My thoughts on S.A. Chakraborty’s “The Empire of Gold”
A fantastic end to a trilogy I wish more people were talking about
It could be just me, but it seems like there have been a lot of fantasy novels that have a title in the “ ____ of ______” format lately. Robert Jackson Bennett’s excellent Divine Cities trilogy all had titles like this, as did the first two books in Chakraborty’s Daevabad trilogy before Empire. To be quite honest, I get the appeal. The titles sound cool and allow the author to strike the right balance between cryptic and engaging.
The book I want to spend this post briefly reviewing, The Empire of Gold, is an excellent end to what was already a great Daevabad Trilogy. This trilogy is set in a fantasy version of the Middle East, a backdrop to conflict between a large cast of humanoid magical creatures. All three books flip between the protagonists of three different characters, all vying for the control of Daevabad, the city at the core of their world.
These three characters — Nahri, Alizayd, and Dara — all have compelling motivations and personalities. They’re in near-constant conflict throughout all three novels, but each one has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Plenty of fantasy books have great characters, but I think what makes this series stand out is that all three of these are so interesting for the entire course of three pretty long books. They don’t just have their moments — they’re consistently great.
I also really enjoyed Chrakraborty’s prose. There’s a pretty fair amount of exposition and info-dumps throughout all three novels, but it’s all delivered pretty painlessly. From dialog to descriptions, there were very few moments that felt awkward or forced. The dialog is also quick and snappy, helping to give each character depth.
Finally, the plot is compelling and brings up some interesting and complex themes. There’s a subplot of racism that is a through-line throughout the entire trilogy, for example. But even on its own, the main story thread is fascinating. With some late-story revelations, Chakraborty concludes her story brilliantly. And at the surface, the political intrigue, war, inter-family rivalries, and scheming all make each chapter fascinating.
If there are is any criticism to be made, it’s that some of the rules of the world feel a little contrived to fit the plot beats. I don’t want to get too far into spoilers, but there are a few moments near the end of The Empire of Gold where other characters that we’ve barely heard from previously step into the story. Their actions — while deeply interesting — came across as something of a deus ex machina. In all fairness, Chakraborty’s characters seem to feel the same way, but I think this is worth pointing out.
There’s much more that could be said about Chakraborty’s trilogy. I’ve seen a decent amount of buzz for it online, but in my opinion these books should be making greater waves. This is a bold, confident story with compelling characters and a satisfying conclusion. As far as books of 2020, The Empire of Gold is one of the best I’ve read.
The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.
