History Literature / TheDaevabadTrilogy

* AllMythsAreTrue: Those tales of genies and magic that Nahri thought were just fantasy? Yeah, turns out they're the real deal.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Nahri doesn't fit in anywhere she lives. In Cairo, she was thrown out of every orphanage and didn't find anything similar to a home until she met Yaqub. In Daevabad, she's mistrusted by the royal family and has to go through an extensive cosmetic routine every day to make her look more like a djinni because her features are entirely human. She really identifies more with the outcast and disparaged shafit, but ''they'' don't like ''her'' because she's the scion of a dynasty that brutalized them for generations.

* BackAlleyDoctor: This is what Nahri does at the beginning of the story. She ''does'' provide legitimate, competent medical services for her neighbors. But she has no qualms about providing quack services to wealthy people who are gullible, hypochondriac, or desperate.

* BlessedWithSuck: As a child growing up in the streets, Nahri was ejected by several orphanages for her uncanny sense of others' illnesses. As an adult, she's learned to keep her perception to herself, but she still finds it uncomfortable when she sees "shadows" in another's body that belie a nascent cancer, or a heart condition, or some other ailment that can't be treated in 18th-century occupied Cairo.

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler: Dara was raised to serve the Nahids and revere them as gods. His loyalty persists even after they use him to commit atrocities on their behalf. It takes Manizheh's mass executions of Daeva nobles and re-enslavement of him for him to finally turn against her, and even then he can't bring himself to kill her until Nahri is in mortal danger.]]

* CelibateHero: Ali, much to his brother's amusement. As the king's second son, he's expected to not marry and stay celibate so the line of succession is clear.

* ConMan: Nahri begins the story as a talented con artist in Cairo. She does have legitimate skill in healing and medicine (part from her unknown natural abilities allowing her to perceive maladies, part from actual mentorship under a doctor) but she uses it to fleece rich people who are hypochondriacs or desperate. Her ability to lie convincingly and read potential marks serves her very well when she's brought into Ghassan al-Qahtani's court.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: Dara was sent to Qui-Zi by the Nahid Council to send a message that breaking their laws would be dealt with harshly. They chose him specifically because he was young and obedient. After he returned, the Council pinned the atrocity entirely on him and exiled him as punishment. As a result, Dara was not in Daevabad when it fell to Zaydi al-Qahtani and his family was massacred. He organized and led a rebellion against al-Qahtani that came very close to succeeding. Just as he was preparing to retake Daevabad al-Qahtani made a deal with the ifrit, who killed Dara and enslaved him. He remained enslaved for over a thousand years, forced to do horrible things for a succession of human masters. It's also implied that some of those masters used him as a sex slave. Unsurprisingly, he's not willing to talk about his past.]]

* TheDreaded: Darayavahoush e-Afshin, a.k.a. Dara. Even centuries after the war he fought against the Geziri tribe and their allies he's regarded as a fierce warrior of legend, known throughout the magical world as [[RedBaron The Scourge]] of Qui-zi. [[spoiler: We find out why near the end of the first book, and the first time we see it in action is terrifying.]]

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Ali -- he's torn between a family that he loves very much, and the atrocities that they allow (and encourage) towards those of mixed blood. And ''no one'' in Daevabad ever tells the whole truth.

* IntriguedByHumanity: Ali is fascinated by all things human and has a million questions for Nahri when he learns that a human-raised Nahid is in the palace. [[spoiler:When they're transported to Cairo, he takes advantage of his ability to pass unseen to learn everything he can... although his fascination with humans didn't lead him to an investigation of how to haggle.]]

* JustFollowingOrders: Dara justifies his actions at Qui-Zi by claiming that he was just following orders. He did follow the Nahids' orders almost exactly, only disobeying their command to leave no survivors.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: One of Ali's major struggles is that his good intentions have all sorts of unintended consequences for the people he's trying to help. The first two books have him struggle a lot with passionate but reckless displays of idealism and then going too far in the other direction and becoming complicit with wrongdoing.
* ObliviouslySuperpowered: Nahri was [[OrphansOrdeal thrown out of every orphanage]] as a young girl for innocently revealing people's ailments, not knowing that it's unusual to be able to sense the state of people's bodies. As an adult, she [[IAmWho learns]] that she's a half-djinn with rare [[HealingHands healing magic]].

* RagsToRoyalty: Nahri starts out as a thief & con-artist, then learns she's actually djinn royalty.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: [[spoiler: Ali is sent into exile in Am Gezira at the end of the first book with the full expectation that someone will assassinate him.]]

* SafetyInIndifference: Nahri has a very difficult time allowing herself to get close to people. Life as a con artist did not encourage close confidantes. And her life in Daevabad makes it worse--her belief that caring about anyone or anything will result their painful destruction is continuously reinforced by events.

* SheepInSheepsClothing: Ali. Everyone around him accuses him of deceit, manipulation, and running his own sinister agenda. At one point Nahri decides that he's the most devious Qahtani of them all because he's the only one who pulled the wool over her eyes. Ali's only agenda is genuinely to be a responsible member of the ruling dynasty and a good member of the family--in pursuit of which he does sometimes lie and obscure, but it isn't for any self-interested reason.

* TheyDiedBecauseOfYou: Dara's sister Tamima was brutally murdered in revenge for his actions at Qui-Zi. This is a major source of guilt for him.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Ali wants to follow the tenets of justice and equality that Islam espaouses, but he also wants to be a good second son and Qaid-in-waiting for his royal family, and his inability to balance these two desires without getting anyone hurt in the process lasts for most of the first two books. [[spoiler:By the end of the second book, he is definitively pushed to "good" when Ghassan orders a purge on the shafit. Ali responds by calling on his Citadel comrades to lead an uprising.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: After Ali is nearly murdered [[spoiler:by Hanno, a shafit seeking revenge for Ali's betrayal, Ali asks Jamshid to dispose of the body in the lake to avoid the brutal reprisals that would follow a shafit attacking a prince]]. Afterwards, Jamshid expresses his horror that Ali was still devious enough to think about how to secretly dispose of a body while ''coughing up blood''

* HeroicSacrifice: A very literal sacrifice is revealed at the end. [[spoiler:Nahri is able to see the memories of her real mother, the Egyptian shafit Duriya. After escaping Daevabad and being hunted down to Egypt by Manizheh, Duriya goads Manizheh into pushing her off of a cliff over the Nile--in other words, sacrificing herself to Sobek. In exchange, Sobek grants Nahri his protection, including by making her appear fully human.]]

* AndIMustScream: What enslavement by the ifrit is like for a djinn. It is widely regarded as a fate worse than death. Most go insane after a few centuries.

* ArrangedMarriage: Ghassan plans to unite the Qahtanis and Nahids by marrying Muntadhir to Nahri. Both decide to be pragmatic about the situation.

* BerserkButton: Go ahead, taunt Dara about his sister's death. I dare you.

* BloodMagic: The ifrit specialize in blood magic. Nahid blood in particular is revealed to have numerous magical properties, including being poisonous to the ifrit. [[spoiler: Manizheh learns blood magic from the ifrit & uses the bodies of her ancestors from the palace crypt to resurrect Dara & re-enslave him.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler: Dara was raised to serve the Nahids & revere them as gods. His loyalty persists even after they use him to commit atrocities on their behalf. It takes Manizheh's mass executions of Daeva nobles & re-enslavement of him for him to finally turn against her, & even then he can't yet bring himself to kill her until Nahri is in mortal danger.]]

** Djinn revived as slaves (usually by the ifrit) have powerful magic at their disposal.

* CoolAirship: One of the djinn tribes, the Tukharistani, fly enchanted sailing ships as part of their extensive trade network.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: The Qahtanis' treatment of Manizheh, controlling her life, keeping her as a virtual prisoner in the infirmary, and punishing her brother if she ever stepped out of line caused a deep hatred and resentment in her [[spoiler: which ultimately lead to her faking her own death & plotting to overthrow the Qahtanis.]]

* CycleOfRevenge: The trilogy explores this concept as a recurring theme. The Nahid clan of the Daeva tribe used to rule the magical world, and treated partially human shafit ''quite'' badly, [[spoiler:culminating in the events that earned Dara his title, the Scourge.]] Then Zaydi al Qahtani led a rebellion to oust the Nahids and protect the shafit. This led to lasting resentment from the Daeva tribe as a whole, many of whom are still angry that the "jumped-up [[FantasticSlurs sandflies]]" are sitting on the throne of Daevabad centuries later. [[spoiler:And then Manizheh, one of the last Nahids, leads an attack on Daevabad to take back the city she thinks belongs to her.]]
** [[spoiler: Nahri and Ali realize their efforts to build a new more egalitarian government will be difficult largely because of this]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: Dara was sent to Qui-Zi by the Nahid Council to send a message that breaking their laws would be dealt with harshly. They chose him specifically because he was young & not likely to question his orders. After he returned, the Council pinned the atrocity entirely on him & exiled him as punishment. As a result, Dara was not in Daevabad when it fell to Zaydi al-Qahtani & his family was massacred. He organized & led a rebellion against al-Qahtani that came very close to succeeding. Just as he was preparing to retake Daevabad al-Qahtani made a deal with the ifrit, who killed Dara & enslaved him. He remained enslaved for over a thousand years, forced to do horrible things for a succession of human masters. It's also implied that some of those masters used him as a sex slave. Unsurprisingly, he's not willing to talk about his past.]]

* {{Depower}}: [[spoiler: Manizheh hid Jamshid's Nahid abilities shortly after his birth so Ghassan wouldn't discover his true identity. When the spell is later removed, his Nahid abilities return.]]

* EvilChancellor: Kaveh, from the Geziri perspective. [[spoiler: He actively plots to restore the Nahids to power & is the one who releases the poison that kills Ghassan & many other Geziris.]]

* FamedInStory: Dara. To the djinn he's the monstrous Scourge of Qui-Zi & TheDreaded, while to the Daevas he's a heroic & romantic figure who fought to free their tribe from foreign rule.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Muntadhir, the elder, is the foolish sibling, and his devout younger brother Ali is the responsible sibling. [[spoiler: Played with, in that Ali is completely unprepared for court life, and Muntadhir is more clever than he seems.]]
* ForbiddenLove: [[spoiler: Between Rustam e-Nahid & Duriya, an Egyptian shafit servant working in the palace. Such a relationship between a Nahid & a shafit was unprecedented. Manizheh & Kaveh count as well, since they were unable to be together openly due to Ghassan wanting Manizheh for himself.]]

* GoodPowersBadPeople: The Nahids were immensely powerful healers, but they were utterly ruthless, brutally repressed the shafit, and conducted horrific medical experiments.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Jinn are universally terrified of being enslaved by the ifrit, to the point they wear relics containing a piece of the their body, such as a tooth, so they'll stand even a chance of being freed if they end up enslaved. [[spoiler:When Dara ends up re-enslaved, his first response is multiple suicide attempts.]]

* FailedState: King Ghassan fractures his nation over the first two books as he takes [[FascistButInefficient more and more extreme measures to keep control]] over his perceived enemies. By the second book, he can't equip his armies or even get the trash collected from the streets of his capital, and [[spoiler:his own son rebels in disgust]].

* BigBrotherInstinct: Muntadhir towards Zaynab and [[SiblingRivalry sometimes]] Ali.

** [[spoiler: Nahri does this to herself as part of bluff against the peris. She is rewarded with Suleiman's seal and the power to literally reshape Daevabad.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler: Dara was raised to serve the Nahids & revere them as gods. His loyalty persists even after they use him to commit atrocities on their behalf. It takes Manizheh's mass executions of Daeva nobles & re-enslavement of him for him to finally turn against her, & even then he can't yet bring himself to kill her.]]

* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Qahtanis, royal family of modern Daevabad. The siblings Muntadhir (heir to the throne), Ali (slated to be Muntadhir's [[NumberTwo Qaid]]), and Zaynab (only daughter, dreading a seemingly inevitable [[AltarDiplomacy political marriage]]) get along well enough at the start of the series, but after Dara returns with a living Nahid things get ''complicated''. [[spoiler: By the end of the first book, Ghassan is willing to have his own son killed.]]

* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler: When Manizheh revives Dara ''again'' using the remains of past Nahids as a magical catalyst, it does not go so well. Not only is he re-enslaved (to Manizheh this time), but his magic has been tainted by the process.]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
** The shafit who are executed by placing them on a bronze boat that is enchanted to melt, burning them alive. [[spoiler:Ali tries to perform a MercyKill on one of the victims, and it goes badly.]]
** The third book has Dara relate secondhand that [[spoiler:a mob literally tore Kaveh into pieces]].

* LikeAGodToMe: The Daeva tribe holds the Nahid clan in high esteem as the descendants of Anahid, the woman who laid the foundations for both Daevabad and the modern magical world. [[spoiler:The marid, by contrast, hate her guts for stealing their sacred lake.]]

* CoolChair: The Shedu Throne, located in the palace of Daevabad, carved to resemble its namesake winged lion and encrusted with jewels, serves as the seat for the ruler of the magical world; first the Nahids, and then the Qahtanis.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: One of Ali's major struggles is that his good intentions have all sorts of unintended consequences for the people he's trying to help. The first two books have him struggle a lot with passionate but reckless displays of idealism and then going too far in the other direction and becoming complicit with wrongdoing.

* AlienBlood: Full-blooded daeva have distinctive black blood, while human-deva hybrids bleed red.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Qahtanis, royal family of modern Daevabad. The siblings Muntadhir (heir to the throne), Ali (slated to be Muntadhir's [[NumberTwo Qaid]]), and Zaynab (only daughter, dreading a seemingly inevitable [[AltarDiplomacy political marriage]]) get along well enough at the start of the series, but after Dara returns things get ''complicated''. [[spoiler: By the end of the first book, Ghassan is willing to have his own son killed.]]
** Then in the later books, the [[spoiler: Nahids]] make the Qahtanis look like an absolute model of family harmony.

* MagicCarpet: Dara can turn any carpet into one of these.

** The ''Djinn'' in this series are a race of obscenely powerful magical beings who live in a world separate from humanity, and exhibit extreme FantasticRacism towards those who mix with humans.

* ProudScholarRace: The bird-like peris are quite knowledgeable about most subjects, but getting them to act is usually an exercise in frustration.

* IKnowYourTrueName: Knowing a djinn's name gives you power over them, especially if you're an ifrit or marid. Ali was never taught this, and answering the marid when asked allows them to use him as a weapon in the first book. [[spoiler: Manizheh invokes this when she gives the ifrit Nahri's birth name, allowing them to bind her.]]

* ReassignedToAntarctica: [[spoiler: Ali is sent into exile in Am Gezira at the end of the first book.]]

* WalkingTheEarth: At the end of the third book, [[spoiler:Dara embarks on a quest to find all the djinn relics stolen by the ifrit and return them to the city so that they can be freed of enslavement. He fully expects this to take millenia.]]

* ''The Empire of Gold' (2020)

''The City of Brass'', by S.A. Chakraborty, is the first book in the Daevabad trilogy, a series that breaks with the tradition of MedievalEuropeanFantasy novels by being distinctly Middle Eastern. Most of the characters, even nonhuman ones, are devout Muslims, and much of the story takes place in a hidden magical city in the highlands of central Asia.

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by— palm readings, zars, healings —are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

The second book in the trilogy, ''The Kingdom of Copper'', was released in early 2019.

The third and final book, ''The Empire of Gold'', was released in June 2020.

* ArrangedMarriage: Ghassan plans to unite the Qahtanis and Nahids by marrying Muntadhir to Nahri.

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Nahri]] gets this from [[spoiler:Manizheh. Though it turns out she was lying.]]

* SettleForSibling: A rare double example when [[spoiler: Muntadhir and Nahri are forced to marry.]] She's attracted to his brother, and he's in love with hers.