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emily_mh's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I’m so impressed by this novella! Standing at less than 60 pages, Clarke managed to incorporate imaginative world-building, memorable characters, and a speedy investigation. I was so pleased with the steampunk, alt-history Egypt this story took place in. It was cool learning about the inventor who changed the course of history by bringing the supernatural to earth. The world-building was wholly tied into the mystery, which sought to strengthen both. The mystery itself was the perfect level of complexity for such a short novella, and thankfullly our MC detective actually DOES detectieve work - nothing falls into her lap. As our MC, Fatma was great, being incredibly capable without the tiresome ego, and dynamic due to the references to her past. The SCs were also interesting, ranging from a gun-slinging acolyte to literal angels.
I always think that the-world-is-ending stakes play out a little shallowly in a novella, and unfortunately this was also the case here. However, it didn’t hugely impact my enjoyment or the impression of quality this story gave. I’m picking up the next novella straight away!
Rep: sapphic Muslim Egyptian MC, sapphic Sudanese-Egyptian LI
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Body horror, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Ableism, Colonisation, Vomit, Blood, Sexism, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Minor: theft
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