A Master of Djinn

Exceptional world building, but just like the first short story, the mystery is very very weak. The book practically tells us who AW is. I figured out who AW was, a loong while ago. But when the big bad reveal came, Fatma dragged on the reveal on and on and on. And the fact that Fatma never even considered that AW might be a woman, was insulting to the character, and the feminist values the book focuses on.

Except the reveal, the villainous sermon AW gives at the end, and the new nine big bads, a lovely book. Loved the world building, and couldn't wait to explore more of this universe.

A Master of Djinn – 4 Stars:

The story has a great setup, and the way it blends real historical references, old myths, and new imaginative elements makes for a lively and exciting world. The characters feel alive, and the story is fun, though not particularly original. I’d give 5 stars for the world-building, but the plot is a bit too familiar, and the book feels slightly too long—tighter editing would have made a difference.

As for the audiobook, it was problematic. The narrator is over-enthusiastic, with dramatic volume shifts—especially during accents or intense moments—that were ear-splitting. I had to constantly adjust the volume, which is a first for a professional audiobook. It's a shame because the narrator is pretty good at a normal volume, but the production quality is definitely below average.

Got really behind on my book list! So dating this dozen or so incorrectly as 12/31/24 and challenging myself to a sentence-long review. Gifted from a friend and I think the quote on the front says steampunk fantasy or something like that - mix in themes of imperialism and queer theory and BOOM you've got a fun read.

where do i even begin... a world so rich and colorful, so fantastically epic in scale that gets larger and larger. the characters, namely fatma, siti, hadia, and abigail, were such well-developed, fleshed-out people whom i could read 1000 more novels about. such profound, social themes tackled so masterfully and just so gosh darn funny. i need to devour more of this world!

i'd adored p djeli clark's novellas in this series but master of djinn has cemented him as an ultimate favorite author.

I enjoyed a lot about this book. It was really entertaining and the cast of characters was really enjoyable, especially their different interactions with each other. However, I will say I spotted the villain as soon as they were introduced and that was a bit annoying

Amazing. Somehow surpassed my already high expectations.

We find ourselves in a completely immersive steampunk Cairo at the turn of the century. Ever since al-Jahiz opened a hole between worlds, djinn now co-exist with people. Intricately realized, magic and technology mingle as the wider world rumbles to World War I.

The book opens with The Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz, consisting mostly of blue-blooded Englishmen, brutally burned, their clothes mostly untouched as if they had all spontaneously combusted. It seems to herald the return of the famed Al-Jahiz, and Agent Fatma el-Sha'awari from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities is on the case. She is a sartorial dandy in colourful bespoke suits of forest green and magenta stripes perhaps paired with a fuchsia tie, bowler hat, and the always present cane. The perfect protagonist that guides us through the bustling city with its abundant share of interesting figures.

Author P. Djèlí Clark is revelling in this world, already having written several novellas based here, and he writes with sure-footed confidence even as he introduces us to the Clock of Worlds, possessed librarians, indifferent angels, magic texts, ifrits, ghuls, old gods and more. It's a whodunnit with earth shattering consequences. Even for someone who doesn't always enjoy fantasy, I found myself completely hooked.

Pros: great characters, detailed worldbuilding, twisty plot

Cons:

After the members of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz are murdered in a mysterious manner, Agent Fatma and her new partner Agent Hadia, of the Egyptian Ministery of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, to solve the case.

This is a fun murder mystery that takes place in an alternate Egypt of 1912, where a portal to another world allowed djinn, ‘angels’ and other supernatural beings to come to earth. The worldbuilding is fantastic and extrapolates the politics of the time to fit these entities in.

This is the first novel, but there are a couple of short stories that preceed this story, introducing some of the characters (like how Agent Fatma and Siti meet), that while not necessary to understand the events of this book, are a lot of fun and give some more depth to the characters.

Agent Fatma is delightful and I loved her relationship with Siti. While I’m not generally a fan of the’ agent who doesn’t want a partner gets a new partner’ trope, it was handled well and I enjoyed seeing them learn to work together.

The murder mystery was interesting, with some fun twists. The ending was properly apocalyptic.

If you’re unfamiliar with Egyptian (and Nubian) food and clothing, there will be some new vocabulary to look up. I looked up some but not all of the terms, learning some interesting cultural facts along with my fiction.

I found this an enjoyable romp in a country I’d love to visit someday.

I wanted to love this book - such a great setting, diverse characters, interesting premise, but it was slow and dull and blurgh. 2.5 rounded up for a good ending.

i was v bored with this book and it is not a first book of the series. The entire time i was giga unimmersed cuz there are novellas with the worldbuilding and context before this. Also the mystery was so uninteresting lmao

2.5/5 stars.


Meh.

This was more of a murder mystery with fantastical elements than a fantasy Novell.
Unluckily for me, I don't like murder mysteries.

Oh what fun. Great world building, engaging characters, the plot was enjoyable and overall very well written piece of entertainment.

This novel is set in Egypt in 1912, in an alternative history in which magic and various supernatural beings were let into the world 40 years earlier, causing some changes of status among nations. In particular, Egypt was able to make use of the influx to maintain its independence and become a great power in its own right.

I enjoyed the story, but I have some reservations about it. The scenario is wonderfully imaginative, and the details of Egyptian culture seem well researched—although you'd need an Egyptian to confirm that. The writing is good, the characterization adequate: most of the characters are briefly sketched and not very memorable.

It's what I call a wild fantasy: that is, the magic used in this world seems to follow no particular rules and can achieve effects without limit. If it has any rules or limits, we the readers don't know what they are, and the characters in the story don't seem to know either.

Wild fantasy always seems like cheating to me, because the author can get out of any situation by deploying some new magical effect that does whatever trick is required. It doesn't need to be explained or justified, because magic can do anything.

The story of this novel is a kind of whodunnit, although it's hard to deduce the identity of the villain in a world in which magic can do anything. For all we know, the villain might be the heroine's cat.

We have to accept as a premise of the story the presence of magic and supernatural beings, but I find other aspects of the story somewhat implausible. In this world, Egypt has a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament and an active feminist organization. Women are starting to appear in jobs previously reserved for men, and parliament has recently given agreed to give votes to women. It's not clear to me how the presence of magic and supernatural beings leads to these political effects, and the book doesn't seem to give any explanation.

Although the majority of Egyptians seem to be Muslims, various other religions also have adherents, and they all seem to tolerate each other remarkably well; although the older pagan religions operate in semi-secrecy because they're less well tolerated.

Our heroine, Fatma, isn't particularly magical but seems to have a charmed life, as she emerges from all kinds of dangerous situations alive and without serious injuries.

On first reading, I gave the book three stars. On second reading, I think I enjoyed it well enough to give it four, despite my reservations. Fatma makes a congenial heroine.

Be warned, the story pulls out all the stops. Anyone who tried to make a film of it would need a huge special-effects budget.

Loved it! I love a story that does a reimagining of history and this was so fun and interesting. It's got magic, it's got strong female leads (yes, multiple), it's got humor, it has a sapphic romance. So much here to love!

I recently finished listening to the audio book of this. I enjoyed it. I really like the universe, and the world building that went into the story. The characters are enjoyable, but maybe not as deep as other works, but that works in this story as well. The story can be a bit obvious at times, but is still fun and entertaining. The end may be a bit weaker than the journey there, but it still resolved everything. Maybe tied it up a bit too neatly, but hey it's a story not life. I will very much keep an eye on this author, and probably read more in this universe, it is just too much fun not too.

I'm trying to review more books, and post them on here this year. This was influanced by the recent loss of a very active reader and reviewer Jenny “Reading Envy” Colvin.

3.5

A Master of Djinn is set in an alternative history Egypt where, in the late 1800s, a sorcerer known only as Al-Jahiz, working in Cairo, restored magic to the world, and with it Djinni, and all manner of other supernatural beings. In this process, this also brought Egypt into being a Great Power on the global stage (technically again), and lead to an earlier contraction of several empires.  It's now 1912, and rumblings of various political and military disagreements are pointing towards a potential World War. A peace summit is due to be held in Cairo in the hopes of avoiding that ar, organized by diplomat Sir Alastair Worthington – a British man who is well respected in both Europe and Egypt, and who has adopted Egypt as his home country. Worthington has also founded a secret society dedicated to Al-Jahiz and his works, as part of his, for lack of a better term, Egyptophilia.  So, when a person claiming to be the returned Al-Jahiz murders Worthington and the entirety of his brotherhood, using magical means, not long before the peace summit. the Egyptian government has A Problem on its hands. So, the relevant organization – the Ministry for Alchemy, Enchantment, and Supernatural Entities Agent Fatima el-Sha'arawi to investigate, along with her new (and rookie) partner, Agent Hadia.  Clark uses some of the narrative concepts of the “Buddy Cop” (or just “Buddy Crime”) story for considerable effect, through using twists on a familiar narrative structure to help keep the reader grounded, and also preventing a sense of exoticization. By having the characters react to things that are different from our life experiences as normal through a familiar concept, those things become normal, and we as readers are able to step away from our internal sense of exoticization and just roll with it.  As an example, Fatima starts the story as an agent who works on their own – who doesn't have or want a partner – and eschews traditional Islamic fashion, instead wearing Western-style suits with a bowler hat. She also doesn't talk much about her religious beliefs, particularly since she's also a lesbian. Her partner, Agent Hadia, being fresh out of the academy, has less street smarts, but has some book smarts Fatima lacks (particularly when it comes to religious training) – but also can pull her own weight in a fight and, being a member of the Islamic Feminist League, is in tune with various social movements, meaning that it reduces a degree of tension regarding whether the two are going to end up at odds because of Fatima's sexual identity.  The involvement of the peace summit also really helps to round out the larger world of the setting, both with the various foreign dignitaries, and with the handful of emigre communities that pop up over the course of A Master of Djinn, either directly playing a role in the plot, or as background supporting cast. If I had a gripe at all with this, it's that the Conference's Great Powers are “The European Great Powers + Egypt” – with no presence of any of the contracted former colonies of the Great Powers that might have their own tensions that would make the World War fit that description – such as India, China, and Japan. Japan's conflict with Russia in World War I ended up spreading into further grabs for territory in China and Korea, for example, and the rise of magic could potentially have lead to some degree of a resurgent China (giving it a different global perception than it had pre-WWII), and the Indian Independence movement might have already made a level of headway that it didn't get until post World War II. It all feels like a missed opportunity.  On the other hand, Grey gets into the very ways racial prejudices have and haven't changed in this world – the White European members of Worthington's “Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz” look down on the people of Egypt, Cairo has a population of African-American emigres (particularly demonstrated by the African-American Jazz musicians at the club where Fatima hangs out), much as there were in France. However, darker-skinned Egyptians also face prejudice from their peers, and related to this, the story also gets into the historical president of this with tensions between previous Egyptian pharaohs and the darker-skinned population of Nubia to the south, and the ways that the Nubian population was treated in Egypt in the past.  Now, the mystery that is the heart of the plot is wonderfully well written – feeling like a work that fits in the lineage of other detective stories set in and around World War 1, not as cynical as noir, and not as grim as hard-boiled detective stories, but still with a willingness to get its hands dirty in the telling of the story, without getting into the gentility of a cozy.  I'm tremendously glad I read this book, and I'm going to need to hunt down the other novellas in this universe – and I deeply look forward to Clark's next novel. 

Wow that was good! Intelligent, well told and fascinating.This is an amazing story, part historical fiction, part detective story, part urban fantasy, part full on epic fantasy. It is a story with really great characters (who I really hope to read about again soon) in a complex and fascinating world that really holds a critical mirror up to our own. While I have been told that this book can be read on its own - I did not find this to be the case, I do strongly recommend reading the novellas in the series first:• [b:The Haunting of Tram Car 015 36546128 The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Dead Djinn Universe, #0.3) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537226167l/36546128.SY75.jpg 58277622] : Not vital to the central plot, but a great introduction to this very complex world and to two very good characters. Also it is just a really great story on its own merit.• [b:A Dead Djinn in Cairo 29635542 A Dead Djinn in Cairo (Dead Djinn Universe, #0.1) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459173382l/29635542.SX50.jpg 49993780] : I really feel you must read this one before the novel as it introduces some very key features as well as the main character of the novel. I had started the novel first, got confused with certain references and then went back and read this story which cleared things up.• [b:The Angel of Khan el-Khalili 57888459 The Angel of Khan el-Khalili (Dead Djinn Universe, #0.2) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619663376l/57888459.SY75.jpg 90689051] : This is skippable, but is very short and adds great atmosphere.I'm going to seriously miss this world and these characters - here's hoping for a sequel soon!

A fun, fast-paced romp through a djinn-infested, steampunk Cairo. Great world-building and a blistering conclusion.

Nothing against the author's writing style, the subject matter is something I don't get excited about to read.

An enjoyable read with great world building.

It's not all 3 wishes...

I was disappointed in this one. I love a fantastical murder mystery, but this one was too light for the mood I was in. It's fine if you're just looking for a glittery steampunk popcorn read, but the story spends too much time on what the world looks like and not really enough on the characters for me to really enjoy it. Also, I guessed the murderer from the minute they were introduced, which always annoys me. I kept hoping I'd be wrong, but it just kept making all these obvious references to who really dunnit that I was frustrated that a character as supposedly adept as Fatma couldn't figure this out.

Very fun!

I gave this 4 stars because I think it should be in Young Adult and as such it is a fun read. But as Adult Fiction... nah. It reminds me a lot of Winter's Orbit in a sense that the world and story work on the surface, for the purpose of a fun, casual story, but if you think deeper for 5 minutes it absolutely falls apart. Again, as YA this is common and generally accepted at this point. But I personally don't think these books belong in Adult Fiction.