIGHT NOW.
Well I thought I really liked the first book in the series, but it turns out I was here for the human girl / damaged immortal boy thirst. Chakraborty put less of that and more story in this one.
I mean, it's a good story and if you liked the first one, do continue. Characters evolve and grow and they're far more interesting. But it still won't be for you if you liked the first one for the YA romance trope.
This world building in this book is so complex and rich. I never thought I'd be much of a fan of political intrigue but here i am lapping it up along with the magic and myths of djinn and other magical beings.
The Kingdom of Copper was okay, but not nearly as captivating as The City of Brass, which was a bit of a letdown. The plot was really, really slow in the middle and doesn't seem to have contributed much to the overall plot. Overall, I enjoyed reading it though, and I intend to finish the trilogy, whenever the third book comes out.
I can't really say exactly why I didn't love this book as much as the first book. (At least I remember loving it, but when I started Kingdom of Copper I couldn't remember much of City of Brass, which is weird and has me doubting if it was as good as I thought.) I CAN say this one was pretty uneventful until the end, and then suddenly too much was happening too fast, but I would have thought the mythology and rich, magical descriptions would have made up for that. I still love Daevabad, and I'm hardcore rooting for Nahri and Ali (everyone else can die) but I really hope the third book has more depth than this one.
This was a fantastic extension and expansion of the world that Chakraborty created in City of Brass. We learn a lot more about the Daeva world, as Nahri attempts to adjust to the position she was placed in at the end of the first book. It feels like this volume has a much tighter grip on her as a focal character, and it makes it a stronger narrative because of it; through her eyes, we can see not only the wonder of the fantastical world she exists in, but also the frustration over the rules that it tries to impose on her.
4.0 out of 5 stars
It took me a little while to sink back into this story, but once I did it was a treat to return to Chakraborty's richly drawn world. Her prose remains lush, fresh, and infinitely readable. Apart from an explosive finale, the excitement levels were dialed back a bit from the first book and the character building was more centerstage. Since Chakraborty has already established her main trio of characters, she could really focus on fleshing out their motivations and exploring the depths of their complex psyches. Even as each page crackles with magic, at its core, this is a captivating family drama that continues to ratchet up the tension as the book progresses.
Overall, I thought this was a really solid middle book. It charted new territory and told a contained story that was engaging, satisfying, and left me looking forward to what comes next.
My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
I....may have an unpopular opinion on this book. First, I LOVED the first book of this trilogy, The City of Brass. Absolutely loved it. It was one of my favorite books of that year. I like this one significantly less. I think that probably wouldn't be the case if I had read this in quick succession, but I read City of Brass when it came out, and had to wait a year for this one, in which time I read around 200 more books.
I expected a certain amount of backstory explanation in Kingdom of Copper - and it wasn't there. I think the book assumes you remember everything that happened in City of Brass - and I most certainly did not. I don't remember why we have the division between the djinn and the daeva, or really which is which. I know the shafit are part human, part...djinn? Daeva? See that's the problem. These are very politicky books and forgetting key parts of the political drama makes this book VERY hard to follow. I don't know WHY there's conflict between certain people, and I don't recognize missteps when characters make them because I've forgotten who has which opinions.
All the worldbuilding explanations are in the first book, and they aren't revisited in this one. Had I KNOWN that, I might have re-read City of Brass before this came out, as much as I dislike re-reading anything.
All of that aside, and despite my confusion, I mostly enjoyed this continuation of Nahri's story. We delved a little more into murky bloodlines, the more recent past of Daevabad, and the more ancient past of Nahri's healer ancestors, the Nahids.
I still love Nahri, I like Ali a little more, and I like Dara a little less. I am curious to see where the third book leads, especially after the cliffhanger ending of this one. I just might have to re-read both City of Brass and this one before reading the trilogy's conclusion.
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