Review: The Kingdom of Copper

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been waiting for this follow-up to the unbelievably amazing City of Brass for a little over a year now, so when it came out at work, I had to grab a copy right away! So after a week or so of reading the book on my breaks at work, I've finally gotten through all 600 pages and...I have to say, I'm mildly disappointed in this one, because it's just long and slow enough to have unfortunately suffered some Sophomore Slump.

Don't get me wrong. I love this book just as I loved Chakraborty's debut. Just not as much, but my God, she's got nothing if not serious skills. The Kingdom of Copper builds on its predecessor's heavy politicking and plays out even more topical to today than even the first book. All throughout the book, there's a lot of storylines involving the ongoing conflicts between all the tribes, and of course the daevas and shafit, and a lot of struggles for civil rights, and a lot of sneaky false-flag operations planned by various people in power (mostly the royals, of course)...it's a lot to take in.


I think the real reason why I wasn't quite as enamored with this book as I was with The City of Brass is because it gets a hell of a lot darker this time around. There's a lot less humor to spare, and with the three POV characters scattered and separated for good chunks of the story, the banter I so enjoyed in Book 1 is significantly diminished.

That said, though, remember - Chakraborty is no less a world-building genius, planting seeds of yet greater expansions of this universe even going into what's supposed to be the final book of the trilogy.

And THAT BLOODY ENDING.

Ooh, Chakraborty, you're too good at this game.

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