I Read Books: Kingdom Of Copper

 

Kingdom Of Copper

Five years have passed since City Of Brass. Nahri, married to the Emir, the elder son of the king, has settled into her role as last Nahid, which also makes her a healer. Ali, the younger son of the king, is exiled to Arabia, manages to avoid assassination, also hides his new water powers from the Marid during the climax of the last novel in the cursed lake around the city. Dara, believed killed in the climax at the lake, has cast off the limitations placed on the race of Daevas by the prophet Sulieman and is now in the service of Manizheh, Nahri’s mother, also the last Nahid.

Now the centenary of Sulieman’s curse/blessing is coming. Nahri, having discovered the old ruined hospital inhabited by escaped djinn slaves suggests repairing and reopening it as a way to try and lower tensions in the divided city. Meanwhile, thanks to financial and other plotting by the Queen, Ali returns to the city from exile. Intrigue and violence threaten the city, with the half-human shafits taking the blame and the brunt of it.

The story meanders pleasantly, with history and lore being revealed, and plots getting darker and deeper. The city will plunge into disaster by the end, and as the second volume of a trilogy, it ends on a cliffhanger.

Read This: Djinn-flavoured epic fantasy that weaves its various plots, threads and feeling very cleverly
Don’t Read This: It seems to want to be a romance and can’t quite get there, pulling it off balance