Books like City of Brass
What should you read after S. A. Chakraborty’s novel? It depends on what you loved most about it.
- S. A. Chakraborty
- 2017
- Fantasy
What did you love about it?
Choosing one reorders everything below.
Best books to read after City of Brass
Ranked overall. Pick what you loved above to re-rank them.
Best overall matchThe City of Brass
S.A. Chakraborty
The same novel under its full title — the catalogue holds two records for one book, matching ISBNs and all. Worth merging before anyone clicks it.
- Djinn politics and old grudges
- A con artist with real power
- Not a separate title
Best for the djinnThe Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker
A jinni loose in a city that does not believe in him, negotiating obligation and freedom. Quieter than Chakraborty, and beautifully controlled.
- Djinn politics and old grudges
- Islamic myth as source material
- Cairo, then a city out of legend
- Historical New York
Great matchThe Bear and the Nightingale
Katherine Arden
A national folklore taken seriously rather than decorated with, and a young woman whose inheritance makes her politically inconvenient.
- Islamic myth as source material
- A con artist with real power
- Medieval Rus, not Cairo
Best for the politicsThe Poppy War
R. F. Kuang
Empire, ethnic grievance and atrocity handled with Chakraborty's refusal to give anyone clean hands. Considerably harsher in the back half.
- No side that is simply right
- A capital divided by tribe
- Court intrigue over battlefields
- Extreme violence late on
Worth a look — with a warningThe Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller
Here for the myth-retold-with-feeling connection rather than the politics: Miller writes gods and their favourites as intimately as Chakraborty writes djinn.
- A prince caught between loyalties
- Islamic myth as source material
- A love story above all
Great matchCirce
Madeline Miller
A woman of divine descent working out what her power is for while immortal families argue above her. Nahri's position, told over centuries.
- A con artist with real power
- Djinn politics and old grudges
- Episodic, low tension
Great matchThe Wrath & the Dawn
Renée Ahdieh
A Thousand and One Nights retold as court intrigue, with a heroine talking her way through a palace that wants her dead. Nearest in setting and flavour.
- Cairo, then a city out of legend
- Court intrigue over battlefields
- A prince caught between loyalties
- Romance dominates
Great matchAn Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir
An occupying empire, a subjugated people, and a soldier of the ruling class who cannot stomach what he is asked to do. Ali's dilemma, sharpened.
- A prince caught between loyalties
- A capital divided by tribe
- No side that is simply right
- Torture on the page
Worth a look — with a warningUprooted
Naomi Novik
Recommended for the magic rather than the politics — a heroine who discovers her power works by rules nobody taught her, in a self-contained story.
- A con artist with real power
- Islamic myth as source material
- No court intrigue
Great matchThe Bone Season
Samantha Shannon
A gifted young woman moved from a criminal life into a city with its own rigid hierarchy of powers. Nahri's abduction plot, in dystopian Oxford.
- A capital divided by tribe
- A con artist with real power
- Heavy jargon early
Great matchThe Star-Touched Queen
Roshani Chokshi
Indian mythology turned into palace politics and an uneasy marriage between people who each want something. Shares Chakraborty's opulence.
- Cairo, then a city out of legend
- Court intrigue over battlefields
- Dream logic over plot
Best for what happens nextThe Kingdom of Copper
S.A. Chakraborty
The direct sequel, set five years on, where the political knots of book one are pulled tight. Do not read it first.
- Djinn politics and old grudges
- A capital divided by tribe
- A prince caught between loyalties
- Sequel — read in order
- The Wrath of the GodsWorth a look — with a warning
The Wrath of the Gods
R.J. Blain
A minor entry on this list: gods interfering in mortal affairs, at a much lighter weight than anything else here.
- Djinn politics and old grudges
- Islamic myth as source material
- No ISBN in the catalogue
What should you read after City of Brass?
City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty works on several levels at once, and which book you should read next depends on which of those levels got you. For most readers the closest match is The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty — the same novel under its full title — the catalogue holds two records for one book, matching ISBNs and all. Worth merging before anyone clicks it.
If what stayed with you was djinn politics and old grudges, read The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker instead: a jinni loose in a city that does not believe in him, negotiating obligation and freedom. Quieter than Chakraborty, and beautifully controlled. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is the other strong option — a national folklore taken seriously rather than decorated with, and a young woman whose inheritance makes her politically inconvenient.
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