S.A. Chakraborty returns to her Middle Eastern fantasy world in a sprawling epic sequel rife with secrets and political tension. Five years have passed since the events of The City of Brass. Nahri of the ruling family in the magical city of Daevabad practices as a healer, but she has lost everything she loved. She still longs for the human world and her home city of Cairo. Her arranged marriage has united her family with the usurpers who stole their throne, but the union has brought them no joy. Her brother-in-law and former friend Prince Alizayd fled into exile and probable death after betraying her and slaying the man she loved, the djinn warrior Dara. But when Alizayd returns to Daevabad, not only alive but happy with his new life in a desert settlement, a swirl of political factions surface and come into conflict.
Chakraborty is master of her world, unafraid to play with cultural and class conflicts. Intricately plotted, The Kingdom of Copper follows a younger generation struggling against the machinations of their elders to improve the lives of their people. Nahri and Alizayd have matured into leaders willing to take risks, such as founding a hospital that will treat patients across racial divides, but they face insidious resistance.
Readers new to Chakraborty's work should begin with The City of Brass or, at a minimum, study the included glossary and maps. Political maneuvers, attempted assassinations and violent skirmishes build to a cliffhanger ending that leaves little room for a happily ever after in the next installment, though with Chakraborty's magic touch, anything is possible. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads