Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Dead Djinn in Cairo

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark

13 reviews

rubyredders's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

What a great story. I know this is part of a series but even self contained as it is what great world building.

The characters are all a delight. Fatma just trying yo do her job and somehow her mystery solving suit wearing cane swinging self is rizzing up Siti - certified baddie. Aasim was also there - I kid I kid he entertained me by being such an ‘in my day!’ Type of old man hahaha

The mix of history and magic weaved together surprisingly well. It didnt feel like it was lore dumping at any point. Just a case of as things appear Fatma puzzles them out using context clues that do relate to the world as is.

Cairo at the turn of the 20th century makes for such a unique take on the magical realism genre where modern day and [insert US location here] tends to dominate. I will definitely be looking into the rest of the series in future

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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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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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anni_swanilda's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

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heather_freshparchment's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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magicshop's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

“Djinn. Ghuls. Sorcerers. Never had to worry about this in my grandfather's day.”

i read this very quickly, and not just by virtue of its short length.

you should read this book if...

you want a quick shot of inspiration (that's what it did to me as an artist at least ⁠— i want to draw every single object and creature described in this book now)
you value worldbuilding above all else. honey, you've got a storm comin'

the good

worldbuilding grabbed me by the throat and bled me dry
likable main character (completely ymmv of course, as with most opinions about fiction, but i liked her candid and matter-of-fact personality despite the stereotypes i'll mention in the bad section)
interesting exploration of religion, if not very in-depth due to being so short. i hope to see more of this in the rest of the series.
badass lesbians!

the bad

main character is a "woman in a man's world," which is an old and tired trope in my opinion
mc's sidekick is pretty boring, though he's probably meant to be so at least in part to make her shine in comparison

the complicated

main character gave me nonbinary/gnc vibes with her whole get-up and attitude toward her society's treatment of gender, but it's not confirmed in any way. had it been so i would probably have bumped it up to a slightly higher rating.
plot was quite interesting but definitely overshadowed by the worldbuilding. not really a negative per se but could've been even better to elevate this beyond its already impressive caliber.

i'm glad i read this little story and i think it's very rereadable as well; i'll keep it close for whenever i need some fresh character design inspiration, cause damn. he did that.

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bel017's review

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medium-paced

Very heavy on world building. As a short story I would have appreciated more plot and less detail.

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madarauchiha's review

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adventurous medium-paced

3.0

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️

I think I'd love this if I could stand steampunk. The setting was great, the writing fantastic, I don't care for the steampunk, but I enjoyed the plot nonetheless.

I really did hate the whorephobia though, stop shitting on sex workers you assholes.

content warnings
medium suicide, body horror,

major gore, murder, death, gun violence, body horror, unreality, anti sex worker sentiment, whorephobia,

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ellekhupe's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.0

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horizonous's review

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adventurous 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'm already in love with Fatma, who looks like this (https://abload.de/img/1239031e1jf8.jpg) in my head

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