A Master of Djinn

Dead Djinn Universe #1

by P. Djèlí Clark

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Steampunk, Mystery, LGBT, Historical

438 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2021

About the author

Phenderson Djèlí Clark.

Phenderson Djéli Clark is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn, and the award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots and Hidden Youth. You can find him on Twitter at @pdjeliclark and his blog The Disgruntled Haradrim.

Reviews

[chai (thelibrairie on tiktok) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so blisteringly good. P. Djèlí Clark reimagines history with vivacity, ingenuity, and pure damn style in his alternate early 20th c. Egypt that has forcibly sloughed off the British colonial yoke and risen to power with the help of Djinn. It has murder, magic, mayhem, and at the center of it all, one lesbian detective with a sharp taste in suits and even sharper monster-hunting chops. I had so much fun reading this!

[Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube) · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5) This deserves more hype!

I need to check out the novellas because I need more from this world!

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

P. Djèlí Clark is one of those authors that’s on my ‘to watch’ list. You might even say I’m a fan. I’ve read through most of his short stories and purchased most of his novellas, something I don’t do for just anyone these days. I was anticipating A Master of Djinn and when it appeared on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to request it. Imagine my delight when I was approved; it was like Christmas in January. So now I find myself in a quandary because of that most troublesome phenomenon, hope-experience mismatch.

Set in the same world as The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it follows Agent Fatma as she’s on a big case–that of the British aristocrat and a number of his guests being viciously murdered. In the eternal style of the buddy-flick, she’s also assigned a new partner, the enthusiastic rookie Hadia. Hadia was one of the joys of this story, and if she’s a bit of a Mary-Sue, it’s a relief, because the story is badly in need of competent protagonists.

Inventive worlds are one of Clark’s hallmarks, and it’s fun to see alternate-Egypt fleshed out. The investigation goes from the Ministry building to Fatma’s apartment building, to an underground nightclub, to various unique locations in the city, and I enjoyed getting more feel for the locations, and some of the characters in each.

Plot, however, was problematic. While it initially seems to be a murder investigation, it turns out that a much larger game is afoot, one that ultimately (thematic spoiler) reminded me of a Scooby-Doo episode . At times, however, the story felt scattershot, too many asides that pulled focus away from plot. Halfway through, world politics were awkwardly inserted–perhaps as a way to up the tension–and it turns out now there's also goblins to contend with. Unfortunately, I ended up with more questions, having accepted the premise of the adjacent-world for the djinn. The short explanation didn’t square for me, but perhaps someone else will read it differently. “Folktales were collected and scoured for any practical use. Djinn were not native to the country, but there were other creatures–chief among them goblins… allowing [redacted] to rapidly grow in its magical and industrial expertise.”

You see, to me this introduced the idea that magic was more common and integrated into societies than just the djinn. So why isn’t Fatma better at noticing it? Investigating it? There’s a character who is an acolyte to one of the old Egyptian gods, and every time Fatma runs into him, she’s struck by that person's odd appearance, as if they are changing into that god. Yet what does she think when she sees them near final transformation? “A man who thought he was an ancient god and was now disfiguring himself.” Really? I don’t understand–we have a world with djinn and goblins and our main character works for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and she thinks someone is disfiguring themselves over an actual magical transformation? In a world where there are legitimate pocket universes run by djinn?

Later, someone confesses a secret that she should have noticed, and she thinks, “what kind of investigator was this unaware of what was going on right in front of her eyes.” I absolutely agreed; she’s actually quite unobservant on multiple occasions, which ends up causing strife in different ways. I realized reading this story that I was coming to the conclusion that Fatma is not competent. The question is, does Clark realize it? Is she a character who we should laugh at for obsessing with clothes over job? My intuition is that is not his intention, and it’s substitution for plot development (spoiler: she literally has people she interviews telling her where to go next).

Also awkward was the frequent use of non-English words. I’m no stranger to sci-fi and am more than used to figuring context of a word, but at times it was excessive, to the point of inhibiting story meaning and flow. One particularly cumbersome example:

“They wore full-length black kaftans with red tarbooshes. Seated on the modish moss-green divan, were three women, each dressed in a black sebleh and wrapped in a milaya lef. Their faces were hidden behind matching bur’a, though their heads were strangely uncovered. ‘Agent Fatma,’ one called in a familiar voice.”

To make it worse, my kindle wasn’t having it, but probably that's because of the ARC. /Eyeroll

I can’t help but contrast this with the focus and meaning in Clark’s novella and short stories, and I’m left thinking that Clark is just better in shorter form. This has too many side bits that don’t feel integrated. It’s definitely not a murder-mystery as much as a thriller fantasy. Add a lead character that I found myself withdrawing from and it ended up being something less enjoyable than expected. To remind myself of how good Clark is, I went back and found one of his shorts I had missed, the tight little horrific tale, ‘Night Doctors.’ Damnit! That’s what makes this so hard.

Ultimately, it’s better than most of what you will find out there. But it doesn’t live up to his body of work.


Many, many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advanced review copy.

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately I’m a bit torn between loving the worldbuilding and at best feeling lukewarm about the characters and plot. I suppose I can’t have everything.

The worldbuilding is just so good. It’s an alternate 1912 cosmopolitan Cairo, where Egypt is a steampunk superpower after legendary al-Jahiz a few decades prior had opened a gateway to the world of the supernatural. This is the world full of djinn and clockwork angels, aerial trams and airships and automaton boilerplate eunuchs, and temples still dedicated to the Old Gods, and the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities with its clockwork brain and a librarian djinn. It’s a more tolerant world than expected, with a bit of women’s rights and workers’ rights sprinkled in, although not immune to classism and racism and misogyny, and with echoes of increasingly ridiculous-appearing colonialism, as thanks to the djinn the sun is setting on the British Empire.

“He was tired of this miserably hot, dry place. Thirty years past they had been ripe for becoming another conquest in His Majesty’s Empire. Now Egypt was one of the great powers, and Cairo was fast outstripping London, even Paris. Their people swaggered through the streets—mocking England as “that dreary little isle.”

It’s the same world depicted in Clark’s earlier short works - A Dead Djinn in Cairo (a short story that’s not essential for understanding this novel but is a perfect introduction to the main cast, the world of steampunk supernatural Cairo and raises the stakes here by expanding on what turns out to be important plot point) and The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (a novella that shows more of the world but is less essential than the short story). That said, this novel can be easily read as a standalone if you don’t feel like adding extra 40 pages to your reading.

Clark paints the scenery so vividly, to the point where I could easily see and smell and hear the sprawling metropolis of winding ancient streets and sleek airship towers, ancient temples and modern Ministry halls, cemetery slums and ritzy high-rises. He’s inventive and clear, and his steampunk Cairo springs into being with the full immersive experience. It’s vibrant, it’s loud, it’s distinctive, and it’s very much alive. You better get comfortable with non-Western food and clothing descriptions quickly if you don’t want to be left behind — but I found the context sufficient in most cases.

————

Anyway, the setting is indeed amazing. The characters, however, did not quite live up to the standards set by the worldbuilding.

Our protagonist Fatma el-Sha’arawi, “special investigator with the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities”is an already legendary badass despite only being in her mid-20s, who’s known for eschewing Ministry uniforms in favor of European-style men’s suits (and a bit too fixated on her looks in those suits, really). Her being on the force is the sign of tolerance and progress in this new Cairo — but there’s still room for improvement.

“Fatma had come to learn “It’s you” could mean a lot of things. It’s you, the sun-dark Sa’idi from some backwater village. It’s you, the woman who was all but a girl in their eyes that the Ministry had made a special investigator—and assigned to Cairo no less. It’s you, the strange agent who wore Western suits. A few others tended to get less polite. Egypt boasted its modernity. Women attended schools and filled its booming factories. They were teachers and barristers. A few months back, women had even been granted suffrage. There was talk of entering political office. But the presence of women in public life still unnerved many. Someone like her boggled the senses completely.”

The problem with Fatma, however, is the lack of competence that keeps showing at the most inconvenient times - something befitting her young age but contrary to her supposed skills and fame. We get a lot of time focusing on her snappy suits and romantic pursuits and less time on actually figuring the supernaturally-tinted mass immolation she’s tasked with solving. She’s obtuse and oblivious in the moments that call for sharpness, and if not for very willing witnesses step-by-step outlining where she needs to go and whom she needs to ask for information next she’d get absolutely nowhere in the investigation for which she’s not a match. She’s often unobservant and quick to pass judgment, and a terrible mentor to her new rookie partner, and despite her and her partner’s supposed shrewdness the investigation often feels like it’s trailing a few steps behind as the agents are a bit slow on the uptake. The clues were there but she could not piece the information together half a book after it became blatantly obvious.

Maybe that’s why she gets partnered up with a rookie who’s way too perfect for a twenty-something new inexperienced grad — an unflappable eager badass in martial arts, and with a cousin in every important governmental department.

And I found it pretty hard to care for Fatma. She just wasn’t a very compelling protagonist, despite the swagger and supposed badassery. I kept feeling like I’m really observing her from the distance. And that focus on her suits gave it less of a swagger vibe, honestly, and more of a parody feel. Maybe it’s supposed to show that she’s grounded in reality, as she alluded to in the end, but it seemed a bit too superficial and distracting.

“She’d even opted for a sensible suit—blue with a maroon tie and sturdy brown shoes. Playing the dandy would have to wait. Well, except for the gold tie pin and matching cuff links. Not to mention the bowler and cane. Did the violet pin-striped shirt count as dandy?”

—————

And the plot itself suffers a bit from bit too much messy scattering and a bit of a pacing inconsistencies.

Initially, while we are still on the murder investigation part, the pace is slow with a bit of padding. And then halfway through we hit turbo and the pace becomes truly frantic, and the stakes are steeply raised by quickly cramming a whole lot of disparate bits into the story that seems a bit extraneous and broadens the focus too much — and with the focus too broad things are left a bit unfinished. There are interesting bits and pieces that don’t quite come together into a seamless narrative. (International politics, for instance, came out of the left field here, and felt unneeded). And the stakes are progressively raised higher and higher — but the resolution for those was not worth of the buildup and happening a bit too anticlimatically and abruptly. The quick escalation from slowly paced murder mystery to save-the-world explosive scenario is a bit disorienting and a bit too much, and the villain’s hypothetical mustache-twirling and speechifying and ridiculous motivation is a bit too cartoonish, even if it's mocked within the story in a bit of self-awareness. Not to mention a few odd tonal changes in the last quarter or so, and a few parts in which authorial intentions felt a bit tacked on, like a box to be checked.

I suppose I would have preferred the slower pace to continue, to allow breathing room for development of not just Fatma and Hadia’s partnership and friendship but also for a bit more of an exploration of the world and side stories and characters: Siwi and Zagros, and Ahmad’s transformation into crocodile god, and tenuous coexistence of Islam and “idolatry” (especially in the light of Fatma and Siri’s relationship), and the female thieves gang outside of a single scene. And give me more of Hadia besides “badass in hijab” with endless cousins.

But the worldbuilding and lovely setting still manage to mostly make up for the flaws. Worldbuilding actually gets perfect marks, but uneven plot and somewhat underdeveloped characters do put a damper on things. And because of that, I have to settle on 3.5 stars — and curse GR for not giving that much-needed half-star option.

“What kind of investigator was this unaware of what was going on right in front of her eyes?”

—————

My reviews for other stories in this series: A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015 .

——————

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2022

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

There’s a lot of praises for A Master of Djinn online, and I can certainly understand why.

“Rich people always have enemies. Usually, that’s how they became rich.”

A Master of Djinn was never in my radar before this year. But after hearing about how well-loved it is frequently across social media—but still feel a bit apprehensive about jumping into the hype—I decided to finish reading the three prequel stories first to have a taste of whether I should give Clark’s debut novel a try or not. As you can probably guess, I felt like I should, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s not mandatory to read the three prequel stories in the Dead Djinn Universe series first before reading A Master of Djinn, but they’ll be beneficial. Plus, two of them are free to read, and all of them are great anyway.

Picture: A Master of Djinn by Kevin Hong



Al-Jahiz was one of the most famous men in history; fifty years ago, he transformed the world when he opened the veil between the magical and mundane realms then proceed to vanish. The year is now 1912, and when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to him, Agent Fatma receives the task to unravel the mystery behind this murder. To make things even worse, there’s a possibility that the murderer might be Al-Jahiz himself. It’s not a surprise that a lot of readers enjoyed A Master of Djinn; the whodunit premise was compelling, the pacing was superb, and Agent Fatma plus all the supporting characters were just delightful to read. I felt that the balance between mystery, humor, magic, and actions was achieved nicely.

“She thought to sit, but remembered her mother’s claim that the Prophet—peace be upon him—had once cut his own cloak rather than move a sleeping cat.”

Almost the entirety of the story was told through Fatma’s POV, but this never detracts the other supporting characters from having their own moment to shine. We’ve known of Fatma from A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and different from my expectation in a good way, Fatma isn’t as “brilliant at everything” as I thought she would be. She made mistakes, and despite how much she try her best to do everything on her own, she does need other people’s help to do her job. I also loved reading the mentor-apprentice development that she has with Hadia, and of course, the relationship that she has with Siti. If there’s anything that I wanted more of, it would be to have more of Hamed and Onsi (the two characters from The Haunting of Tram Car 015) appearances; I think they’re great side characters, and Onsi is always entertaining.

“They reached the dance floor just as the blare of a horn started. Siti spun as Fatma stepped forward, catching her waist and drawing her close, finding each other’s rhythm. The two shared knowing smiles, letting their movements do the talking. As far as Fatma was concerned, if this wasn’t magic, nothing was.”

If you’ve heard the reader’s praises for A Master of Djinn, you probably have heard about Clark’s world-building. The steampunk historical/alternate fantasy world that Clark has created in his Dead Djinn Universe felt superbly refreshing and immersive. There’s something about Clark’s accessible and well-written prose that made me feel like I was there in this mesmerizing alternate Cairo together with Fatma and the rest of the characters. The descriptions conjured vivid imagery; I could see the boilerplate eunuch, and I could almost taste the food and coffee that the characters were having.

“It is a terrible thing, this politics of being perceived as respectable. To be forced to view your frailties through the eyes of others. A terrible thing.”

Lastly, I would like to touch upon the one thing that genuinely surprised me; no spoilers, but the action scenes were so much better than I expected. Now, this isn’t an action-packed fantasy novel. The majority of the storyline revolves around investigations, character developments, and world-building. However, the last quarter of the novel was cinematic and impactful. Honestly, it’s gotten quite epic at the end. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially after considering that this is a fantasy series brimming with djinns, angels, technologies, and magic. But I’m genuinely impressed by Clark’s execution.

Picture: One of the interior artwork in A Master of Djinn Subterrenan Press edition by Kevin Hong



Whether it’s short stories, novella, or a novel, Clark has proven that he’s more than capable of telling a great narrative at any length. A Master of Djinn is a novel filled with so much charm; intriguing characters, a well-paced narrative, and fascinating world-building are all here. This is definitely a great debut, and I’m looking forward to reading the next installment in this series

“Usually the secrets we keep deep down, ain’t meant to hurt other people… Not saying they won’t but not through intentions. Those deep secrets, we hide away because we’re afraid what other people might think. How they might judge us, if they knew. And nobody’s judgment we scared of more than the one we give our hearts to.”

You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

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[S.A. Chakraborty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Wicked and sharp and wry, it's a fun mystery set in an alternative steampunk Cairo I could read an entire series about. Fatma and Hadia are my new favorite "grumpy mentor/wide-eyed rookie" pair

[Adina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dead Djinn Universe is amazing. I loved the previous two novellas set into this alternative 1912 Cairo filled with magic and interesting characters.

Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy but she is also one of their best agents. In this novel, she investigates the death of the entirety of a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz. He was the one who released magic into Egypt and the world. The murderer soon claims to be Al-Jahiz and to promote revolutionary ideas against oppression. And encouraging violence. The city is in turmoil and Fatma needs to find out who this person really is and how to stop him. She is helped by her girlfriend, Siti, and other characters that we met in the previous books.

I believe the authors does novellas much better than full length novels. This is his only true novel and it felt like he did not know what to do with the length. It added so much filler that, unfortunately, painted Fatma as an idiot who could not see what was obvious. I understand it was a gimmick to keep the plot going but I do not think is was handled that well. I still loved the book and the world so it is only a minor complain.

[Rebecca Roanhorse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful whodunnit full of sly commentary and a wonderfully lived-in steampunk Cairo. The story has the familiar trappings -- a mysterious supernatural murder, a detective to solve it, a rookie partner, clues and hindrances and a slowly unspooling plot -- which allows all the lovely details in this story to shine. I loved the world and the characters that inhabited it, both human and otherwise. Strong female cast, a nice (and important to the plot) queer romance, a gang of thieves, worshippers of the old Egyptian gods, djinn, clockwork angels, ancient manuscripts. The perfect read when I needed a break from this world to enjoy one wholly made from Clark's enviable imagination.

[Ola G · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10 stars

My full review is available on my blog.

Let me start this review by saying I that enjoyed Clark’s short stories set in the Dead Djinn Universe quite a lot; A Dead Djinn in Cairo was snappy and entertaining, offering a refreshing mix of ideas, and The Angel of Khan el-Khalili is a solid psychological story rooted in real events, showcasing Clark’s strengths in the short form. A Master of Djinn, on the other hand…

Yup, there’s no way around it: if not for NG I would have DNF’ed this book without a second’s hesitation. It was jumbled, incoherent, predictable, and boring. There are many reasons why I judge this book so harshly. First is probably the case of expectations versus reality: I really liked the short stories set in this universe and expected the novel to be more of the same, or even better. It was not to be.

All the strengths of the short stories: sharp focus, snappy dialogue propelling the action forward, tantalizing glimpses of the wonders of the magic-steam-punk world imagined in detail by the author, flawed but feisty heroines, here simply disappeared in a dreadfully formulaic set of events broken by irrelevant snippets of alternate history. I will say that out loud: I don’t care about dying Ottoman Empire, beset on all sides by magically enhanced countries. I don’t care about German goblins or French fairies, or Russian rusalkas (btw, seriously? We’re matching them by the name? Then Egypt should certainly have none of djinn, being overwhelmed by a contingent of Brazilian encantados instead). The major plot points of this book, such as the peace summit, were either immaterial to the whole, or bungled so badly they seemed immaterial. Yes, I can reason out the importance of a peace summit in 1912, with all European parties increasingly more willing to spill some blood and reshuffle the cards on the table or even change the game altogether. But my understanding doesn’t come from A Master of Djinn at all – rather, from my knowledge of history.

Ultimately, it seems to me that A Master of Djinn simply doesn’t know what it wants to be: a commentary on slavery and colonialism, a discussion with the Western idea of the Orient, a murder mystery (well, this one’s easy – the twist was obvious almost from the beginning, so no mystery at all), an Urban Fantasy novel a la Kate Daniels (certainly, Kate Daniels vibe was so strong at the beginning that it actually put me off this book for a while), or maybe a shot at making further use of the bunch of loose ends and conclusions from the earlier short stories – here not so much repurposed as regurgitated. It’s a book that suffers from too many disparate ideas; it would make a few good short stories, but as one novel it just disappoints.

I think good murder mysteries need not only to be less predictable than this, but also need to have a solid psychological background: we need to be able to understand the motivations of the villain and to empathize with the protagonist and solve the case along them. For me, both elements were missing. To add to this injury, the key elements of the overarching plot were lifted from A Dead Djinn in Cairo. The main McGuffin, as well as the behind-the-scenes-villains, even the repetition of last-minute chases and fights were all taken from the short story and enlarged – and Clark was aware of this fact enough to include a comment about the main duo’s recurring outfits in a piece of dialogue. Well, here’s the brutal truth. “The same, but on a bigger scale” doesn’t work. It just doesn’t.

[...]

While I had a hard time reading and finishing this book (and boy, did I struggle: I started reading this in the first days of May, and it took me 3 weeks to finish it, which for me is like forever!) and consider it a weak book, I think other readers might be more forgiving. It’s P. Djèlí Clark’s first novel, and I can imagine that the transition from the short form to long can be difficult. It is fragmented, jumbled, and lack the punch of the short stories, but it also has cool ideas, an interesting cast of supporting characters, and a lot potential to build upon in the future. And he has great covers!

I have received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

[JustJJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blog | Instagram

Rating: 4 stars

'A Master of Djinn' delivers a fun blend of fantasy, science fiction, mystery and action in an alternate 1912 Cairo.
Similar read: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
 
Cover: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
With its vibrant blue and yellow geometric pattern, this cover captures the lighthearted mystery and steampunk aspects of the story. The small illustrations also neatly depict several elements in the story.
 
Writing: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Vivid descriptions and a witty, descriptive writing style establish the story's vibrant setting and characters. Besides this, the intricate world is rich with culture, history, magic, advanced technologies and diverse creatures, which made it captivating despite the information dumps.

"Justice comes for the wicked in time. The scales of Thoth demand it."

Storyline: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
It took me a while to settle into this story due to the heavy world-building at the start. However, once the investigation started, constant bursts of action and rising stakes kept the storyline engaging. Themes such as sexism, colonialism and inequality were also smoothly explored as the story built to an epic climax and a satisfying ending.

Main character(s): 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Agent Fatma is introduced in action, nicely revealing her clever and fiercely independent nature. Her fashion sense and confidence in a society that is slowly accepting women in public roles added to her charm. However, while Fatma's internalised misogyny drives some character development, I needed a stronger arc and more depth to find her character compelling.
 
Secondary characters: 🌟🌟🌟
Several characters are given distinct personality traits and play significant roles that help drive the storyline. However, most seemed one-dimensional and experienced no growth, which made it difficult for me to care about them. Only Hadia really stood out to me with her cute yet tough nature and interesting dynamic with Fatma. 

"Usually the secrets we keep deep down ... we hide away because we're afraid what other people might think."

Romance: 🌟🌟🌟
Fatma's relationship with her girlfriend, Siti, provided some cute moments but added little to the storyline beyond this. The evolution of their relationship due to a revealed secret was also underwhelming, and I did not feel strongly moved by their connection.
 
Narration & Audio: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Suehyla El-Attar's natural inflexions, vocal variety and accents were perfect for the witty narrative and diverse characters.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

WINNER OF THE 57th ANNUAL NEBULA AWARD—BEST NOVEL!

WINNER OF THE 2022 LOCUS AWARD—BEST FIRST NOVEL! Watch the award ceremony here.

Enjoyable author interview at BookPage!

There are really terrific lines. There are Zack-Snyder-meets-Michael-Bay battle scenes. There is a majgicqk system that is more fun than three dozen djinn in a jar. The Ifrit Kings! What a gorgeous scene that will be in the film!

As I suspect y'all who haven't yet read the book are beginning to gather, this was a hit with me.

The best thing about blogging is I now don't have to worry about spoilers anymore, if you're still here and not heeding my recommendation to seek out the rest of the world-building bits of the story in order, it's not my problem! A magazine site would insist that I consider the spoilerphobic soul's delicate eyestalks. I won't spoil what I consider the bits that make the trip worth taking.

And that is a lot. There are so many things I absolutely felt as though I'd *combust* if I didn't have someone to talk about them to! But it really isn't fair to say what happened on the palace roof until you've been there.

So here's the stuff I want to let everyone know: at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning to the world of pre-WWI Cairo, Egypt, where Djinn coexist with humans, where there are old Egyptian gods (or at least their followers with a touch of the divine within them), and a host of wonderful crossovers right out of the pages of 1001 Arabian Knights, Steampunk novels, and good, old-fashioned modern UF, I have to say I'm loving every moment.

It took me a moment to get into the series, but it didn't take that long. The fact is, I like Fatma. She's got that Bowler hat and her investigation skills sharpened and the worldbuilding makes every second here worthwhile.

Better, it builds upon itself, staying nicely grounded while evoking a sense of things going completely out of control. Classic conflicts, but with a spin on it that I personally loved. (No spoilers.)

Suffice to say, I'm now officially hooked. I was into it before, but this full-sized novel made it perfect for me.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

god this was good. gonna read the novella just to feel something

[Overhaul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadie mejor que Fatma el-Sha’arawi para investigar la masacre de toda una hermandad secreta dedicada a al-Jahiz.

La agente más joven del Ministerio de Alquimia, Encantamientos y Entidades Sobrenaturales es famosa por sus trajes impecables, su audacia y su sorprendente habilidad para evitar la destrucción del universo.

Djinn, dioses sepultados, autómatas y ángeles, una cumbre internacional que se tambalea, asesinos, revueltas y en el centro de todo, Fatma, que contará con su pericia, la ayuda de la misteriosa Siti y el apoyo del Ministerio para contener el caos imperante en Egipto.

"El Señor de los Djinn" ha recibido el premio Nebula a mejor novela en 2021, el premio Locus como mejor primera novela y el premio Alex.

Este volumen contiene "Muerte de un Djinn en El Cairo" el primer relato ambientado en este universo y también protagonizado por Fatma, además de un glosario y detalles ilustrados preparados en exclusiva para esta publicación.

Lamentablemente.. 2,5 ⭐️

Lectura que no ha llegado a ser satisfactoria para mi en lo que denominaríamos "Fantasía Steampunk". No tengo demasiadas flores y halagos. Las que tengo son importantes y prometen de cara a futuras obras del autor.

El libro peca de hacerse largo. P. Djèlí Clark se defendió mejor en los relatos. Siendo su primera novela me ha faltado cierto equilibrio.

La historia está bien pensada. Como su mundo es interesante pero peca de previsible. Algunos momentos se hacen largos sin aportar nada que sea relevante para mí hay hasta que sobran. Si bien la historia de la trama como las ideas del autor son interesantes, no han sido integradas y llevadas de una manera que hayan despertado mi interés o mis ganas de seguir. Por momentos se veía venir.

Lo mejor sin duda es la ambientación. Lo que rodea a nuestra protagonista. Los lugares, la tecnología, djinn y otros seres. Una aceptable lectura.

Será para muchos satisfactoria y para otros será maravillosa. Recomiendo sus relatos como manera de catar al autor.

Por desgracia el nivel aceptable no es un buen nivel para mi, es un nivel que se puede y espero que se mejore. Con este autor creo que así será.

Pero no fue lo que esperaba. Tenía mis dudas ya que estando en el formato relatos de no más de 100 páginas, abriendo el abanico hacia una novela temía que no llegase a un equilibrio idóneo entre la trama, su longitud, y captar tanto interés como enganche.

Llegó un momento que desconecté de la trama y no cogía al libro con ganas. Un problema de enganche que dificultó su lectura.

La agente Fatma tiene la misión de investigar una masacre sobrenatural de unos miembros de una hermandad secreta dedicada a Al-Jahiz, el famoso místico que abrió los reinos trayendo a los djinn. Y supuestamente muerto hace mucho tiempo. Hasta que llega alguien enmascarado que dice ser el mismísimo Al-Jahiz.

En la sociedad de El Cairo, su tajante mensaje de justicia cae en terreno fértil. Y Fatma se enfrentará a más que una simple investigación por asesinato. La ciudad está al borde del caos.

A través de los cuentos de Djèlí ya conocerás a estos personajes, si no, no te preocupes, aquí te los presenta de nuevo. Tiene un detalle que los relatos no alcanzan, por razones obvias, tienen la muy meticulosa construcción del mundo que consigue embaucar en sus relatos, pues aquí también. Soberbia.

Otro factor es el desarrollo de los personajes y las relaciones entre ellos. Sin tirar cohetes.

Esta historia de misterio y fantasía steampunk ambientado en un Egipto donde décadas antes abrieron una puerta, los Djins llegaron aquí y el mundo entero tal como lo conocemos cambió. Le dieron a Egipto un lugar diferente en el mundo.

La construcción del mundo en esta novela es lo mejor del libro, excelente. Por lo que espero, aunque esta trama quede cerrada, la próxima entrega y aventuras de estos personajes.

Pero..

Con ciertos aspectos más pulidos en lo que es la novela y no los relatos. Un mundo mágico y diferente donde antiguas religiones están regresando. La magia que crea este libro con cada uno de sus lugares es su aspecto más especial. Falta que me despierte un punto más de enganche e interés por la trama.

Me han fallado cosas que como lector son importantes para disfrutar y engancharme. Le ha restado mucho a un libro con sus luces brillantes y prometedoras pero unas profundas sombras..✍️

[Spencer Orey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read for my book club. I still loved it, except for the prologue.

I loved this book. It was super smart with historical worldbuilding and cultural politics and also somehow really accessible as a fun magic detective story. Great magic and magical creatures and a fantastic world.

[K.J. Charles]

I was really looking forward to this as the world is genius and I adored the short stories, but the full novel didn't quite click for me. Perhaps because it's a mix of mystery and fantasy thriller, and we had a lot of setting up of the mystery element, with clues and red herrings, which I thought slowed the first half down. It worked a lot better for me once the adventure/fantasy element hit its stride and Fatma was able to act rather than react.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.45645896 stars.

I nearly DNFed a P. Djèlí Clark story. I NEARLY DNFed a P. Djèlí Clark story. Life will never be the same.



This experience is traumatizing enough as it is so I'll cut the crap to the chase and stuff.

① This book is 396 pages, which is about 200 pages too long. If Clark is going to ramble on and on and on and on and 💤💤💤 like this every time he writes a full-length story then I’d rather he stuck to shorts and novellas as he used to in the past. Yes, this world is fascinating, but Clark gets so lost in it that he forgets his plot for pages at a time and the book is filled to the brim with pointless information that adds absolutely nothing to the story.

② The mystery itself is a disjointed, chaotic mess. Not to mention that it is ludicrously predictable. The identity of the culprit is obvious from the start. (The fact that I—aka the person who usually displays worse detecting skills than an sleep-deprived, anaemic barnacle—guessed who the culprit was so early on should tell you something. Yes it should.) Oh, and the villainous villain’s evil plan is ridiculously convoluted, too. All in all, you could say that this really is quite a fascinating, well-plotted mystery. Then again maybe not.

③ My girlfriend Fatma obviously underwent a lobotomy since we last met. She’s become a one-dimensional moron, crappy as fish investigator whose sole personality trait seems to be her obsession for tailored suits. But hey, it’s not all bad. When she’s not busy picking her outfits fighting crime she spends her time stressing over her new paramour as if she were a bloody teenager! Yay and stuff!

So Time for some quick maths:

① + ② + ③ =



To be continued. Or not. All depend on the length of the next installment in this serie it probably shall.

· Book 0.5: A Dead Djinn in Cairo ★★★★★
· Book 0.6: The Angel of Khan el-Khalili ★★★★
· Book 0.7: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 ★★★★

[Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷 Support me ☕

“That was the thing a lot of people didn’t understand. Magic abhorred imbalance. And always exacted a price.”

The Angel of Khan El-Khalili ★★★ 1/2
A Dead Djinn in Cairo ★★★★
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 ★★★★
A Master of Djinn ★★★★ 1/4

I was always interested in this series as soon as I saw its cover a while ago, the fact that it is also set in Egypt and inspired by Middle Eastern mythology were all points that made me eager to read it. However, I was hesitant because of the steampunk genre which I am not a big fan of and because this is book number 3 in the series but I am really glad I finally read this one.

This is book three in the series because there are stories set in the same world before this one but they are not full novels but two short stories and a novella and after they found much success, the author decided to write a full novel in the world which is A Master of Djinn. It can be read without reading the previous books but I would recommend reading them in order because it would enhance the experience for sure!

“I don’t have sad tales to tell you. I’m not some tragic character from a story, lost between two worlds. I revel in who I am. What I am.”

So the story is a mix of a lot of things but I think of it as a detective story set in a steampunk fantasy world. The main character, Fatma is detective a working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities and she’s investigating the murder of a brotherhood dedicated to Al-Jahiz, the man who literally changed the world when he opened the world into other realms and spiced things up. The problem is that the murderer looks to be Al-Jahiz himself!

The characters are great, we have Fatma as the main character and her friend Siti and her new assistant Hadia. We also have other detectives like Hamed (Not to be confused with Hamad AKA me) and although we get glimpses of the characters in the shorter stories, their characterization was best in this book! I loved that Fatma was a normal human, she was good at her job but she is not perfect. Hadia is one of the best Hijabi characters I ever read and for once, the author did not have to make her feel oppressed by her Hijab. The other characters were all well written too.

The thing that stands most in this book is the world-building! I just can’t get enough of this world and I am officially addicted. I don’t think I ever read anything similar before and for once, I felt represented properly in a book -although I am not Egyptian but the culture and mythology are very similar- it was heartwarming to see names that I hear on a daily basis in the book and then there are Arabic words throughout the book that were well used without butchering the translation (Wallahi, Tarboosh, Ya Lahwi …etc)

I did not expect to love the world building because of the steampunk element but it was simply amazing. The angels are kind of metallic creatures, there are boilerplate eunuchs too but other than that we have Ifrit and Djinn and Gods and other cool stuff that all comes together beautifully.

“Why do these colonizers always claim what isn’t theirs?”

The plot is entertaining, I can’t say the mystery part was the best out there because it was predictable. If you have read a few detective stories then the identity of the murderer would be quite obvious but it still did not affect my enjoyment of the story.

Summary: I am really happy I finally got to read this series! With the great prose interspersed with humor, relatable characters and unique world-building, I will be certainly looking for whatever the author comes up with next and I am thankful for the author for making me feel well represented for once in my life!

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man do I love this world!! P Djeli Clark is such a master of evoking a world and a *vibe* that creates such a vivid picture in my head. While I do think that this does have some bumps in the road in terms of him transitioning from shorter fiction to his first full length novel re: pacing (this one does feel a bit over full and like a bunch of novellas pieced together), I still loved the time I spent with Fatma as she takes on the challenge of a new partner at work and tries to figure out what in the world she's going to do with Siti. The mystery plot was fun (not too surprising but I had a good time) and the character work was A+. All around, can't wait to keep reading in this series!!

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man, I wanted to like this way more than I ended up.

The world, the characters, and the universe that Clark has created is unique. No doubt there; the excellent blending of steampunk and magic is perfect. I'm not fond of steampunk all that much, so this is, for me, high praise.

The previous short stories had me hooked, but in this one, unfortunately, the actual plot/mystery to be solved was rather one-dimensional and stereotypical "cop drama". I don't read those books, and a third of the way through, I'd pegged the perp.

Clark's writing style and prose aren't at fault either. I just wanted something more magical or more involved than the plot was.

The world is a fascinating place, and I kept wishing, much like the previous short stories, that the mystery would involve this fantastic world more. Don't get me wrong; it did involve magic etc. It was just unfortunately predictable.

It gets an extra star for the world-building and as a sign of faith that Clark, hopefully in the next volume, will shake off the restraints of " regular" detective plot lines and dive headfirst into this fantastic alternate Egypt he's created!

[Khalid Abdul-Mumin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatma el-Sha'arawi is a Special Agent with the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities and she follows a mysterious lead on a gruesome carnage of murders that suspiciously implicates a long lost mystic... or is it the work of a very powerful and brutal imposter?

Decadent and elaborate myth-making, awesome oriental mysticism and magic, and a fabulous and meticulously detailed world-building. Great writing and truly lifelike characters coupled with an intriguing plotline with hints of noir mystery set in a fantastic steampunk alternate Cairo, of 1912...Everything checks (except for some slight pacing issues).

It is about 40 years after the Soudanese mystic and seer, al-Jahiz, the greatest sorcerer the world had yet seen, pierced the Kaf, the veil that lies between and beneath the mundane and mortal realms and those of the magical and arcane, releasing fantastical creatures of myth and lore to walk unimpeded within our realm forever changing the sociopolitical, economical and anthropological dynamics of the fledgling powers at the end of the 19th Century.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every single offering within the Dead Djinn Universe, and I give my highest recommendation to it for enthusiasts of Urban Fantasy and Steampunk that enjoy a unique experience of original and own-worldbuilding meshed with Islamic and Oriental mythology and lore, executed by a talented author.

This and many more awesome, thoughtful and spoiler free reviews and entertainment at littafi.com.

2023 Read

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

El Cairo en un pasado alternativo, ucrónico y steampunk, en el que Egipto es una país hegemónico gracias a la magia y a los djinn, criaturas sobrenaturales con poderes mágicos que conviven con los humanos sobre todo en Egipto.

Y con esta más que atractiva ambientación de base nos mete el autor en una trama en la que un fulano con aparentes poderes mágicos achicharra a una especie de logia filantrópica ubicada en esa ciudad. Y lo investiga la agente Fatma, egipcia ella pero que viste con impecables trajes ingleses, y una de las muy pocas agentes del Ministerio Egipcio de Alquimia, Encantamientos y Entidades Sobrenaturales. Y como al autor no le va lo porcentualmente mayoritario, pues además la guapa y aguerrida agente tiene novia, con “a”. O amante o algo así.

Con esos mimbres esperaba un cesto de la ostia. SI es que cada una de las palabras de los dos párrafos anteriores debiera hacer relamerse por anticipado a cualquier lector de Fantasía, leñe. Y yo me relamía. Y me relamía. Y encima el mal bicho de Over decía que los relatos cortos del autor eran MUY buenos. Y ahí que empiezo yo el libro emocionadito.

Y con esos mimbres me hace un cesto de los baratos, de los que usas pero se te rompen, de los que tiene buena pinta pero no cumplen.

Fatal, autor, desaprovechar esa ambientación que te habías marcado.

Pues eso, que la ambientación es soberbia pero falla lo demás. Los personajes cumplen yo diría que bien. Los secundarios me han gustado mucho. Con varios clichés pero oye, bien, les perdono. El final es acorde, ni bueno ni malo. Encaja.

Donde la cosa se va al carajo es en la trama, mas simple que el mecanismo de un chupete y con giros de guión que se ven venir a lo lejos.

El desarrollo de la misma, eso que esperamos que nos atrape y nos enganche de principio a fin, pues tb mal. Desde el 20% más o menos, cuando ya me ha desplegado la gran ambientación, tenía ganas de acabar. Y eso es el epitafio de un libro. “Tenía ganas de acabar” es demoledor y es lo que sentía.

Ah!, sí, que me da rabia que metan el concepto de steampunk para darle aliciente y luego no pinte nada en la novela. Que por decir en la novela que la sociedad tiene dirigibles y mecanismos de relojería y que es 1912 no se consigue el calificativo de steampunk.

Resumen: que dicen que el autor es muy bueno en relatos (hay uno al comienzo del libro) y que tiene que mejorar en esta transición a la novela. Cuando mejore realmente me llamáis y volveré con él. 5/10 y no l subo ni una décima. Y no me digáis que lea sus relatos, que ese formato no es de mi gusto.

De las novelas multipremiadas(está lo es como ya sabréis) mejor no hablamos, que ya nos hemos quejado bastante.

Me voy con Bujold. En ingles desgraciadamente, pero Bujold.

[J (Midnight Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, P. Djèlí Clark weaves an absolutely stunning fantasy world.

Plot: Seriously, this world is so enchanting. It’s one of those books where the setting kind of becomes the plot because every moment you are unsure what magic is going to pop up next. The blend of genres is seamless and was able to captivate even my short, impatient attention span.
Characters: I will say that I had a slight problem with the repetitiveness of certain characters. I saw it mentioned in another review that Fatma was pretty much boiled down to her love of suits, which I think is accurate. I wish that there had been less emphasis on one single definition trait for the MCs. However, I still liked them.
Overall: I have enjoyed the entirety of the Dead Djinn universe, and don’t want to come off too critical. The world building alone will make me read any future books in this series. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a gorgeously told and vivid story!
Content warnings: murder, violence

Click here for the full review on my blog!

*ARC received in exchange for honest review

[H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Egypt of 1912, but not quite the Egypt that you have learned about in history books. Yes, there is a European presence but not the domination of locals that both Britain and France exerted during this period. Why? Because in Clark’s world a master of the supernatural, al-Jahiz, has broken through the barrier that has kept creatures like the Djinn apart from humans (for the most part) and they are now in Cairo side by side with “us.”
Our perspective is mostly through a woman who is part of the “liberated” vanguard, Fatma el-Sha’arawi. She has already distinguished herself at the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Those who have been reading Clark have met her before.
But with all of her talent and intelligence she may be out of her depth with the challenge that she and her colleagues face.
Those who already are familiar with the author are prepared for a deep dive into history and culture. This book does not disappoint as we are shown elements from before the Fatimids to the “current” Ottoman dynasty. There is no “spoon feeding” so you may want to have an encyclopedia or dictionary to help you know what to expect when someone points a kabed at another. Here is a typical paragraph: “His Sa’idi accent didn’t hold a hint of Cairene. With that long gallabiyah and sandals he could have stepped right out of her village. ‘Wallahi,…you don’t even come home to sleep in the afternoon like a civilized person…that’s no good for the circulation.’”
And there are all sorts of clothing from those gallabiyahs to kaftans, to hijabs of all colors and designs that, perhaps, were significant. A tarboosh or an animal skin might denote rank. Then there are the djinn and “angels” and alchemy and enchantments to be woven into the plot.
But why was Lord Worthington, an important foreign Basha, killed. Did it have anything to do with a pending alliance between the Kaiser and the Ottoman Emperor? Who are the Brotherhood of al-Jahiz? And, what path with Fatma choose as she explores Cairo and its environs searching for the truth?
Fans of Clark will be happy to note that this book provides a little conjunction of his New Orleans and Nile venues, thus: “The sudden roll of a snare sizzled the air, joined by the faster pace of palms hitting darbukas. It hadn’t taken long for that New Orleans music to blend with local styles – as if the two were reunited kin.”
I would not recommend that, if you haven’t read any of Clark, you begin with this book. It might be too overwhelming. Better to start with A Dead Djinn in Cairo
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
or The Haunting of Tram Car 015
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
or even The Black God’s Drums (though that isn’t about Egypt)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For those that are prepared for A Master of Djinn, this book is a particular challenge and treat as Clark takes us back and forth: between the Egypt of history and the Egypt of imagination; between the humorous and the poignant.
“I am sorry all of this has happened to you, agent.” He offered his cigarette.
Fatma hesitated, then accepted, taking a long pull. The tobacco smoke swirled in her nostrils, reaching her tongue – and she gagged. She could probably count the times she’d ever smoked a cigarette on one hand. But this was by far the worst. “This is awful. It tastes like….”
“Stale feet?” he suggested.
“Why do you smoke them if they’re so bad?”
“They don’t call it a habit for nothing.”
…
“You really believe there’s a” – she fumbled at the word – “god, living inside you?”
“A bit of a god. A drop to an ocean…”
“What’s happening to you now, is it your choice? Or something being done to you, by your” – she fumbled again – “god?”
….”When you have faith, it really doesn’t matter.”

Can Fatma save Cairo (and, perhaps the world) by quickly ascertaining who among the human and supernatural beings hold the facts and clues essential to knowing what is going on and the being(s) behind it all? Highly entertaining. 4.5*

[Gerhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you steal, steal a camel, she heard her mother whisper. And if you love, love the moon.

‘Go big or go broke’ seems to be P. Djèlí Clark’s motto in his first novel-length foray into the world of ‘A Dead Djinn in Cairo’ and the Nebula-winning ‘The Haunting of Tram Car 015’. All feature Fatma el-Sha’arawi, an investigator at the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in a steampunk version of Cairo. And no, you don’t have to have read the preceding novellas. Although previous events are alluded to, this is done skilfully enough to satisfy the fans but not alienate new readers.

Apart from the ‘boilerplate eunuch’ automatons that serve as general dogsbodies, it is a relief that Egypt’s star is ascending while that of England, and the Empire she used to represent, is definitely on the wane. Heavens, this alternate version of Cairo even favours women’s suffrage and social equity, among other radical ideas (such as the fact that Fatma is a lesbian, and eschews the traditional policewoman’s uniform for a different suit on almost every page, it seems.)

Here Fatma is teamed up with the innocent, orthodox and thoroughly out-womaned Hadia, who is nevertheless determined to get into her mentor’s good graces. Not an easy task that, especially as Fatma goes out of her way to be as inscrutable as she is unapproachable. But the reader loves her anyway.

While I loved the world-building here and Clark’s clever allusions to realpolitik, the main plot unfortunately is pretty pedestrian. It starts out as a whodunnit that begins when a mysterious cult is murdered in rather outrageous fashion by the return of the master magician they supposedly venerate. It then morphs into a rote ‘save the world’ scenario when Fatma and Hadia’s (rather haphazard) pursuit of the suspected murderer unleashes more mayhem and histrionics than they had bargained for.

Well, more than the entire city of Cairo had bargained for, which gets trampled underfoot by rampaging legions of warring djinn and proto gods like something out of a Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay co-production. Given that the stakes are so high in the first novel, it will be interesting to see what direction Clark takes his world in next.

I would have loved for a few quiet chapters where Fatma and Siti simply strolled through the sights and sounds of this utterly captivating Cairo, allowing the reader to just soak in the magic and romance of the indelible fantasy world that Clark has conjured up.

Interestingly, this reminded me of ‘Network Effect’, the first full-length novel in the highly successful Murderbot series by Martha Wells, which I also found to be over-plotted. Given the lean-and-mean nature of the novella format, it seems as if both Clark and Wells let it go to their heads a bit and throw in everything, including the kitchen sink. More is sometimes not necessarily better, or even preferred.

Still, if you are a fan of Clark in general and Fatma in particular, there is lots to enjoy and admire here. It is not a spoiler to reveal that, of course, she saves the world in the end. Just a pity she and her friends aren’t afforded the opportunity to enjoy it a bit more before it goes up in djinn-induced fire and brimstone.

[lady h · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, gang, i've found my favorite book of the year

[Allison Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Clark really excels at making worlds. I just love how they find interesting, less-witnessed points in time and then populates them with...people. And makes them fun! The story is just great, refreshing fun!

CONTENT WARNING: sexism, homophobia, colorism, racism, xenophobia, enslavement, coercion of will, mass murder, body horror/mutilation

Things to love:

-The world. Every single story of his I've read makes it exceptionally clear that he knows that all permutations of humanity have been here for thousands of years at the very least, and challenges the idea of books being "of their time" when we have so much scholarship showing people who were "ahead of their time" were actually very much indicative of their generational group. The scholarship or imagination (I really can't say which) makes it feel very fleshed out and vibrant, and the changes he includes in that world make sense throughout.

-The characters. I don't know, man, they're just...fun. I just wanna hang out with them. They're funny and smart but dumb in interesting ways. I think I'd like to go to a seminar they taught, or buy them a round in a bar. (Sarsaparilla with mint and tea!)

-The magic. I think he blends them so well. Sort of the new standard of historical urban fantasy. Is that a thing? I guess kind of.

-NOT A NEW ROMANCE. Okay, I still don't really care, but I do want to draw attention to a romance that isn't new in this book! It can be done and still be...sexy? I guess that's why people like romances? Sweet? I don't know, I read the story beat, I receive no joy from the scenes, but I get they're supposed to make readers feel a way, and stylistically this seemed like the new romance kissing books, except it wasn't new. Okay, definitely overplayed this. Moving on.

-The humor. I laughed out loud by myself in my house when we got to the djinn lifting each other up. A few other times too, but that scene in particular...really strong comedy in terms of technique.

Things I didn't love:

-A bit obvious. Fatma knows better than that. Kinda done her dirty to suggest otherwise.

-The bad guy is the colonialism we found along the way. A bit cartoony. I get so frustrated! Someone who is skilled at rendering reality into fiction can flay you and make you thank them for it. I know he could have done it! There's so much to unpack in the over the top white villain. And I think I get why it is the way it is, and I accept that's not a call I get to make, but I'm always appreciative when I see it done in keeping with the artistic style of the other choices made.

-The narrator. I didn't dislike her. But it is sort of hard to listen to people who can't do an accent well then do that accent a lot.

I continue to be impressed. Can't wait for the next one!

[Silvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the previous novellas set in this alt world - djinns and humans living side by side and colonization in Africa was thwarted because of the djinns - so I was really looking forward to the full length novel. Imagine my shock when Tor approved my ARC request - which is very rare since I don't have any blog or youtube or anything beside GR. Anyway, Fatma is a fun lead character, she's competent (but not perfect) and her style is impeccable. Yeah, I think it's a nice touch, her fashion sense. And so much girl power here, especially since she got herself a partner, Hadia, who's also a competent agent, very handy with the sword and her wide network. I love reading about female partnership (in work place especially) since it is rare in the usual SFF works I read. Do let me know if you find another good one.

The book's a rollercoaster ride, but it is also packed with lots of background, not just culture - I assume most of them like food are real - but also some history. I haven't brushed up my 1912 world history knowledge but what do I know that in the real world, it was a troubled time and a prelude of the First World War. So, like the suffrage movement in the one of the previous novellas, there were some politics in play here, intertwined with the action-packed scenes of insane djinn (and whatnots) magic. I think it'll make a good TV show or movie, who knows.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75ish stars.

One of my favorites from 2021, finished just in time before the new year. Loved it.

[Bbrown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is very long, so here it is in a nutshell: Clark's previous two novellas were too short to say whether he is a good writer or just someone who had come up with a good setting. A Master of Djinn is a long enough work to answer that question, and unfortunately what this novel shows is that Clark is subpar when it comes to characterization, writes boring cookie-cutter relationships instead of ones that feel realistic, and can't craft a plot that makes sense. Furthermore, it seems like he hasn't actually thought through his setting, or at least he's failed to communicate the rules of his setting effectively. I'm very unlikely to read anything by Clark going forward, and give this book a 2/5.

One thing to know before starting A Master of Djinn is that Clark's previous novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, which introduces the setting of a 1912 Cairo filled with the supernatural, is basically required reading. Otherwise, while you'll eventually figure out what's going on, certain things will likely be confusing and events will not be as emotionally impactful. For instance, in the book's first chapter a character appears claiming to be al-Jahiz returned, but A Master of Djinn doesn't do a good job at explaining just how big of a deal this is: al-Jahiz is basically Magic Jesus, which you know if you've read A Dead Djinn in Cairo but don't really get from the earlier pages of A Master of Djinn. On the other hand, A Master of Djinn describes so many events that happen in A Dead Djinn in Cairo that by the end of the book I felt like I'd been forced to reread half of that novella. It's possible to catch up new readers without dumping information in a way that would be repetitive to returning readers, but Clark does not pull this off here.

Reading A Dead Djinn in Cairo is also helpful in that it introduces you to many of the main characters in A Master of Djinn, but they are all so simple that you’ll grasp them quickly enough. Our protagonist Fatma is a decorated agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities who dresses in ostentatious Western suits. Clark clearly wants you to believe that she is highly competent, but he unintentionally portrays her as a bit of an idiot on multiple occasions. Fatma is introduced “undercover” trying to buy a bottled Djinn in a seedy bar filled with Cairo criminals. I put “undercover” in quotes because the narrative reveals that Fatma is wearing one of her signature suits while trying to make this deal. This is an agent whose picture has appeared in the paper and who has a very distinct look, but she doesn’t even try to disguise herself. This makes her seem incompetent and arrogant. Later on, Fatma and her new & supposedly very capable partner Hadia have to look up basic information on al-Jahiz. I know that this is for the benefit of the reader, but the book has established that al-Jahiz is the “most famous man in modern memory” so the fact that Fatma and Hadia have to look up this information instead of already knowing about him makes them both seem incredibly ignorant or dumb.

The contradictory characterization of Fatma and Hadia isn’t replicated with the other characters, likely because most of the other characters are so one-dimensional that there’s nothing to contradict. This is now the second work I’ve read by Clark featuring the character Hamed, and he has so little characterization that he might as well be renamed Fellow Agent. There are some characters that have more going on like Siti, but they are the exception and none have much depth. Because these characters are so flat, it’s not very interesting when they interact, and their relationships do not feel realistic either. Even the relationship between main characters Fatma and Hadia feels fake, for instance in a scene where Hadia yells at Fatma, Fatma responds “[y]ou practice that?” which for some reason makes Hadia laugh. The thing is, this response makes no sense. Hadia yelling at Fatma is totally justified, as Fatma has been treating her poorly for the entirety of their partnership, so Fatma responding dismissively once again wouldn’t have somehow dispelled the tension. Clark is essentially referencing scenes you’ve seen in other media of two female best friends fighting and making up, but it doesn’t work here because no friendship between Fatma and Hadia has been established. The relationships in A Master of Djinn are at best boring and at worst nonsensical. None felt realistic and I wasn’t invested in any of them.

Speaking of nonsensical, let’s talk about the plot. As I understand it, by the end of the book the villain is revealed to have three different plans: First, to kill her father and somehow get rid of her brother so that she becomes the heir to her family’s business empire. Second, to start a war by disrupting a peace summit so that she can profit from selling weapons, as she has restructured her family’s company to focus entirely on manufacturing tools for war. Third, to take over the world using a magic ring that controls all Djinn with the help of super Djinn summoned from another dimension. Do you see how the first two plans are just stupid, considering the third? If you accomplish the third plan, the other two are irrelevant! Even if you want to do all three things for some reason, once you’ve accomplished the third plan it seems you can complete all the remaining parts of the first two plans as easy as pie. Instead, the villain inexplicably tries to accomplish all three plans at once. Furthermore, the villain goes about trying to complete the plans in supremely stupid and illogical ways. To briefly summarize the actions of the villain Abigail Worthington (who you can guess is the villain very far in advance if you’re paying even the tiniest sliver of attention), she (1) steals the magic seal, (2) uses it to start work on a giant robot, (3) directs her father’s company to start making weapons, (4) lures her brother back home with a fake note to frame him for her father’s murder, (5) kills her father and his brotherhood using magical fire, (6) tells Fatma a story about a man in a golden mask, (7) appears impersonating al-Jahiz in a golden mask throughout the city to stir up the city’s underclass, (8) attacks the Ministry to destroy its artificial brain and steal the Clock of Worlds, (9) tries to frame her brother by giving Fatma her deceased father’s ledger that contains information about the magic seal, (10) attacks the peace summit. Later, when confronted by Fatma who was able to find out about the seal and that Abigail is the villain thanks to following up on clues contained in the ledger that Abigail intentionally gave her, Abigail (11) activates the giant robot that now has the Clock of Worlds inside it and walks it to the palace, where she finally (12) opens up a portal to summon the super Djinn. If you are trying to accomplish your third plan, the only plan that actually matters, how many of the items are necessary? Even assuming that the portal can only be opened at the palace, which seems to be a direct contradiction to the plot of A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and even if a giant robot is the best way to get the Clock of Worlds there instead of, I don’t know, a truck or something, only items 1, 2, 8, 11, and 12 are necessary. All the other items make people suspicious, put people on your trail, and in general make the odds of you completing your third plan worse. Even if you wanted to accomplish other items, like 5, why not use your magic to make it appear to be an actual fire, one that wouldn’t be investigated by the Ministry? I have to imagine that normal fires still occur so frequently that not every one is examined for magical causes. I suppose you couldn’t frame your brother for killing your father then, but you have control of Djinn so you could remove him easily in a dozen other ways.

Here’s an alternative plan: steal the magic seal. Construct your giant robot in your basement, because apparently neither your father nor any of his asshole friends that come over for occult dinner parties are curious enough about the metal banging to figure out what’s causing it. When your robot is complete except for the Clock of Worlds, which you’ve somehow heard about (I guess we’re supposed to just assume a Djinn told her about it I’m pretty sure it’s never explained), then you infiltrate the Ministry using illusion magic, for instance with the help of the illusion Djinn that the book introduces, maybe on a Friday when the book establishes that the Ministry is almost entirely empty except for a library Djinn that you can control. This way you can grab the Clock of Worlds without the Ministry even realizing it. Or, if for some reason the mechanical brain of the Ministry would have stopped that theft by stealth (it truly boggles my mind that it’s never explained why Abigail spent so much effort to destroy the mechanical brain), then at least you can launch a completely surprise attack on the Ministry. Either way now you have the Clock of Worlds and can add it to your giant robot. No one has any reason to suspect your identity because you were in disguise when you got the Clock, so no one can find the thief. Then on some random night at like 3 o’clock in the morning you have your giant robot walk to the palace and open up the portal to summon your super Djinn, and boom, you’re done! If you want to kill your father and have riches beyond your wildest dreams, go ahead! You’re the ruler of the most powerful entities in the world, you can do that with the snap of a finger! What you DON’T do is kill people in your house where you’re making your giant robot so that the magic cops come to investigate, and you DON’T perform magic shows all over the city so that people think Magic Jesus has come back and are on high alert, and you DON’T become chatty with the agent trying to solve the murders you’ve committed, and even if you do become chatty you DON’T give the agent a ledger that allows the agent to learn about the magic seal you stole and that ultimately allows her to unravel your plans. Jesus Christ that was long. My point is, the plot is a damn mess, more than half of the villain’s actions make no sense, and the only reason why so many things happen is for the protagonist to confront the villain and to eventually solve the case, as without the villain’s nonsensical actions our hero wouldn’t have stood a chance.

To state something fairly obvious, a good story is generally one where characters that behave like real people, and whose actions are consistent with their characterization, interact with each other in realistic ways. The different motivations of the characters cause them to come into conflict, but each character acts in an understandable way given their individual motivations. In A Master of Djinn, in contrast, flat characters that do not behave like real people, and whose actions are at times inconsistent with their characterization, interact with each other in boring or unrealistic ways. The different motivations of the characters cause them to come into conflict, but certain characters act in very irrational ways given their motivations for the sake of having boilerplate action scenes, chase scenes, and heroes confronting villains. The book’s ending is the culmination of all of the book’s flaws, and is also a hodgepodge of scenes ripped off of movie blockbusters from Ghostbusters to the Avengers to Lord of the Rings. Some lines made me literally role my eyes. It’s a fitting capstone to a bad book.

What makes the work especially bad is that the book’s setting, unquestionably the strongest element not only of A Master of Djinn but also of the previous two novellas set in this universe, continues to be vague and unexplained to the point of being frustrating. My understanding is that the rift that al-Jahiz opened up made the entire world “porous” with other realms so as to allow entities like Djinn to come over into our dimension. But are humans able to cross over to the other dimensions as well? And was there always some amount of porousness, since all the creatures that come over are part of our folktales and mythology, indicating that they’ve been here before? Why do Djinn, who are so much more powerful than people, deign to work for human institutions and take commands from humans? The book makes it clear that modern technology is not as powerful as the Djinn, and that they are in fact technologically superior, so why do they allow us to be equals with them, considering that the more powerful ones see us as no better than monkeys or insects? And how has the United States tried to suppress the supernatural if it is more powerful? My point is I’ve read three works set in this universe and I still have only a vague idea of the rules of the setting, and that indicates to me that Clark either hasn’t actually figured out the rules of the setting or hasn’t effectively communicated them to the readers. If he does have answers but has chosen to hide them, fine, but I’m done looking for them after this book.

Finally, and briefly, A Master of Djinn features social issues but doesn’t really address them, much less say anything interesting about them. In its universe, with the advent of magic, 1912 Egypt has become as progressive as the modern day United States, even though in reality homosexuality is still a crime in Egypt and there were mass arrests on that basis within the last five years. In contrast, the United States of A Master of Djinn has become even more racist than it actually was in 1912, and Clark doesn’t attempt to explain why magic had that diametrically opposite effect in the two locations. This book doesn’t lose any points from me for having social issues as window dressing, but it certainly doesn’t gain any from me either. It would have been potentially interesting if Clark had actually tried exploring any issues, but, given the quality of the rest of the book’s aspects, maybe it’s better that he didn’t.

To end this ridiculously long review, A Master of Djinn gave Clark a big enough canvas to showcase his writing chops. Instead it showcases his lack of them. The setting has a lot of potential, but Clark isn’t a writer capable of realizing that potential. I expect he’ll explore the setting more in his future works, but regardless this is the end of the line for me. 2/5.