Title: The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3)
Author: S.A. Chakraborty
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: 2020
Page count: 763
Rating:

It’s no secret that the Daevabad trilogy is one of my favourite fantasy series of all time. I decided that before I’d even finished the trilogy because the first two books were that good, and now having finally finished the third, I can make my love for this series even more official.

The Empire of Gold was the perfect conclusion to what was an incredibly epic series and I was a little sad the whole way through it just knowing that it would come to an end. It had so much plot and character development while also wrapping things up in a way that felt really genuine and true to the people and societies that had been created. To me, it was near-perfect. It was exactly what I wanted in a final instalment.

If I could, I would make everyone I know read this series just so that I had more people to talk to about it. Chakraborty has created an absolute masterpiece of fantasy that hits in all the right ways. The narrative is unique and original, the setting is gloriously majestic and magical, the characters feel real, are gritty, and grow in such authentic ways that you’re rooting for them through the whole series, and there’s just a dash of romance that feels more like the development of a truly deep and meaningful connection than anything else. I just can’t say enough good things about these books.

I think I’ll likely do a post dedicated to a full series review of the Daevabad trilogy so I have more of an opportunity to gush, but for now, here’s my review of The Empire of Gold.

Fair warning: spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn’t read this or the other books in this series.

Book Review: The Empire of Gold by SA Chakraborty

The Empire of Gold picks up where the Kingdom of Copper left us: Daevabad has fallen to Manizheh and Dara, and Ali and Nahri have been inexplicably transported back to Egypt. The entire book is told from the perspectives of Nahri, Ali, and Dara, switching back and forth between Nahri and Ali’s attempts to recover magic and build a resistance from which they can take down Manizheh, and Dara’s view of the events unfolding under Manizheh’s control.

In Egypt, Ali is incredibly sick from having taken Suleiman’s seal. Nahri brings Ali to the only place she thinks that they may be safe: Yaqub’s apothecary. As Ali recovers from the effects of the seal, Yaqub shows both Ali and Nahri what it could be like to live an ordinary life. He even presents them with an opportunity to apprentice with him and, one day, take over his shop. Nahri is incredibly tempted by this offer to leave magic behind and start a new, normal life with Ali. While Ali also desperately wants this with Nahri, he kindly reminds her that the entire magical world is depending on them. While she isn’t keen to accept this initially, the tug of her responsibilities and ties with Daevabad becomes too great and Nahri agrees that they must do all they can to save their city and defeat Manizheh. They then embark on a journey to Ta Ntry to rejoin Ali’s family, find information about how they may defeat someone as powerful as Manizheh, and hopefully gain supporters who would be willing to fight alongside them. At the same time, Ali struggles to understand why Suleiman’s seal seems to be at conflict with the Marid magic he possesses, and Nahri attempts to come to terms with her family’s bloody past and present and all that she must do to stop them.

While Ali and Nahri do all they can to prepare for the battle of Daevabad, Dara’s perspective showcases the power struggle that is ongoing in the city in their absence. Without magic, Manizheh’s resistance is incredibly limited. She and Dara swept into Daevabad assuming they would be regarded as heroes, overthrowing an oppressive regime, but their tactics, namely involving mass genocide of the Geziri peoples, is enough to turn the stomachs of even the Daevas they came to empower. They find it impossible to get the other tribes to bow to their rule, resulting in them using even more force and brutality in an attempt to make their people kneel.

Dara, who has now been brandished as a weapon for centuries, undergoes an internal struggle that carries through the entire book. When he was young and naïve, he was able to follow his leaders more blindly, believing their platitudes about the ends justifying the means. Now that he has perspective on what war will materially mean for him and the people he faces, his appetite for violence has all but dried up.

The more lines that Manizheh is willing to cross in the name of power, the more Dara realizes that the cause he believed he was fighting for has become incredibly skewed. In the end, he follows his conscience and tries to refuse to participate in further violence, but Manizheh will do anything to achieve her goals. She finds dark and devious ways to manipulate Dara into compliance, and soon he fears she will be unstoppable.

I won’t spoil the ending, but all of this culminates in a battle for Daevadbad that is absolutely epic. The plot has a ton of twists and turns, new developments, and character growth that leads to what is probably one of my favourite endings in a series.

In terms of what I loved about this book, is it too much to just say everything?

Plot-wise, it was rich and well paced, full of developments in the magic, the people, the politics; every aspect was flushed out and evolved, which made it compelling right down to the last page.

In terms of characters, Ali, Nahri and Dara all had beautiful arcs that felt so authentic to who they were, and conclusions that were equally appropriate. I loved how far they all came from book one, how much development and understanding and empathy they earned. They had  really engaging dynamics between each other that enriched every scene they were in.

And the actual writing? Perfection. Chakraborty designed a world that was so gorgeous, so rich in detail and steeped in (fictional and nonfictional) history, with characters that stamped themselves directly onto your heart. Typically in a book this long, I’ll hit a bit of a lull where I’m keen for things to just pick up and get it over with. Not so in this book. I enjoyed every second of it, and while it was long, there isn’t a single aspect I felt wasn’t necessary. It was beautifully designed in every way, a clear classic piece of fantasy.

The only downside to this entire book is that it was the end of the series. I could read an endless number of books about this society, this particular branch of magic, and never tire of it. That said, I appreciate why it was structured as a trilogy. The narrative was perfectly laid out, and it all came to such a beautiful conclusion that I can’t fight with the ending at all, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stop wishing there was more I could devour. I liked this series so much that for me, Chakraborty is now an auto-read author. She has a new book out just this year called The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi and I can’t wait to pick it up.