The City of Brass
The Daevabad Trilogy • Book 1
by S.A. Chakraborty
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
Soneela Nankani conjures 18th-century Cairo and a hidden djinn city so vividly you'll forget you're on a commute.
- Great if you want: lush Middle Eastern mythology with a sharp, scrappy heroine
- Listening experience: slow-burn epic — rich and immersive, rewards patience
- Narration: Nankani's warmth and cadence perfectly suit Nahri's street-smart voice
- Skip if: dense political intrigue and 20-hour slow builds frustrate you
About This Audiobook
Nahri is a con artist surviving on Cairo's streets in the 18th century, performing fake healings and cold readings until she accidentally summons an actual djinn warrior during a sham ceremony. He whisks her across fire-haunted deserts to Daevabad, a hidden city of djinn where her mysterious bloodline makes her a political lightning rod. She arrives knowing nothing of the deadly web of dynastic grudges, religious divides, and simmering revolution that controls everything in this glittering, dangerous city.
Soneela Nankani's narration is one of the great audiobook performances in recent fantasy, bringing Daevabad fully to life with an instinctive sense of its Persian and Arabic cultural roots. Her portrayal of Nahri captures a street-sharp intelligence gradually giving way to wonder, then dread. The long runtime rewards listeners who give themselves over to Nankani's immersive pacing, which makes the city feel as real and layered as any place in fiction.
