The Empire of Gold – S. A. Chakraborty (2020)
S. A. Chakraborty’s The Empire of Gold is the thunderous conclusion to the Daevabad Trilogy, a richly imagined saga that blends Islamic history, djinn mythology, and the visceral stakes of revolution. The novel opens in the aftermath of The Kingdom of Copper’s cataclysmic finale: Daevabad, the legendary brass city of djinn, lies in smoldering ruins under the tyrannical rule of Manizheh, the resurrected Nahid queen who has unleashed a brutal purge against her enemies.
The narrative unfolds through three fractured protagonists: Nahri, stripped of her healing magic and fleeing to Cairo, where she must reckon with her human roots and forge uneasy alliances with mortal rebels; Ali, exiled and wrestling with the apocalyptic power of the Marid, water spirits who whisper of drowned cities and demand bloody vengeance; and Dara, the centuries-old ifrit warrior, enslaved by Manizheh’s dark magic and tormented by the atrocities he commits in her name.
As their paths converge in a desperate bid to reclaim Daevabad, Chakraborty peels back layers of myth to reveal the truth behind Suleiman’s Seal, the cursed artifact that bound the djinn and shattered their world. The climax—a siege involving fiery ifrit legions, undead warriors, and a heartbreaking sacrifice—forces each character to confront the costs of power, the weight of forgiveness, and whether their broken society can ever truly heal.
Chakraborty’s prose dazzles with its sensory richness, from the spice-scented alleyways of Cairo to the drowned ruins of Gulfem, while her nuanced character arcs reject easy heroism. The ending, bittersweet and profoundly earned, redefines what it means to rule, to love, and to be free.
“A masterpiece of historical fantasy—where the magic of the past bleeds into the battles of the present, and no victory comes without scars.”
The trilogy was a Hugo and Nebula Award finalist, cementing Chakraborty as a visionary voice in fantasy. The Empire of Gold is celebrated for its morally complex finale and its unflinching exploration of colonialism’s enduring wounds.
