Books Like The City of Brass

S. A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass is the story of Nahri, a young con woman in eighteenth-century Cairo who accidentally summons a djinn warrior named Dara - and is swept into Daevabad, the legendary city of the djinn, a place of brass and fire, politics and ancient wars, where her true heritage and her hidden power threaten to tear the city apart. It is the opening of the Daevabad trilogy, and it works because it is fantasy built from real myth and real history - a world of djinn and marid and ancient tribes, rendered with scholarship and heart. If you loved it, you already know what you are looking for: more books with the same depth, the same myth and the same fierce heroines. This guide gathers the best books like The City of Brass.

Why The City of Brass Works So Well#

The City of Brass works because Chakraborty built her world from the ground up - from the djinn of Islamic folklore, from the history of the medieval Middle East, from the politics of empire and tribe - and then set a heroine loose in it. Nahri is a survivor: a con artist who has lived by her wits on the streets of Cairo, who discovers she is a shafit - of mixed blood - with a healing power the city fears. Her journey through Daevabad is a journey through politics, prejudice and war, and her growth from street thief to the force that may destroy or save the city is the trilogy’s engine.

The books that follow in its footsteps share that engine. They are built on the same formula: a world built from real myth, a heroine who must find her power, and a story with political stakes that feel real. If you loved the way The City of Brass made you feel, these are the books that will make you feel it again.

The Themes That Define the Genre#

Books like The City of Brass cluster around a few themes, and knowing them helps you choose your next read:

Myth made real. The signature theme: fantasy built from actual folklore - djinn, golems, fairy tales - with the depth and texture of real belief.

The heroine finding her power. The genre’s engine: a young woman who is underestimated, displaced or powerless - who discovers a heritage and a power that change everything.

The clash of cultures. The genre’s politics: tribes, classes and bloodlines in conflict - prejudice, alliance and war with real moral stakes.

A world with history. The genre’s texture: the cities and courts feel lived-in - centuries of politics, grudges and prophecies behind every door.

The Best Books Like The City of Brass#

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah#

The closest cousin in the genre: Loulie al-Nazari, the “Midnight Merchant,” is a legendary smuggler and thief of magical artifacts who has spent her life hiding her identity as the descendant of a jinn queen - until the sultan forces her to hunt for a magical lamp, and she is drawn into a web of jinn, politics and her own hidden past. It has the exact City of Brass formula: the desert world, the djinn, the smuggler-heroine with a hidden heritage, the politics with real stakes. It is clean and utterly immersive, and it is the single best next read for City of Brass fans.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Weiner#

The most literary cousin: in turn-of-the-century New York, a golem - a woman made of clay, created to serve a master who died before giving her purpose - and a jinni - a being of fire, freed from an ancient bottle - meet in the immigrant neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, and their unlikely friendship becomes a meditation on freedom, duty and what it means to be human. It has The City of Brass’s myth and its depth, with a quieter, more historical register. It is clean and exquisite, and it is the perfect pick for City of Brass fans who loved the myth more than the war.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik#

The most folkloric cousin: Agnieszka lives in a valley shadowed by the Wood, a corrupting forest, protected by the Dragon - a powerful, demanding wizard who takes a village girl every ten years - and when he chooses Agnieszka, she discovers she has a magic of her own, wild and different from his. It has The City of Brass’s heroine-finding-her-power engine with a Slavic folk-tale heart: the same fierce heroine, the same world of myth, the same politics of magic. Note: it is slightly more intense than the City of Brass, but its magic is the same.

The City of Brass’s epic cousin: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon#

The grandest cousin: a world where the East and West have been divided for a thousand years by the fear of a great dragon, and where a queen, a dragon rider, a scholar and an assassin must come together to face the threat. It has The City of Brass’s scale and its political depth with a complete-epic structure: the same courts and conspiracies, the same heroines finding their power, the same world built from myth. Note: it is long and the tone is more modern, but the shape is exactly what epic readers are looking for.

The City of Brass’s desert cousin: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh#

The most romantic cousin: inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, the novel follows Shahrzad, who volunteers to marry the caliph who takes a new bride each dawn and executes her by morning - and who plans to avenge her best friend by killing him, only to discover that the caliph is not the monster the stories claim. It has The City of Brass’s desert world and its myth, with a love story at its heart: the same setting, the same politics, the same fierce heroine. It is clean and utterly romantic, and it is the perfect pick for City of Brass fans who loved the court.

The City of Brass’s historical cousin: The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay#

The most adult cousin: in a world inspired by medieval Spain, a physician, a poet-warrior and a warrior woman are drawn into the clash of empires - and the novel unfolds a story of love, honor and the cost of loyalty against the backdrop of war. It has The City of Brass’s historical depth and its politics, with a more literary, more devastating register. It is clean and magnificent, and it is the perfect pick for City of Brass fans ready for the adult version of the world.

The City of Brass’s heir: The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai#

The most contemporary cousin: in a world inspired by Egypt, two women - Nehal, a waterweaver from a powerful family, and Georgina, a bookshop owner with a forbidden gift - join the growing movement for women’s rights in a society that wants to keep them powerless. It has The City of Brass’s setting and its politics with a sharper contemporary edge: the same world of magic and power, the same heroines finding their strength. It is clean and fierce, and it is the perfect pick for City of Brass fans who loved the politics.

How to Choose Your Next Read#

With so many excellent options, the choice comes down to what you loved most about The City of Brass:

If you loved the djinn and the desert, start with The Stardust Thief - the closest cousin in the genre.

If you loved the myth, start with The Golem and the Jinni - the most literary cousin.

If you loved the heroine finding her power, start with Uprooted - the same engine, a different myth.

If you loved the politics and the court, start with The Wrath and the Dawn - the same world, a love story at its heart.

If you loved the epic scale, start with The Priory of the Orange Tree or The Lions of Al-Rassan - the epic and the literary versions of the world.

The Conversation These Books Start#

Every book on this list is built for discussion, and the questions that worked for The City of Brass work for them all: What does the genre gain by building fantasy from real myth - and what does the myth carry that invented worlds cannot? What does it mean for a heroine to find her power - and what does the power cost? How do the books treat prejudice and blood - and what do they say about belonging? What does it take to heal a city divided by centuries of war - and who pays the price? These are the questions the genre exists to ask, and they are the reason these books are so often discussed, analyzed and reread. For the craft of the conversation itself, our a thoughtful guide to book content guides helps readers choose the right book for the right moment, and our best family content warnings to read helps readers know what to expect before they begin.

Conclusion#

The City of Brass is one of those books that makes you feel the weight of a real world behind the pages - and the books like it have the same depth. The Stardust Thief, The Golem and the Jinni, Uprooted, The Wrath and the Dawn and the rest each take the same engine - the myth made real, the heroine finding her power, the politics with stakes - and turn it into a different world with the same richness and the same heart. Whatever you loved most about Daevabad, there is a book on this list that gives it to you again. And when you finish it, you will probably do what City of Brass readers always do: close the book, look at the sky, and wonder what is hidden in the fire. For more recommendations and reading tools, explore the Guides section of our site.