#p djeli clark

[novelconcepts]

Another year, another absurd amount of books read (296, because if I wasn't reading or writing this year, my brain was on fire). I was asked again for my top books of the year, so here we go: 2023's top 10, in no particular order.

This was the first book I read of the year--literally, vacated the hangout with my wife and sibling-in-laws to sit on their couch upstairs and eat through it. Do you love The Fall of the House of Usher, but wish for a nonbinary protagonist and a lot more mushrooms? This is the book for you! (T. Kingfisher is fucking rad, I made a concerted effort to only list ONE of her books on here, but honorable mention goes to The Twisted Ones for fucking me upppp.)

A gay, post-apocolyptic Pinocchio retelling involving copious robots, found family elements, and a cool-ass treehouse. Klune always hits for me with his unrepentant queer family dynamics and sense of humor. Honorable mention to the first two in the Green Creek series (although that's got a lot more...adult elements in among the werewolves, you've been warned).

I thiiiink I found this through The Homo Schedule podcast (PSA: if you missed out on Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson doing a podcast together, now you know better), and it wrecked my shit. Tons of trigger warnings, as this is a memoir about abuse within a queer relationship, but it's so beautifully written. I personally suggest listening to the audiobook first, then standing anxiously behind someone at a book warehouse sale, hoping they'll set down the only paperback copy so you can swipe it.

A fantastical-historical reimagining in which the KKK is filled with literal monsters, and Black women are resistance fighters armed to take them out. Visceral and intense, and truly an excellent horror story.

Just. Such a soft time travel story about a daughter and her father and cherishing the time you get with loved ones. I was thoroughly unprepared for how lovely I found this one. It's very kind.

Spooky house, take-no-shit redhead, protective sibling elements, bisexual recluse with a sword who really just needs a nap. I haven't found a Harrow book yet I haven't slapped five stars on. She's so good at character and atmosphere, and I'm always surprised at how fast her stories race by.

The whole Daevabad trilogy (of which this is the first book) is just magical. A girl from the mortal world finds herself embroiled with the centuries-long prejudices and wars of djinn in a fantastical city. It's one of the rare stories of its kind that does have a love triangle, but doesn't feel like a love triangle; it's far less interested in the insufferable "who gets picked" than it is in the actual horrors these people are both perpetrating and coping with. It's an intoxicating ride.

Fuck You, TERFS: the book. Given that fact, there's obviously quite a lot of transphobia to deal with, but it's very clear that those people are wrong, and it's a super-engaging (and super-oh-god-what-comes-next) witchy time populated with queer, protective, interesting characters I'm excited to see again in the follow-up.

Have you ever wanted a haunted house story with visceral imagery and a rather lovely twist? Gailey has you covered. As much as I enjoyed The Echo Wife, I think I actually loved this one more, and it makes me so excited to see what else they've got up their sleeve.

One of my final reads for the year, when I was just churning through hardcovers at the speed of sound. I love this book. I recognize it won't be for everyone, but it takes so much of what I love about IT (one of my all-time favorite books, despite its flaws) and twists it through the lens of an author who escaped the Mormon church. It's horrific, it's fantastically abstract in places, it explores childhood and memory, imagination and abuse, and almost every character is queer. It's a great "I simply cannot sleep until I've finished" read.

[bookcub]

Book Rec of Djinn . . .Jinn. .. Jinni. . .

Rated on how likely the jinn would be my friend

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah- Qadir is the jinn with the largest role and I cannot decide if he would find me mildly amusing or mildly annoying. Either way, he would probably not be talkative and not view me as a threat or a priority.

5/10

The Daevabad Trilogy by SA Chakraborty- While the term djinn is a controversial one in this world, there are plenty of djinn to choose from. Nahri might be my friend, if she didn't see me as an easy mark (which is very likely). I would very much enjoy her company if she didn't have her defenses up. Ali would probably find me interesting as a human and ask me a mixture of interesting and boring questions. Both would care if I died, unlike Dara, who wouldn't care if he accidentally caused my death.

6/10

A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark- I don't want to cause any spoilers but our main djinn would absolutely find me adorable, if not easily manipulated. We could definitely have a few fun nights for sure.

7/10

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi- Alizah would 1000% defend me with her life and successfully save it, but I am uncertain how receptive she would be to friendship, considering how guarded she is. I, however, would absolutely put in the effort for her.

7.5/10

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir- If I remember book two correctly, I would absolutely never become friends with this jinn. And I think they would actively want to kill me.

0/10

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - Ahmed would not be friends with me and be very very rude to me, although he would not kill me. I would rather be friends with Chava, the golem instead. We would be besties.

1/10

Nayra and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata-

Majan is a delight and I think we are likely to get along fairly well, although certainly not to the extent Nayra and Marjan have bonded. But we could tell each other stories and reignite some of the spark in each other's lives, encouraging exploration and connection. A fun and emotional time!!

8/10

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[desdasiwrites]

"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.

– P. Djèlí Clark, A Master of Djinn

[noahsbookhoard]

🦇📚September 2024 Book Review (Part 1/4)📚🦇

Today is Halloween so in honor of that I pulled every spooky read from September and put them all together!

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim

Ji-won's life has fallen apart since her father left her mother and her mother found a new boyfriend, George, a misogynist, condescending man who eyes out every Asian waitress. Adding to this stress due to her collegue studies and the persistent nice guy who won't take no for an answer, Ji-won starts having wierd dreams, dreams of bright blue, delicious looking eyeballs.

In terms of taboos, cannibalism ranks pretty high. It is deeply uncomfortable to hear stories about it yet it is an interesting question whwne it comes to moral vs survival. Yet I had never read a book that dived into the subject. What is interesting here is that Ji-won's hunger is 1) pretty specialised 2) entirely opportunistic and not driven by a need to survive. There's no point in judging the moral values of a fictional characters and I know that's kinda the point of horror as a genre but Ji-won's action sometimes made me really uncomfortable.

There is also a critique of misogyny and Asian fetishization which is well handled as far as I could tell. The father cheated and left with another woman, George to is cheating but he is even more disturbing than the whole eye eating thing, he is a creep, a cheater, demanding, borderline pedophile and just unsufferable as a person. If I was Ji-won I would have done more than hide is car keys in the fridge.

As for the end, it's wierd, it's just wierd. It's hard so say what was really murderous pulsions because George deserved it and what was Ji-won being sick, what was real and what was supernatural (if any of it was).

Overall it was a pleasant enough read in term of style. As for the theme I don't know if I like it or hate it. Maybe it's also a matter of setting, I usually like my horror a little bit less modern and down to earth but that is a matter of preference.

Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark

Just after World War I in the South of the US, the KKK is everywhere. Most of them are human, except among their ranks are hidden monsters just as dangerous as those men and women. Maryse and a group of resistant are fighting the Klan, through skirmish and sabotage but something more evil than before is brewing in Macon...

It has a really creepy but really cool twist on the Klan: there is still human member who embody the values of the KKK, and that's horrifying; but there are monsters with the same white form but wierd limbs, eyes and teeth. I love the author's way of introducing those supernatural elements: they are the first Klan members we see and it is unsettling to see them pounce on a dog carcass when you were expecting humans in costume. It's interesting to use real historical racist threats (the KKK, Birth of A Nation) and add to it a supernatural element while still maintaining the actual real life danger. It also raised the classic question: where is the line between man and monster?

I am neither American nor black so I can't really comment on the African American cultural aspects but they were really interesting and fitted well in the fantasy aspect of the novella as well as creating a contrast with the white side of Macon.

The characterization is great, I love the characters, Maryse and her comrade Sadie especially but the antagonist really brought the "Love To Hate Them" feeling for me. Also the Aunties, they are just the best.

I really liked it, but I might have appreciated even more with a deeper understanding of the period and the culture (too bad for me). Lots of actions, great characters and a really cool battle at the end, go for it!

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) by T Kingfisher

Alex Easton just arrived in the most rural and isolated part of Galicia at the request of Madeline Usher, a childhood friend. Her brother, Roderick, reveals what has been going on for the last months: Madeline is ill, dying probably. However some things sticks Easton as odd: why is Madeline sleepwalking all of the sudden? What is the white fur like substance growing on her skin? And what does it have to do with local superstition of Witch Hare?

Short but incredibly impactful. Fungi are really a freak of nature that works really well in horror: there's a ton of them, they interact with other living things in wierd ways and they are really hard to classify for non mycologist. The rewriting of Poe's classic short story The House of Usher is good, it keeps the key elements of the plot and characterization but develops everything around it. Roderick and Madeline are pretty much in character and I liked what she added to them. I liked Galicia, the country Kingfisher created for this story a lot: the land sets and atmosphere, it's cold, gray and wet. It also all happens in a very isolated place, ifused with traditions and superstitions that serves as foreshadowing and red herring.

Alex Easton also is a treat. A gender non conforming former soldier with no people skills whatsoever. The Sworn Soldier system is really cool and allows some ambiguity with Easton's gender that I loved. The PTSD is really well treated and adds both to the characterization and to the atmosphere. I also loved Angus and Miss Potter who added some much needed common sense to the cast.

I really loved it. The traditions, legends and history of Galicia are imersive and the way it tied supernatural elements with more natural but just as spooky threats works really well. I have just finished reading What Feat at Night, I heard somewhere that a third novella will be released somewhere in 2025 and I'm really looking forward to that.

The Book of Blood (Vol. 1) by Clive Barker

A series of twisted stories, from a serial killer on the subway in NYC to a theater of undead, not forgetting a monstrous man eating sow.

This was September's blind draw, let's say many of the book club members skipped this one. This is a collection of short stories, they vary a lot on theme, ton and unfortunately the enjoyment I took reading them: some where really good and disturbing, some where forgettable, some still baffle me six weeks later.

"The Book of Blood" is the prologue, and it sets the tone: creepy, characters that are deeply flawed and supernatural gory elements. It is also the shortest. It did well as an introduction but it wasn't very memorable to me.

"The Midnight Meat Train" left me divided: I was sold on the serial killer butchering people in subways. I was interested in the part where the city knew and let it happened. I was mildly disappointed by the supernatural element that fell a bit short after the adrenaline of the subway train scene. Yet it was interesting and well written.

"The Yattering and Jack" didn't left me much memories, except that it was quite funny. It is a Beetlejuice meet the Grinch kind of atmosphere. I liked the twist on the demon haunting that made the main character aware of what was going on but pushing through and frustrating the demon to no end. I never felt any real threat from the demon, though.

"Pig Blood Blues" is the gory twisted tale I was promised in the back cover: ghost, scary animals, possessions, ritual sacrifice and cannibalism; you name it, it's in it! Redwal's as a very down to earth character that you usually see in Stephen King's main character and his discovery of the giant sow who is at the center of human sacrifice rituals is just as satisfying. The sow itself gave me shivers, it is described in an entirely too human way to be comfortable. Lacey, a young boy that starts as the frightened victim scared of ghost and ends up just as monstrous as all the over character perfectly sets the mood. I was really wiered out by Redwall's attitude toward Lacey but his punishment at the end is really satisfying.

"Sex, Death, and Starshine" is my favorite but not the scariest! The living characters takes some time to realise that other are dead but once they do it's all fun and games and playing Twelfth Night in front of a ghost audience before going on a road trip! Just the tiny bit of whimsy, loved it!

"In the Hills, the Cities" is the most disturbing to me because I'm still wondering what the hell that was. Every years two cities straps themselves together to create a giant man shaped structure and they merrily go as a Flesh Transformer to the other city's Flesh Transformer. People die. Not because of the battle but because there assigned place in the comstruct is the sole of the feet. I guess I was supposed to feel some sort of eldritch fear but mainly I was working out the how and why and couldn't focus on the scary parts. Just plain bizarre.

[haveyoureadthishorrorbookpoll]

Have you read...

In America, demons wear white hoods. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die. Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful's brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up. Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?

submit a horror book!

[tbookblurbs]

A Master of Djinn - P. Djèlí Clark

4.5/5 - classic murder mystery with magic; LOVED steampunk Cairo; Hadia <33 my beloved <33

SLIGHT spoilers below!

Fantabulous first full-length novel from Clark! I really enjoyed the characters and getting to walk around this alternate history Cairo with the characters.

Steampunk/magic earth in 1912 was a lot of fun, and I love the amount of foreign policy thrown in. Like, yes, Jim Crow America would react violently badly to a new potentially powerful minority. That's just a background detail, but Clark nails every one like it on the head. I also loved the way that djinn and magic were woven into everyday life. It just felt so real, which is really the ultimate standard for magical realism as far as I'm concerned.

The characters themselves were also super endearing. Fatma and her love of impeccable suits and a cane with a secret knife in it. Siti and her allure and uncanny (literally inhuman) sense of timing. Zagros and his love of a good book ordering system! Fatma and Siti's situationship!

But the character whom I loved the most was easily Hadia. A new agent, thrust in with a partner whose respect she desperately wants on top of battling the still ingrained misogyny in Cairene culture - there was simply no scenario in which I wouldn't love her. I also love how involved she was in the feminist politics outside of the story and how she kept trying to coordinate her hijab to match Fatma's suits!

Anyway, this was a superb first outing and if y'all ever liked steampunk (I'm thinking specifically The Girl in the Iron Corset) then you will love this novel!

[thumbedpages]

P. Djeli Clark - Ring Shout

[tigger8900]

A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark

⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's 1912 in Cairo: colonial powers have been rebuked by the return of magic to the world, clockwork and airships are the height of technology, and every single member of a secret brotherhood has just been murdered. A mysterious figure claiming to be al-Jahiz — the man responsible for the resurgence of magic 40 years ago — returned openly claims responsibility, and preaches a new revolution. Fatma el-Sha'arawi — an agent with the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities — must discover the imposter's true identity and put a stop to his true plans, whatever they might be.

This started off slow, but by the end I couldn't put it down. The layers of deception and mesmerization, not to mention the foreshadowing of such, were very well done. While a few short stories and a novella have been previously published in this universe, you don't have to have read them to understand A Master of Djinn. The one thing you might have trouble with is the Angels. I don't really understand what they were. I'm also not convinced that reading the previously published material would have shed any more light on that, as I think they're supposed to be a bit unknowable.

Unfortunately, I found the steampunk setting to be underutilized. I believe it might have played a significantly larger role in the previous stories set in the universe, but in this novel the focus was largely elsewhere. It's a shame too, because we all know about steampunk London, but I was really looking forward to steampunk Cairo.

I really appreciated the dynamic between Fatma and her work partner Hadia, especially how their relationship grew over the course of the story. Most of the mysteries I've read lately have had the detective working mostly inside their own head, and it was refreshing to see a well-executed foil, even if it was reluctant at first!

This is the second P. Djèlí Clark story I've read, and I'm noticing a few patterns. First, his wry skewering of colonialism and white people who are being ignorant is very appreciated, and utilized well in this novel. And second, he seems to have a thing for writing women in sexual relationships with other women. To be clear I don't have any complaint with how they were written here, but if you're someone who avoids sapphic content written by men on principle, be advised.

[wearethekat]

October Book Reviews: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P Djeli Clark

Picked this one up from the library, since I’ve had pretty good luck with tordotcom novellas. In an alternate universe Cairo with djinn magic, bureaucrat  Hamed al-Nasr investigates the titular haunting of Tram Car 015-- which given his pitiful funding, might prove a tough nut to crack. 

Verdict: this has a fantastic and fascinating setting. Egypt free of colonialism a hundred years early! The women’s suffrage movement! The integration of djinn into society! However, I didn’t find the main character particularly sympathetic or compelling. Which tells me I really ought to go read A Master of Djnn, set as it is in the same universe except with a butch lesbian investigator protagonist. Making a note of that, rather hopelessly, since this book is cursed for me (don’t ask how many times I’ve returned it to the library unread).

[jmreynolds]

I second the P. Djèlí Clark recommendation. Fantastic writer.

PLEASE for the love of the universe read anti-colonial science fiction and fantasy written from marginalized perspectives. Y’all (you know who you are) are killing me. To see people praise books about empire written exclusively by white women and then turn around and say you don’t know who Octavia Butler is or that you haven’t read any NK Jemisin or that Babel was too heavy-handed just kills me! I’m not saying you HAVE to enjoy specific books but there is such an obvious pattern here

Some of y’all love marginalized stories but you don’t give a fuck about marginalized creators and characters, and it shows. Like damn

[do-not-go-gently-42]

already being a fan of p djeli clark’s work, I had a lot of expectations for The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. “they sent my younger self to the future and hired me to kill her” was not on my bingo card though

[noahsbookhoard]

📚August 2024 Book Review (Part 4/4)📚

And that wraps it up for August! It had been a busy month but I loved the variety (although I could have lived without learning about Ignatius Reilly)

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The misadventures of Ignatis Reilly, a lazy misanthropic man forced to work for the first time in his life in 60's New Orleans, from the Levy's Pant factory to hotdogs selling in the streets, around incompetent policemen, anticommunist elderly men, more or less dubious barkeeper and the gay community.

I haven't chosen to read this book, it was this month's book club blind draw. I probably would have read it ever if it wasn't for this and jury is still out on whether or not I would be happier not having read it or not. The book isn't even that bad! It just has the worst protagonist in the history of Literature.

The story itself is a satire of the US in the 60's, characters are archetypes turned into comedy by their meeting clashing personalities: the black man in need of a job and the barkeeper who wants to appear running a proper business but needs to sell explicit pictures on the side, the half blind half deaf already a little senile employee of Levy's factory about whom M. Levy and his wife keep arguing to see if she should retire or not... There's some sitcom comedy trope with an assortment of subplots opened but never closed as the story goes until one event makes everything fall back together in one perfectly geared sequence. This was good, this was funny, I wish this could have worked with Ignatius Reilly.

Sincerely the biggest reproach I can make to this book is its main character. Problem is said character is there nearly all the time and being an unsufferable 30 year old toddler who never ever face the consequences of his actions. Just thinking about Ignatius fucking Reilly makes me itchy. He is dirty, lazy, a liar, a hypocrit, self centered and just downright unpleasant. The most uncomfortable part of the novel were the articles written by Ignatius about hi experience as a worker because they are a concentrate of everything wrong with him with absolutely no critical perspective whatsoever. He is a racist that tried setting an insurrection by the black worker at the factory, he is a homophobe that tried to create a political party with the gay community of New Orleans...

I didn't even get the satisfaction of him getting, I don't know, run over by a cable car, punch in the nose by one of his former boss, kicked out of the house by his mom (or multiple of that I wouldn't mind) he just run away with his former girlfriend who is just as terrible on the opposite end of the scale.

It's a classic so I'm happy to have read it. But I won't be doing it again, thank you very much.

How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub by P Djeli Clark

A mysterious ad in the papers caught the eyes of Trevor: an offer for a kit that allows you to raise your own mythical creature at home. It might be his chance for a grand achievement! But careful what you wish for...

This is the short story that won the Locus 2024 and my first meeting with author P Djeli Clark which I wanted to read for quite some times. I have in the meantime already read Ring Shout and I'm really thinking of putting Master of Djinn higher on the TBR, I have a new author added to the favorites!

This short stoey is wickedly efficient, either in characterisation or in worldbuilding. Trevor is brushed in two strokes as ambitious (That's literaly the first word of the story) but not a hard worker and unable to think longterm about his decisions. The addition of merpeople in the story is seamless: I never question how they got here, we were just in a fantasy uchronia now, okay, carry on.

The foreshadowing works really well too: the main character is too clueless to click it but the reader does and waiting for the other shoes to drop is really satisfying.

I don't want to say too much, but the twist at the end still managed to surprise me. I was expecting something but not that, and yet it felt like I should have. It painted the entire story in a new light for the last half page or so, I love it.

If you want to read it it's on the Uncanny Magazine website. It's a quick read but it's worth the time!

Rendez-vous avec la mort (An Appointment with Death) by Agatha Christie

From his hotel room in Jerusalem Hercule Poirot hears a disturbing conversation "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" The detective doesn't think much of it until the tyrannical Mrs Boyton, on vacation with her family, is found dead in the ancient city of Petra.

What is it with Agatha Christie and making her victim absolutely awful people? Is it so there would be more suspects? Is it so they reader is more willing to distance himself and play the Whodunnit Game? Anyway!

You can really tell that this novel was written based on Agatha Christie's memories of visiting the place, it felt very alive,very realistic and more picturesque than her other novels. The setting is always important of course but here it's almost a decor.

There was so many suspects and they all had a very good reason to want Mrs Boyton dead (or to protect the one who did it) this investigation was very intricate and the plot pulls the reader in many different directions. It's a good thing Poirot takes notes in the book or I would have done it myself.

For once I had caught the Important Detail That Gives You The Answer TM but I took it totally in the wrong direction! So I had a theory that was (or so I thought) rather solid but I was misled by a detail. Maybe I missed it but the reveal includes one key information that I can't remember seeing anywhere; it is the only link between two characters and the only thing that makes the motive makes sense so I was a bit surprised by who the culprit was. Or maybe that's just me being a sore lover because once again Christie bested me.

The only thing I really disliked about this one - and it's wierd that it's even there - is the epilogue. There is so rarely an epilogue in her novels that I'm wondering if Christie wasn't pressure to add this Happily Ever After. It is very awkward because it is almost to good to be true, every one is married to another character even when the pairing doesn't make sense and everything is just perfectly fine for all of them. Not to mention the young schizophrenic daughter married to her acting agent who is twice her age because that's not creepy at all! /s I don't know what the intention was but it just flops very hard after what is a really nice book, that's a shame really.

Fortunately it is nothing but an epilogue, and van easily be discarded as just and after thought and I will keep deluding myself in thinking that the novel ends after Poirot's dramatic reveal of the culprit, as usual.

Under the Whispering Door by T J Klune

Wallace is having a hard time accepting that he just died, he barely lived the life he had! So when a reaper comes to bring him to a teashop and to Hugo, a Ferryman tasked to help souls pass to the afterlife, Wallace will have to make the best of what little time he has left in the land of the living.

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea every other novel by T J Klune were just begging to be read. I stalled as long as I could bear so here I am!

There is kind of a similar structure between the two books (the main character is very professional and cold but learns to open up, Hugo and Arthur have pretty much the same patient, observing and enigmatic personality. Even Charon's Crossing and the foster house or a little similar, two secluded places, meant to be welcoming and homely, yet totally unfamiliar and scary at times for the protagonist) but it never really bothered me: I liked how comfortable it felt to find it all back in this novel.

Through exploring other people's fate, how they lived, how they died, how they went through this time after death but before passing over, Wallace changes and learns to be a better person. The story itself isn't intricate but it is cozy, funny and the life lesson put through the author's word is more than just a feel-good novel line. The main subject, grief, is heavy but Klune handles it really gently, even in very hard moment, violent deaths and character who just can't accept their fate. And once again the love story, although it isn't the main focus is very important and drives the characters forward. It was sweet and nice and I really liked how bitter sweet it felt until the very end and they get the Happy End they deserved.

I read someone reviews saying that the ending was too much but hey, what's the point of writing stories if you can't make it all perfectly okay for everybody in the end? The dead don't come back in real life but if it makes the character of this story happy I absolutely want them to come back!

Aaaand that's close enough to a spoiler so I'll wrap if up: impeccably good read, go for it! Just be aware that it deals with grief and death, including violent deaths and suicide.

[kitsuneheartreviews]

Fantasy (audiobook): "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" by P. Djèlí Clark (2024-08-06)

Masterfully sarcastic and fast-paced! Clark takes the intense possibility of an assassin tale, makes it silly, and then makes it INTENSE. The finale is MWAH, perfection! I was CACKLING.

The setting here is fascinating. A world, but more specifically a city, full of gods...who actually DO STUFF. Like, in recent memory, undeniably, and with VIGOR. I hope Clark returns to Tal Abisi, because he has created something with a lot of potential. Like, numerous guilds, pantheons, political structures, all ready to mix and meld in really unique ways. And whenever he wants to create something, he can just throw it in, because we know this is a nexus of trade and society, so anything goes!

I'd actually hope that further books in Tal Abisi don't feature our narrator, Eveen the Eviscerator, but not because of any problems. She's great. She's a jerk. I like that. It's just I want to see this city from every angle! Maybe have some of the characters from this book pop up in the background, but I trust Clark to make someone new to steal a second show.

Narrator Lynnette R. Freeman is so good at Eveen's snark, but the real stunner is when she gets to break out accents. There's one character's voice who is just thick and dangerous and wonderful. And she's got great range, so I don't think there was any repeat voices. It's all very easy to follow, audio-wise.

This is so getting one of my Hugo noms in 2025.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

[whatcha-reading-today]

Ring Shout | P. Djeli Clark

I read a portion of the book for free on Tor's website and IMMEDIATELY ordered a physical copy. First, I love Djeli Clark's writing both here and in other books, but holy shit I think this might be his magnum opus. It's short (at less than 200 pages) and packs such a wallop. I can't recommend it enough.

Format: Physical copy

Read in: 2020, again in 2022 and 2023

Favorites all time

[caribeandthebooks]

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Genres:  Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Adult Fiction

Setting: Egypt

Description: 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...Read more on Goodreads/Storygraph

Content Warning information can be found via the above Storygraph link.