I had seen amazing reviews about this book for months, and I'm glad to tell you that it didn't disappoint at all!

A Master of Djinn is a murder mystery fantasy novel with steampunk vibes, set in an alternative 1910's Cairo. We follow Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, a badass woman known for her cleverness, harsh personality and her success in solving the most difficult cases, who also happens to be the youngest woman agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. She is suddenly put on a mysterious case when the murder of a secret brotherhood, dedicated to the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, happens. al-Jahiz, who transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, vanished into the unknown years ago, and became quite a legend in the world. Humans and magical entities such as Djinns, Ifrits, Marids, Ghouls and so many more, have now been living side by side for decades and the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is dedicated to help the police in solving cases when the Supernatural realm is involved.

“And nobody’s judgment we scared of more than the one we give our hearts to.”

First, I would like to mention that the author wrote 3 novellas set in the same world and in the same series, The Dead Djinn Universe series. You don’t have to read these novellas to enjoy and understand A Master of Djinn, but I think it is interesting to read the novellas first to get a glimpse and get more used to the world. I only read A Dead Djinn in Cairo novella before reading A Master of Djinn, because I couldn’t wait. And I was glad I did, because some elements of the book referred to the novella, which has also Agent Fatma as the main character and Siti, a mysterious and clever woman.

My favorite aspect of this book was definitely the world-building. It was so complex and well developed, full of descriptive writing, historical facts and magic that I was immediately swept away in this amazing world. Full of Djinns, Ghouls, sometimes Marid and Ifrit and also humans, this world was so fascinating to learn about, and I could honestly read dozens of books set in this world. I absolutely loved this mix between the true historical events of Egypt in our real world, with all the colonialism context, and the historical fantasy elements created by the author. It was so well done, that I honestly think A Master of Djinn might have one of my favorite world-building that I ever read about.

The steampunk elements in this book were also an amazing advantage and added so much originality to the book! This is clearly something that I don’t see often in fantasy books, and I really enjoyed this aspect.

“You! You can’t just walk in here! This is a crime scene!” “That would explain the dead bodies, then,” she replied. He blinked dumbly, and she sighed. Wasting good sarcasm was annoying.”

The main character Fatma, was absolutely amazing, and I loved her the minute I started the novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo. She was one of the few female Agents in the Ministry, and in a world where women didn’t have the same rights as the men, she shone with her hash personality, sarcasm and impeccable outfits, English suits.

I really loved the other characters, Hadia, a new woman Agent and colleague to Fatma, and Siti, Fatma’s girlfriend. They were both absolutely amazing, and I really enjoyed seeing both relationships with Fatma grow through the book. It was really well developed and made me enjoy the story so much more. I also loved the sapphic rep in this book.

The plot was not really complex and was a bit predictable at times, I suspected who was the Impostor before the ending, but it was intriguing and I couldn’t stop reading it. The pace was perfect all along, I didn’t get bored one minute, and it was just so much fun to read.

Overall, it was such a pleasure to read this book! I would highly recommend it, and I cannot wait to read more books set in the same world.

Do you need to read the novellas before reading this book? No.
Will it make your experience reading this book better if you do? 200% yes.

This was a really enjoyable mystery in a fantasy setting. There's not much I can say about the plot that won't spoil something. I will say that it took me a little while to figure everything out, but the reveal isn't so wild that you can't see it coming.

But the reason I love this book really isn't the plot, as much as I had fun with it. It's the setting.

I'm half Egyptian and lived in Egypt for many years, and the Egypt the author describes feels like coming home. For once, I don't have to look up terms or foreign words, because I can understand everything. I know the context, the culture, the people. I still remember (some of) the historical events mentioned from years of studying history in school. Do you need to know all these things to enjoy the book? I don't think so. But for me it definitely adds something extra. It's rare to find books that feel like they were written for me, and this one definitely feels like that. While Fatma isn't a hijabi herself even though she is Muslim, her new partner is a hijabi, and she kicks SO. MUCH. ASS. Hadia was amazing and I really hope she continues to play a prominent role in future books in this world.

It's clear to me that the author did a lot of research to make sure he got the details right, and I really only have one comment: there are references to the bur'a, which I think it the burqa that Muslim women sometimes use to cover their faces. As far as I know, this word has never been used in Egypt. We call it niqab instead. But the fact that this is the only thing I noticed should already tell you something.

Had a great time and will definitely read any future stories in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

<i>A Master of Djinn</i> is a murder mystery fantasy set in an alternate Steampunk Cairo in the 1910s. Fatma el Sha'arawi, investigator with the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, has to investigate the grisly murder of the Brotherhood of al-Jahiz, a secret society of Englishmen. The offender however, seems to be none other than the famous al-Jahiz, Master of Djinn, himself.

I was honestly having a blast reading this book. There are two novellas also set in this world, but you don't have to read them before starting this. I went in completely blind and still grasped everything well.

What stood out most for me while reading was the worldbuilding: Clark took the backdrop of early 20th century Egypt under British occupation and enriched it with a dash of magic. Egypt in 1912 was technically an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire. However, the English had a defacto protectorate over the country despite having no legal basis for it. By having djinn return to Egypt by the hand of al-Jahiz, Clark took a time period that was mainly marked by a loss of Egyptian autonomy and gave it back to them by way of fantastical Ifrit, Marid, and angels.

Cairo at that point in history was also on the verge of change with the British taking over parts of the city and modernizing them with the newest conveniences like electricity or running water. At the same time, many Egyptians were calling for the Europeans to leave. Clark in turn made djinn also responsible for innovations and causing the change of the city which I really liked. All in all, the time period made a great setting for the more Steampunk elements of the world. I could honestly read a thousand stories set in that world it was just so rich and atmospheric, you could picture every scene really vividly. The story also had a really unique twist on angels that was very creative. In general, the book also handled religion in an interesting way with the clashing of the belief in ancient Egyptian gods and the Muslim faith, as shown by Siti and Fatma or Hadia seeing the angels.

I also loved Fatma as a characer. She was just so damn cool with her snarky demeanor and penchant for English suits. I also liked how she started out as this kind of lone wolf, being one of the first female investigators, and then learned to trust Hadia. Hadia, in turn, was also a delight to read about, despite her being very straight-laced. I found that Hadia and Fatma's characters complimented each other really well and I enjoyed their relationship dynamic a lot.

There were also some interesting side-characters like Siti, Aasim and Ahmad. Clark writes some seriously funny dialogues and he just has a way with bringing characters so vividly you feel like you know them. Siti especially was iconic, basically everything she did had my jaw dropping, she's just that great. The romance between Siti and Fatma was also really well done, it was nice seeing two characters who are so badass and cool be vulnerable and soft around each other.

If I had to critize anything - which is hard, honestly - I would say the mystery aspect was a bit predictible. I caught who was going to be the murderer quite early on in the story but I actually didn't mind it that much. The motive for the murder was interesting enough to placate me. The concept of the Fantasy Special Investigator is also not new - the <i>Dresden Files</i> come to mind - but it was so well done I didn't care.

All in all, I loved reading <i>A Master of Djinn</i> and I hope we get a lot more stories set in this dazzling world. I rated the book 4/5 stars.

A Master of Djinn was a good book. This is regarded as a historical-fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, mystery... So a blend of several genres, and usually I am a fan of this. Though in this particular instance I felt a bit overwhelmed and confused. Once again, this is just my opinion, obviously.

Let me start off by talking about what I enjoyed. I liked the world-building, as it's very detailed and complex. The atmosphere built and the setting is amazing. There's no denying that you get completely immersed into this world, which is so unique. There were a couple of moments in the book that held my intention, like he first fight scene with the 'imposter' when Siti got injured or the instance when Fatma finds out ''that thing'' about Siti, that I don't want to spoil for anyone... Those were some of the best moments, that I really enjoyed, but those don't last long.

Now...I spent the first 20% trying to understand the world...which is fine, if you're just diving into a new world, you are going to struggle a bit... Then when I figured everything out, I mostly spent my time reading and feeling confused and bored... Especially because some parts felt like I was reading a history book in class, waiting to be saved by the bell. I felt like there was plenty of information that contributed nothing to the story or the world-building itself.

At times it felt like too much was happening, and there were so many threads to keep track of, when in fact... nothing was really happening, it just seemed like we had to follow all of these characters, and keep track of all this information, when in fact half of that information didn't even matter as much.

The mystery itself was sort of predictable...You could see which direction it was taking, so it wasn't exactly a surprise. I felt there was no build up or excitement of any sorts. I just felt so bored waiting for this to resolve itself.

I think perhaps part of this was that I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I liked Hadia, and always enjoyed what Ahmad made an appearance, but other than that...I just felt I went from one situation, sometimes confused and sometimes disinterested. I couldn't care less what happened to any of them... There was no shock, or anger, or happiness... I felt nothing. Which, as you can guess, isn't the ideal reading experience. Fatma, our MC felt so flat as a character. We don't explore her at all and don't go too deep into who she is and why she is who she is. I mostly felt like I have no idea why she is this important investigator, especially because half of the time she never sees what's right in front of her.

Overall, I can see why someone might like this, but this isn't really my cup of tea.

A Master of Djinn is such a beautifully written book, and I wanted so badly to love it. Unfortunately, although the world building was phenomenal, I had real trouble connecting to the plot.

The pacing was very slow, and it found it difficult to keep picking the book up. However, I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed being pulled into 1920s Cairo! There just wasn't enough going on when I was there ...

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve never read anything by P Djeli Clark before, but based on the synopsis I was so excited to receive a copy of this. Ilex me tell you now P Djeli Clark is amazing, such stunning world building that creates the perfect world and images. I do feel it was a little slow to start and pick up, but I completely accept that when you are scene and world building such an epic story. I loved the characterisations, so well constructed, no one dimensional soulless characters in this world. The story itself is fun, full of mystery and I can’t wait to read more.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

P Djeli Clark knows just how to suck me in. The culture, the character development, the mystery, all of it wins for me. I wish I could follow Agent Fatma and the gang forever.

For anyone looking for fantasy set outside of the typical American or European setting, with lgbtq+ and African representation. Please read this series...maybe we can bully* Clark into continuing the series.

Bullying is bad, maybe intense begging might be better*

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review :)

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. She and other women in this book are incredible. In general, I was so impressed by how many great women you find in this book. Fatma is not the only impressive one.

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. The idea is great. This year I realized how much I love fantasy murder mystery books and this one was great. The plot did not disappoint me at all. The atmosphere was great and the ending was perfect.

The fantastical aspect is another thing that I found very unique. I enjoyed the whole idea of Djinns and other magical creatures. I really want to read more from this universe for sure. I don't want to say much, but I am fascinated how the djinn interact with humans and how they are discovering new things about themselves and the world around them.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is awesome!!!

Synopsis: It is Cairo, 1912, and the world is different than ours, because supernatural creatures like djinn and angels have entered our dimension forty years ago. Cairo is a modern and lively city as important as London or Paris, where the kings and emperors of Middle Europe gather to smooth the upcoming tensions leading to war.

Agent Fatma already prevented the universe's destruction last summer in The Dead Djinn in Kairo and now she investigates the mysterious murder of a secret brotherhood. Al-Jahiz was the one to open the doors and summon the djinn before vanishing from the eyes of the public. Now he seems to gather his strength again but Fatma believes him to be an imposter. 

Review: I just loved the short stories and novellas in the same setting, first of all the novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015, then the novelette A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and a little bit less The Angel of Khan el-Khalili. Consider me a fan of this author.

Fatma is a fascinating character, breaking the boundaries as a Muslim with her fondness for male European suits and her non-conforming sexuality. Her overpowered sidekick and lover is Siti, a sexy kickass worshipper of Egypt's old pantheon. 

The novel's initial scene once again points out the social discrepancies of colonialism and racism in that setting: the secret brotherhood is led by English Lord Worthington dedicated to collecting Egyptian antiquities as bored white old farts would do at that time. 

A Master of Djinn dives deep into Egyptian mythology, socio-cultural questions, gender, and community. It's also about fun and brings a lot of action into the mix, which keep you on your toes for a long time, just like a James Bond movie.

Why not a better rating? Because it felt less dense than the previous shorter works, it didn't add much new to the previously stated thoughts and setting. So, yes, I enjoyed it much, but it wasn't good enough for four or five stars. Especially ridiculous was Kaiser Wilhelm from the Holy Roman Empire who was supposed to be funny but ended up as an unbelievable character.

This was so darn cool!

An awesome steampunk historic world with a whole ton of djinn and some magic thrown in with some really cool amusing characters.

I haven't read such a good book about Djinn since Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus sequence. Some elements reminded me of S.C. Green's dark steampunk series Engine Ward as well.

This was my first P. Djèlí Clark book and I will definitely be following his writing from now on.

I found this book a little slow to get started. The worldbuilding was amazing and I loved all the different magical creatures and the way the magic interwove with a world at the outset of a modern, technology-driven era. However, I did find the emotional engagement a little lacking; Fatma as a main character was very analytical and focussed and while that's not a problem in itself, there were moments when I felt like she was supposed to be having a more emotional reaction to something but we only glimpsed a very surface-level nod to it.

The second half of the book definitely picked up the pace, as the various clues and threads came together and once the plot reached that point it was hard to put the book down. If I had a slight criticism it would be that there were a few times where Fatma seemed to be more of an onlooker to an issue or problem being resolved by another character, instead of driving the plot herself. I adored her relationship with Siti, though - in fact Siti was probably my favourite thing about the whole story and I would gladly read more about her!

Overall an enjoyable but not outstanding read, perhaps suffering a little from having to fill a whole novel's length rather than the previous short stories and novellas in this world, but definitely enough to interest me in any continuation of the series

TW: misogyny, racism, colorism, colonialism, disfigurmisia, mutilation, blood & gore depiction, police brutality, and immolation

please, put this inside my brain

update: this lives rent free in my mind

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Ever since I first read A Dead Djinn in Cairo, I've been yelling about P. Djèlí Clark's writing and this incredible, paranormal world of Egypt in 1912.

In the first full-length novel set in the Dead Djinn Universe series, we once again meet Fatma el-Sha’arawi, known as the youngest woman investigator working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities.

When a secret brotherhood dedicated to the mysterious al-Jahiz is brutally murdered, strange events rise up and Fatma must be the one to uncover them all. This was your classic mystery story set in a paranormal, steampunk world where angels, djinns and so many other magical creatures exist and coexist within the human world.

As I mentioned, this is not only a memorable and incredibly written novel, it kept me gripped by the story. I listened to the audiobook whilst at work and the number of times I had to contain my gasps of terror and astonishment... It was so difficult to stop reading and concentrate on something else.

I am begging everyone to read P. Djèlí Clark and experience what I did. The worst part is having to wait to read more!

Thank you, Little, Brown Book Group UK, for the e-copy of this book.

A Master of Djinn was not what I was expecting and it’s definitely not my cup of tea, as I am not a reader of the steampunk genre. Nevertheless, this book deserves 4 stars because the world that the writer built for this story is absolutely outstanding.

The story (in brief) takes place in an alternative Cairo, full of djinn and other mythical creatures, and you follow Fatma el-Sha’arawi, investigator of the Ministry of Alchemy, while she tries to find out who killed the members of a secret brotherhood.

The murder incident at the beginning sets the initial tone of the story so it led me to believe I was going to read a murder mystery story, which was fine. I haven’t read the previous novellas set in this world, so it was my first time meeting Fatma and I was really intrigued about getting to know this investigator from the Ministry of Alchemy. However, while the investigation continues, the story also slowly changes genre and it becomes more of a fantasy story and that threw me off a bit. This story is massively plot-driven and there are moments where too much was happening.

On one hand, I felt the writer slowly set aside Fatma, and no further indication of her background or her personality was given. I am not sure if the character was fully introduced in the short stories and maybe I am missing out, but in A Master of Djinn, she was quite underdeveloped. Sometimes she didn’t strike me as an impressive investigator. Among all the characters of this story, I thought Hadia was the most complex and meaningful character. She is a religious woman, she wears a hijab. She lives in a heavily conservative society, working for a government facility. She is very smart, but it’s so hard for her to get the role of investigator, as Fatma’s partner, and get the recognition she deserves.

On the other hand, this world-building felt too massive for just one book. The writer brought up interesting political and historical bits which connect to our modern society. I welcomed the discussion about slavery and colonialism. However, on top of this, you have djinn, automatons, ifrit, goblins, ghouls, angels… yeah, that was a tad overwhelming. I loved how everything was mixed, but at times it became a heavy read.

I have to admit I slowly lost interest and the ending was dragging on forever. I am willing to consider this may be because of my mental exhaustion, but it was a long way to the end and it took me a bit to finish it. Also, I figured out halfway what was happening and I didn’t appreciate that Fatma couldn’t see the blatant proof around her. This was an ARC so I hope that the shift I felt in the narrative is changed in the final edition. I still give it four stars, because the writing is flawless and this world has so much potential.

This post will be shared on my blog monogamistreader.blog on Thursday 5.

A big thank you goes to Orbit Books UK for providing me with the physical review copy of this book in exchange for a review.

When I first heard about A Master of Djinn I was immediately interested. It's set in the early 1900s in Egypt, it's an alternative/ historical fantasy with djinn and a murder mystery which I love. It seemed like it would have eveyrthing that I love in a book and something that was a surprise for me- a sapphic couple.

A Master of Djinn did NOT disappoint. While I found the beginning to be a bit on the slow side, it was done with the purpose of setting up the plot. I would constantly be captivated by the world and the characters and I really enjoyed all aspects of the book. The only thing that I found to be weak at times was the main plot, however it didn't take away from my enjoyment as I was so engrossed with the world and the characters.

I love reading about djinn and seeing the authors' different takes on djinn stories, they are always fascinating to me especially since I don't really know that much about them. In this book the djinn live among people and are trying to fit in, they even sound quite human. In this world, people have more or less emraced the magic and live alongside it and of course, with that comes a special ministry in charge of it. The main character Fatma is a part of the ministry and she's in fact one of the few female agents in there.

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.

A Master of Djinn
Fatma was an interesting character to follow and I actually loved all of the female characters here. They were very well-written which I found refreshing and each of them had their own strengths and weaknesses. I found Hadia especially endearing as she is the type of innocent and yet sassy character I'm weak for. Siti was the mysterious yet very charismatic type whom I loved from the very first time she was introduced. While this book isn't romance-heavy at all, I loved all of Fatma and Siti's interactions, I lived for them. I also loved Fatma and Hadia's dynamics as they had to learn to work together. I think that the twomen's relationship was very well-written and I loved seeing them together.

The book also discusses race as there is a history of people coming and going and the views changing. Several things are mentioned but I simpy don't think I'm knowledgable enough to actually comment on it but I think the discussions started are very important.

The last 50 paes were amazing! This is also when there were the most fantasy element which is unsurprisingly what I loved the most. It was intense and I actually would love to learn more about the angels and what exactly are they as well as find out a little bit more about the daeva as they were only mentioned once.

While I ended up figuring out the main culprit of the story, I enjoyed reading A Master of Djinn a lot. I loved seeing the characters trying to figure out what was going on and the magic presented was more than intriguing. I'd definitely be willing to explore this world again, especially if we meet these characters again.

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.

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.

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)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

I was so excited to read this after reading the author’s previous short stories, and I love this world even more after finishing. 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!!

Thanks to Little, Brown and Netgalley for the eArc – views are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! It’s a brilliant, twisty murder mystery set in Cairo, in a world where Djinn and magic are very real. This was my first entry into the series – I didn’t realise there were books before it, but I don’t think that mattered. Everything was explained well enough that I could dive right in and the allusions to previous adventures didn’t dampen my enthusiasm to read more. I’ve actually gone back to the first in the series now.

Our main character is Fatma, a member of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, a division set up to investigate supernatural goings on and crimes involving magic. She’s driven, sharp and excellent – and a woman after my own heart, dressed in suits and very gay. She’s joined by a new partner, Hadia, who she initially resents just for being her partner, who is a brilliant foil. The two women are very different in a way that makes them better together.
Fatma also has a collection of friends, colleagues and acquaintances, all of whom bring something new to the story. Especially Siti, her girlfriend, who stands out as being utterly awesome.

The mystery itself is well done, building up to a pretty epic climax. For me, it was one of those mysteries that works just right – because I figured everything out not too long before the characters. They are the best sort, because it means the author has dropped enough hints, but not too many that you’re sat there for half the book wanting to beat the characters with the obvious stick.

If I had a complaint? I thought it began to drag a little around the halfway point before picking up again towards the end. But that’s perhaps me being picky.

But yes, excellent plot that deals with colonialism and racism in an excellent way.

3.5 stars I liked this book.

Things I liked:
- I love the mythology in this world. I loved it in the Daevabad trilogy and I loved it in this and it makes me really want to read more Arabian inspired stories (particularly the Arabian Nights and seeing the stories that influenced this world).
- I like the characters. Our main character Fatma is so spunky. I liked the relationships she had with the secondary cast throughout the book.

Didn't like:
- I found the mystery aspect rather predictable unfortunately.
- Potentially my fault reading this whilst tired but I did find the middle section of the book dragged (became a bit repetitive). I think this is a teething issue going from writing novellas to longer fiction.

Overall:
If you liked the novellas set in this world then you'll like this. It really has the same vibe.

I'm looking forward to reading more P. Djeli Clark in the future.

🧞‍♂️👩🏾‍💼REVIEW🔥🧕🏾

A "whodunnit" in an alternate, historical, fantasy, steampunk Cairo with strong female characters, djinn, POC and lgbtq+ rep.
Need I say more?

This book could be either a hit or miss with me since I love fantasy and I'm not so fond of crime.
Thankfully the story and world P. Djèlí Clark has made was so good that I got lost in it from the first page!
The magic, the characters, the whole world; they are all well made and not perfect. Just the way I like it!

The plot and ending was a bit predictable, but i immensly enjoyed reading this.

Witty dialogue, fantastic fight scenes and a dapper lesbian main character with a hijabed kickass partner contributed to make this one of my favorite reads this year!

4,5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌟

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.