Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark

17 reviews

ko_rax's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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emily_mh's review

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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

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takarakei's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

I was told to read this first for some world-building before reading The Master of Djinn. It was a quick listen that is really packed with information about this world and follows the plot at a pretty quick pace. At it's core it's a mystery as you follow detective Fatma on a hunt to discover why some other worldly beings are being killed. Fatma is a cool main character to follow and I would've happily read more about her!

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jhbandcats's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I should have read this novella before reading Master of Djinn, the novel that takes off where this ends. This story introduces the characters  of Fatma, the inspector who works with the Cairo department that regulates magic, and Siti, a woman who has magical strength and agility. They work together to protect the world from an influx of evil from another … world? dimension? - and Siti mysteriously disappears just before the police show up after all the action is over - but not before making a date with Fatma. Action, romance, djinns, angels, ghuls - what’s not to like? Well, honestly, no one likes ghuls….

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rafacolog's review

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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unfocusedcuriosity's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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rorareads55's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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gothnailcare's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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nicnevin's review

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

I am in love with this wordbuilding, steampunk magic Egypt with tantalising hints of other worlds. I gotta read the rest of this series. 

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totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Wow. Just .. wow. 

The setting, the intricacy of the world-building, the characters, the lore - this was so interesting and enjoyable, I loved everything about it! 😍

Plus, Suehyla El-Attar's narration elevated this to being an easy favourite. 

So glad that there's more from this universe left for me to explore!


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