I love the world that Chakraborty created in City of Brass and The River of Silver lets me revel in the world for just a little longer. I suggest reading the original trilogy before reading this collection of short stories as some of the stories are better when you understand the characters and world. Very beautiful.

River of Silver is precisely what it says on the tin. It is a simple collection of outtakes from the universe of Daevabad trilogy. It is less a collection of short stories and more just scenes that were cut out of the published works for one reason or another. Which is by no means to say these were bad. It was just difficult to find a thread that gave a reason to this work getting published. there was not any new world building or a common theme that I would have expected from a short story collection. It also makes it difficult to present a firm review as there is no real plot or driving force behind the stories at large. But taken as a group of scenes cut from the books these were perfectly presentable. I had a good enough time going through each of them.

Omg I loved this book so much. It was such a fun quick read and it was great to get back into the daevabad books.

I loved all of the stories and getting to learn more about the characters and events in each book as well as getting stories for before and after the books events.

I also loved how the author included a bit of information about at the beginning of each story. She included when the story took place, context for it, and spoiler warning. She would also sometimes include some extra fun information which I really liked seeing.

I really enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed her other books.

Loved getting to jump back in with characters I thought I’d only get to visit on a reread. The span of stories, from before the trilogy began to after empire, was a pleasant surprise!

This book was AMAZING. If you are a fan of Chakraborty's work, you need to read this too. The River of Silver includes some stories that take place after the trilogy ends and it was wonderful to be able to see how some of the characters are continuing their lives. I don't want to spoil anything for other readers so I'll contain my excitment about a few of the chapters, but trust me when I say !!!!!!!. With some narrations taking place before and during the trilogy's canon you can also get more of a glimpse into character's motivations and history. It is very well written and I cannot recommend it enough.

This book is a short story collection that supplements the Daevabad Trilogy with stories before during and after their events. This contains spoilers for all three books but each story tells the reader what books with be spoiled. 

This was cute. Worth it if you loved the Daevabad trilogy and miss the characters but isn't required reading.

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what the author releases in the future.

The River of Silver is a collections of short stories centered around characters in the Daevabad Trilogy and it's amazing, as expected. If you're like me and you loved the Daevabad Trilogy and missed being in that world with those characters, pick this up ASAP. 

One thing I think future readers will love about this book is the spoiler warnings at the beginning of story. This collection of stories takes place before, during, and after certain events throughout the trilogy. So it's clear which books need to be read before you read each short story.

Rating: Loved It, 4.5 stars, rounded to 5

The River of Silver is a collection of short stories set in the Daevabad universe. In the note at the beginning, SA Chakraborty states that she had drafted a lot of these as research into the world and the characters as she was writing her story. During COVID, she used that time to return to a well-known and well-loved world when it was difficult to be creative. Honestly, I'm so glad that she did. 

Trying to avoid spoilers, so basically, I thoroughly enjoyed these short stories. My favorites featured Jamshid and Dhiru, but I loved seeing all the characters again and getting some new background and behind the scenes type things. I think it made me appreciate the Qahtani siblings more as a cohesive unit, and I love Jamshid. Muntadhir was never my favorite, but I like him a lot, lot more now. 

I think the last story was probably my favorite, but I didn't dislike any of them. They felt very true to the characters already established in the trilogy. I highly recommend! It's been several years since I read the trilogy and even though I've forgotten some of the details that were referenced in this, I thoroughly enjoyed returning and definitely want to reread now. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The River of Silver releases on October 11, 2022.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. 

I really enjoyed stepping back into the Daevabad world and The River of Silver makes me want to immediately go back and re-read the series. I will say that I wish it was more linearly compiled instead of hopping from one character to another. I think it would have made things a little easier to remember based on where we are at storyline wise.

In this compilation of scenes and stories which the author calls “a brief return to Daevabad”, the book starts out with a chapter that takes place 20 + years before the City Of Brass trilogy. With each new chapter, it hops around in time a bit giving you glimpses into events and encounters that pave the path to the series. I read all of these  books so it’s pretty fun to read what led to some of the character development — but at the same time it’s hard to write this review without giving anything away! Maybe you should read the trilogy first if you haven’t already and then go back in time with this book. Very clever of the writer to publish it this way.

Chakraborty provides a timeline as the chapter opens while also giving a heads up for any spoilers. Brilliant move. It took me a minute to get into the format, but then I was hooked again! And I actually love how these stories jump around — like a magical window in time. I’ll admit it’s hard for me to recall all the people and places from the original books. 😉

The River of Silver fills in the backstories and sets the tone for some of the social tensions we see in the trilogy. There’s also something incredibly comforting about diving back into the lives of these characters that we already know and love. 

And can I just say how much I love the cowrie shells, brass bowls of frankincense, ambergris, and musk among the pile of treasure found by Ali?  Perfection.

But my favorite part of course … was the end.

Knowing that it’s the last glimpse into Daevabad that we’ll get, THE RIVER OF SILVER was definitely a book I savored. Chakraborty opened with an incredible author’s note; one that will stick with me as much as any of the stories. If you haven’t read The Daevabad Trilogy yet, this is not the book to start with, but I cannot recommend THE CITY OF BRASS enough. If you’ve already fallen in love with the characters and places of Daevabad, then it’s a no-brainer to pick this one up. I felt extremely emotional knowing that I was saying goodbye to Daevabad again, but I will absolutely be revisiting the series in the future.

Many thanks to Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. S.A. Chakraborty, thank you creating a world that will always live in my heart.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. I loved the Daevabad trilogy when I read it last year, and was so excited to see a short compilation of stories to round out the characters and say goodbye to their world. If you have not read the trilogy, be sure to do that first before reading this book as it 1) contains spoilers for the books and 2) would not make much sense with the background.
Jumping into the first story, I was brought back to Nahari, Ali, Dara and all the other characters immediately. I did have to go back and reference the original stories a bit just to remember all the storylines, but that was only because I finished the final book a year and a half ago.
Favorite part of the book was the beginning and ending. SA Chakraborty starts off the book with a beautiful forward on why she went back to these stories, for something comforting during the early days of the pandemic. Towards the end of the book, there is an alternate ending to the Empire of Gold- I can see why it was ultimately cut from the series, but it's still great to read and think about how things might have ended. My favorite part of this book though is the final story- a epilogue of sorts. I won't give away what happens, but I will say that it gave me the satisfaction in the storyline of two characters that I was missing at the end of the trilogy. It was a perfect ending to this compilation.

I LOVE THE DAEVABAD TRILOGY

This was one of the series that got me back into reading as an adult. I was in the middle of finishing my reread of Empire of Gold when I got approved for this and my heart almost stopped.  Chakraborty has such a talent for transporting you into the world she is writing.

I loved seeing my favorite characters again. This was such a good book and I devoured it in one sitting. I couldn't stop! I want to read 500 more books in this series (or at least by this author)

The perfect dive back into the world of Daevabad. The stories take place from a decade before the first book starts, all the way to after the third book ends. We get to see characters points of view that we didn’t get in the books, and there is great insight into the characters and world.

I adored these novellas/stories that gave us an even broader glimpse into the world of Daevabad. I seriously would read Chakraborty's grocery list, these are that good. I also appreciated that they all took place in different timelines throughout the entire trilogy.

I love everything about this series and this collection of short stories is just the cherry on top! Reading these tales and these characters only makes me want to go back and start the series all over again. I feel like I should write S.A. Chakraborty a personal Thank You Letter for taking us back to the magical world of Daevabad in The River of Silver.

This is the perfect companion piece to the trilogy. Not only did she give us more content for what comes next for Ali and Nahri, Jamshid and Muntadhir, Dara, and Zaynab, but also what happened in the past or even scenes taken out from the trilogy timeline. Chakraborty writes a brief intro to this collection saying that writing these stories not only helped her flush out our beloved characters, but it also helped her cope with isolation during the pandemic and figure out what her next step is as an author.

The writing does not disappoint and has zero flaws. We experience the same kind of mystical imagery that we saw in the main books. There were several points while reading this where I had a huge grin on my face because the writing is *chef's kiss.* The pacing and the timing is executed well, and she gives us a good balance of characters to read.

This book should definitely be read after reading the The City of Brass, The Kingdom of Copper, and The Empire of Gold as there are many spoilers. And I think it would be downright confusing trying to read this book first because the world of Daevabad is so complex.

If you're like me and loved The City of Brass series, then you'll love The River of Silver.

*I received an eARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC.

I was over the moon to read this book.  The Daevabed trilogy is the crème de la crème of fantasy trilogies IMO and The River of Silver is the cherry on top.  You’ll obviously want to read the trilogy first, starting with City of Brass.  The River of Silver is a collection of short stories that take place before, during, and after with an alternate epilogue even.  It was exciting to get a glimpse at some of the characters we didn’t hear from previously but obviously my favorite part was seeing/hearing from my favorites like Nahri and of course Muntadhir/Jamshid (I could read a book on those two alone).  I did really enjoy the Duriya and Rustam POV.  I thought the last chapter from Nahri with Ali could have been included in the original story.  Ali transformed from one of my least favorite characters of the series to quite possibly my favorite, that’s how talented Chakraborty is.

Anyway, overall if you’re a fan of the series you’ll enjoy this collection.

Thanks Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

It's been such a delight to return to Daevabad and to get some stories in the perspective of other characters! This is a nice little collection of short stories (including the alternate epilogue that was in the Empire of Gold paperback) and it was a pleasure to get some more time with these characters.

Manizheh

I am enjoying these short stories much more than the mediocre conclusion we got in The Empire of Gold. Maybe I'll reread. Maybe not.

I feel for Manizheh in this story, until I remember all of the horrors she inflicts on Nahri. Just because you were badly treated doesn't mean you should badly treat others. Life lessons.

Duriya

I had forgotten this was Nahri's mother. Rustam has so few joys in life. I'm glad he found this one.

I love all of the Egyptian and Muslim rep in this series. We need more diverse books.

Hatset

We finally get to learn more about Ali and Zaynab's mother. I've always been curious. The Ayaanle are a force to be reckoned with.

Muntadhir

My favorite brother is Ali, even if he is a little too attached to his faith.

Muntadhir is the epitome of a fuckboi. No one wants that. I mean, obviously, someone wants that. But not me.

Jamshid

This boy is so cringe. No, I will not call him a man.

Dara

The older I get, the cringier I find Immortal Man/Teenage Girl relationships. That's not a relationship. It's creepy.

Jamshid

I am all about Middle Eastern LGBTQIA+ rep, but both Jamshid and Muntadhir are so cringe. And no, I cannot and will not stop saying cringe. It is what it is.

Ali

The one I've liked the least, and it was still good.

I ship Ali/Nahri, but he really should've married that girl. And built some alliances. Heartbreak helps nobody.

I still don't understand the Marid storyline, but I guess that doesn't matter.

The Scout

Here's a thought. Don't rape women. Profound.

Nahri

Muntadhir is unexpectedly kind. I still don't ship him with Nahri. I'm not sure I ship him with anyone.

Ali

Ali is growing a garden for Nahri. My eyes are crying.

Zaynab

Zaynab really comes into her own here. I had forgotten all that happened with the hospital. I need to reread the original series.

Muntadhir

Burn that wedding contract!

For the first time in my life, I am not annoyed at Jamshid. Growth. For him? For me? Who knows?

An Alternative Epilogue to The Empire of Gold

Uninterested in Dara's travels, but would love to hear more about Zaynab.

Nahri

This scene is not an extra. It needs to be added to the original.