The River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty – Audiobook Review

I have been dying for more Daevabad content ever since I finished The Empire of Gold and Shannon certainly delivered! This book was everything I wanted and more!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A prospective new queen joins a court whose lethal history may overwhelm her own political savvy…

An imprisoned royal from a fallen dynasty and a young woman wrenched from her home cross paths in an enchanted garden…

A pair of scouts stumble upon a secret in a cursed winter wood that will turn over their world…

Now together in one place, these stories of Daevabad enrich a world already teeming with magic and wonder. From Manizheh’s first steps towards rebellion to adventures that take place after The Empire of Gold, this is a must-have collection for those who can’t get enough of Nahri, Ali, and Dara and all that unfolded around them.

TW: suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, self harm, torture, attempted rape

I am completely enthralled by the Daevabad trilogy and so it was bittersweet when I finished The Empire of Gold but then Shannon blessed us with these stories. Stories of love and hope and even the darker parts were balanced with lighter elements. A perfect collection to see so much more of the world and characters in these stories.

So first about the audiobook itself, I love listening to the trilogy and was so glad that the same narrator was narrating this too. I love listening to her and how she brings the story to life. I think that even if you aren’t a huge fan of audiobooks this will be okay to listen to especially as we are already familiar with the story and characters.

Some stories Shannon had shared before on her website so I was familiar with some but some were brand new and I especially loved Duriya and Hatset’s stories. How these women carved a place for themselves in a world that barely made space for them. That they showed strength and bravery and fighting for something better. It was amazing to see these glimpses into the past, the younger versions of the characters we all know and see how they may have been different and what may have caused them to become the characters we see in the books.

My favourite stories were of course the ones of Alizayd, the scene we see set just before The Kingdom of Copper was so funny and we get more of a glimpse of him using his abilities and just more of him trying not to implode when girls throw themselves at him which is always hilarious to read.

But my favourite scene was of course that last story that Shannon had vaguely hinted at before and it was everything I wanted and more. It was such a beautiful story about love and taking that step to be vulnerable with someone you love even if it terrifies you. It’s about trust and respecting each others decisions and boundaries and it is about building something on a strong foundation of friendship and care.

It was the perfect story to end on especially as this is the last story we will be getting of these characters and we end on a note of hope and joy and love.

I have already listened to it multiple times especially that last story and I know that I will be coming back to these stories time and time again.

My reviews for the trilogy can be found here: The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper, The Empire of Gold

My Daevabad Playlist Of Acapella Covers

I don’t know if anyone even wants this but you’re going to get it. This is a playlist of acapella covers that I love that give me Daevabad vibes. I will share each song and who it reminds me of. I hope you enjoy!

Roar

Zaynab’s song because we see her go from Princess to resistance leader and I loved that she was able to keep everything going when Muntadhir was imprisoned and Ali wasn’t in Daevabad.

You Belong With Me

My Jamshid to Muntadhir song. Watching Muntadhir with Khanzada but he knows they belong together.

Who Knew

Duriya and Rustam’s song. Suffer with me! Duriya raising Nahri by herself and thinking about Rustam and everything they could have had.

Show Yourself

Obviously Nahri’s Empire of Gold song.

What A Man Gotta Do

Ali to Nahri because he’s absolutely smitten

At the Beginning

My Nahli song because they are starting a new beginning together

I See the Light

My other Nahli song because well just listen to the lyrics okay

Poor Unfortunate Soul/I Put A Spell on You

Manizheh trying to convince everyone she’s the good guy and also her “relationship” with Dara

Part of Your World

I mean this is Ali’s anthem, all he wants is to geek out in the human world just like Ariel.

Go the Distance/Journey to the Past

This is Ali and Nahri in the City of Brass at the beginning of their respective journeys.

I’ll Make A Man Out of You

Okay but this Dara training his archers and hyping them up

Friend Like Me

This is Lubayd and Ali! I loved how much Lubayd protected and supported Ali.

I Won’t Say I’m In Love/Kiss the Girl

This is Ali and Nahri’s internal monologue throughout Empire of Gold.

Be Prepared

This is Manizheh planning her invasion of Daevabad.

Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

This is Mishmish’s anthem. Admit you know it is.

Let me know any songs you relate to specific characters or books!

Why Alizayd al-Qahtani from The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty Means So Much To Me – Part 2

Do I need to tell any of you why Ali means so much to me? He has wormed his way into my heart and made himself at home. I have never loved a character as much as I love him and honestly I will never truly be able to express it properly no matter how many essays I write.

I know I have previously written an essay which you can read here but you know what here is another one because I have now read The Empire of Gold and the extra scenes Shannon included on her website and I now have a lot more to say.

Alizayd grows so much throughout the trilogy. From a young age he is motivated to help the poor and oppressed because one of the core beliefs in Islam is social justice. He may not always do it in the best way but that is what makes him fight against even his own family to do what is right. It’s one of the things I love most about him. Every time he fought for justice my heart swelled with love for him. In The City of Brass he is more idealistic but by the time we see him in The Empire of Gold, he has grown wiser and while still idealistic he is also more realistic in what he can achieve and what can be accomplished and it was incredible to see how he told Nahri that this may be something that they don’t even get to see the fruits of but they still need to build a city that is just to all.

One of my favourite scenes is his very first chapter where we see him wake up to find himself in the apothecary and realise all that he has lost and that he cannot help anyone at that moment. The despair he feels was so raw and it left me a mess. This was one of the lowest points for him and in his moment of need and despair he turned to Allah to ask Him for help and guidance. He sat in prayer all day in prostration to Allah turning to the only one who can help him with everything he is feeling. This is a scene that means so much to me. A scene where I truly related and saw myself and how I felt in some of my most difficult times in life. Shannon wrote it beautifully and it left me in tears to see this in a fantasy book. The type of rep I had been too scared to even hope to see in books.

When he is in Egypt we see him completely fall in love with being able to experience the human world like he’s always wanted to and that wonder and excitement was contagious. I really loved seeing him nerd out and completely lose it over toy chickens because when we see characters who are devout, they are often shown in their stereotypes of broody, strict and not really having a personality beyond being the haram police and so to see him be fully fleshed and complex and that he is your average guy even though he is doing his best to practice his religion. It humanised him and even though we shouldn’t have to bear the burden of that it was truly wonderful to see how much he loved seeing everything and his giddy excitement.

Another of my favourite scenes in The Empire of Gold is when he is in Ta Nytry and Hatset tells him to establish himself as king there instead of going to fight Manizheh. He tells them that this isn’t the answer. They need to help those trapped in Daevabad and that him being king isn’t right. There needs to be a democracy where everyone’s voice is heard. That Islam stands for justice and we need to stand up for what is right and be a witness to this. They cannot stand by and watch people being murdered and enslaved.

In this book we see him and Nahri also having to navigate their growing feelings for each other and I know that people have mixed feelings but I personally really loved seeing him try to navigate this as it felt real. Muslims aren’t perfect and so to see a “perfect” Muslim character wouldn’t really work in this trilogy. We see him battle his desires and his conviction to his faith and what we are all taught when it comes to relationships. That a relationship outside of marriage isn’t allowed. This was something that he tries his best to adhere to, we see him literally fight himself when he starts thinking about Nahri and reminding himself that he cannot do anything.

We see him kiss Nahri in a moment of utter despair and longing and neither of them knowing whether they will survive after this. And then he realises that he cannot do this and stops himself and it felt so realistic. We have feelings, we have emotions and you know what we will make mistakes, we will slip and I actually liked seeing that he slipped but that he stops himself and draws a line saying to Nahri that this cannot happen again. And we see that he doesn’t cross that line again. I feel like a lot people can relate to this moment and how easy it can be to give in to those feelings even for a moment.

He spends a lot of this book learning about his own family history and coming to terms with realising that those he looked up to may not be as incredible as he thought they were and that there is a lot in this world he still does not know and it made him a better person and leader. He doesn’t make as many rash decisions like he used to and thinks about the consequences and how it can affect others. I just loved seeing him grow into an incredible leader and pillar of the community.

Later in the book he also leads prayer and again finds solace and comfort in praying and turning to Allah for help. We see how he stays there talking to everyone and making sure everyone is heard and tries to help as many as he can while he is in Ta Nytry. It shows how much he has grown instead of doing what he thinks is the right way to help the people he listens to them and what they want.

The scene when he goes to meet Tiamat and the other marid and he realises he may die here but he won’t go down without a fight and will do whatever he can to protect all those he loves. I feel like this was such a pivotal moment for him. When he realises the price of being able to save his loved ones and Daevabad is to give up the thing that he loves, his jinn magic, his fire magic, and he will even lose the one connection he shared with his father, his grey eyes, I truly felt for him and it shows what a huge sacrifice it is for him to have to give this all up. But he does it, he does it because his love for Daevabad and his family and friends is more than how much he cherishes his magic. He knows that this may make him an outsider to his own people but he still does it. It made me love him even more.

It’s safe to say that I have never loved a character more than I love Alizayd and honestly I have no idea how to move on from these books because of him. His character arc was incredible and I loved seeing all the small details from him being a total nerd, completely hopeless when trying to talk to girls and how he hold on to his faith throughout everything. His activism in fighting for social justice and his strong moral character and just doing whatever it took to save his people even sacrificing his jinn magic made me fall in love with him again and again.

It also helps that he is…well formed and endearing. I will leave you with one of my favourite Alizayd quotes:

Our faith prioritises justice. It tells us to stand for justice no matter what. We are to be a community that calls for what is right, that stands as a witness.

Please everyone go read this incredible trilogy!

My Favourite Quotes from The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

The Empire of Gold readalong is over and I hope everyone who took part enjoyed it! Today I will be sharing my favourite quotes from this book and let me tell you, there was A LOT.

I have also shared my favourite quotes from The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper

I loved this book and honestly it has some incredible quotes and scenes and here are some of my favourite:

1 Kan wa ma kan…It was and it wasn’t – This is such a beautiful way to describe the fantasy worlds and even this trilogy.

2 Nahri was a survivor and it was time to get to work. – This is Nahri in a sentence.

3 I do not believe ambitious men who say the only route to peace and prosperity lies in giving them more power – particularly when they do it with lands and people who are not theirs. – Yaqub just stating facts in this book.

4 “Birthmark,” Ali managed, his voice pitched. “Completely natural. Since birth.” – Every single interaction between Ali and Yaqub was pure gold and I wish we had gotten more of it.

5 All Ali wanted to do right now was pray, to cry out to God and beg Him to make this right. – I love how Ali always turns to Allah and asks for His guidance and help.

6 Ali…I thought I made very clear to you I never intended to let you out of my debt. – This was a whole theme in this trilogy and I am here for it. I love them two so much.

7 Not wanting to be destroyed by despair doesn’t make you a coward, Ali. It makes you a survivor. – I think this is something we should all remember especially this year.

8 People are often afraid of what they don’t understand. – This line is very apt considering what is happening all over the world right now.

9 Don’t you sound like quite the revolutionary? People would call me a fanatic of I said that. – My heart felt for Ali who was constantly made out to be an extremist by those wanting to discredit him because they did not want to relinquish power.

10 I think it a mistake to judge the Creator by the misdeeds of mortals – Shannon really voicing all the things I feel in this book about my faith

11 There’s no one else here, my friend. You don’t need to keep up this front. – The fact that Ali and Nahri can only feel truly comfortable and vulnerable with each other and show their true selves is one of my favourite things about their relationship.

12 We die and we bleed and it’s a debt the powerful never repay. – The people always pay for the crimes of the powerful. This book is full of parallels with the real world and it hit me hard.

13 That made it worse, this passing of barbed baton between women who, no matter how clever, how powerful, would always be known y the men to whom they were attached. – This is such a poignant quote and honestly so relatable.

14 I would rather make a mistake than have my choices stripped away – I related to this so much.

15 “Our faith prioritises justice,” Ali argued. It tells us to stand for justice, no matter what. We are to be a community that calls for what is right, that stands as witness.” – I was so incredibly proud of Ali here and how no matter what he has gone through he has never compromised on his belief and this is what has pushed him throughout the trilogy.

16 It is not blasphemous to say this world is vast, that much of its history remains shrouded. There are things God set beyond our understanding. – This is something we should all remind ourselves because there is so much we don’t know.

17 It’s me Emir joon just me, no tricks – This scene had me so emotional

18 “May I confess something?” Ali gazed at her in open sorrow. “I never really wanted to be out of your debt” – Not me crying, nope.

There are so many more quotes I highlighted throughout the story but here are some of my favourites. Do share yours!

The Empire of Gold Readalong Announcement

I have an exciting announcement for you all today! Me and Zulfa are hosting a readalong for The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty!

The readalong will begin on 6^th Oct and end on 7^th November with an Instagram live chat with Shannon. We will also be sharing discussion posts and fun activities on twitter and Instagram over the month.

This readalong is quite relaxed and you can all read at your own pace. But we would love to see your updates so make sure you use #EOGReadalong in your tweets or posts so we can find them!

During the live we will also be asking Shannon all the spoiler questions so write down any you want to ask for the live! We will also be collecting questions so if you can’t make it you can give us the question to ask Shannon.

There will also be a giveaway which will be announced later but there may be some art involved…

Make sure to follow our social media to keep up with the readalong

Shannon’s instagram and twitter

Zulfa’s instagram and twitter

My instagram and twitter