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

“Many believe al-Jahiz tore a hole to the Kaf,” the Jann said. “It’s better stated by saying that he unlocked a door by finding a particular moment in space and time unique to the Kaf. That, in turn, weakened the barriers of other worlds, allowing magic and beings beyond the djinn to find their way into this one. There are worlds upon worlds that exist. Finding their locks requires knowing their unique places in the pattern.”

TITLE—A Dead Djinn in Cairo

AUTHOR—P. Djèlí Clark

PUBLISHED—2016

GENRE—alternative historical fantasy

SETTING—an alternative historical Cairo in the 1920s

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—magic, power, corruption

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️—Ob*sess*ed with the characters.

PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—I LOVED the atmosphere of this book!! The world building was outstanding!

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“When I was in school in Luxor I would see these photographs of Englishmen and Frenchmen who visited Egypt, before the djinn came. Mostly they were in suits. But sometimes they’d put on a jellabiya and headscarf. I found out they called it ‘going native.’ To look exotic, they said.”
“Did they?” Aasim cut in.
“Did they what?”
“Look exotic.”
“No. Just ridiculous.”
Aasim snickered.
“Anyway, when I bought my first suit, the English tailor asked me why I wanted it. I told him I wanted to look exotic.”

I LOVED this novella! I am immediately starting novella number two and pre-ordering the third book which I’ve heard is 400 pages long and that is definitely more like the amount of attention Clark’s incredible worldbuilding and fascinating characters deserves! He’s very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TW // gore, violence

Further Reading—

the rest of the series
Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin
How Long Til Black Future Month, by N. K. Jemisin
I also kind of got some His Dark Materials vibes from this book as well...

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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 gave this audiobook a quick listen and truly enjoyed the story. It's a short, fast-paced story set in 1912 steampunk Cairo. The cast of characters is interesting, but Fatma herself is by far the most intriguing. She's unapologetically herself, as unusual as that is for the times, and I absolutely loved her dry sense of humor. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of this unique and innovative series.

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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

This is a novella, so it's able to be devoured in a single sitting, which is exactly the way it should be read because it's great.

I love steampunk anyway, but this blend of steampunk and supernatural with a Middle Eastern setting was absolutely fantastic. Fifty years ago a magician gave the supernatural world access to our world, and now sorcerers, djinn, angels, the undead, and all manner of magical things are commonplace in Fatima's Cairo. Her job is to investigate crimes and other problems involving the supernatural.

Fatima is awesome. She dresses like an English gentleman, really knows what she's doing, and overall was a ton of fun to follow around. She's smart and unflappable and it was a lot of fun to contrast her against her staunchly traditionalist partner in the beginning before she went off to save the world on her own.

What starts as a really weird magical suicide case turns into something much bigger real quick, as Fatima's investigation leads her to discover a dead djinn, a dead angel, and a prophecy that means she has until dawn to stop the old gods from coming into the world and killing every single human on the planet. It manages to be just tangled enough to be interesting without being so tangled as to feel rushed, and even though a couple of the answers seemed to be a little easy, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This being super short, you don't get a lot of details, but this is a prequel of sorts to a series featuring her so I'm super excited to get more. I would love a full-length novel or several in this world with Fatima being awesome.

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mar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

BANGER

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qace90's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I love the magic and mystery and history of this. Really enjoyed this short and looking forward to more in this world.

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northcoastwanderer's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

4.75

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naika's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.75

I picked this up after reading "Ring Shout", P. Djeli Clark's latest book, earlier today. It was my first time reading from the author and I was utterly impressed by him. I wanted to explore his writing more because I was certain I would continue to be wowed; I was not disappointed.

In "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", we are introduced to Fatma, a female Special Investigator for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. In 1912 Egypt, a female investigator is quite unheard of and Fatma experiences her fair share of sexism. Not only is she in an unexpected career, she further subverts the accepted customs and wears English-style men suits, bowler hats, and a cane. She knows she is dapper and makes no excuses for it. Basically, she is a badass.

As the title suggests, she (and a local constable) are investigating the death of a djinn. The circumstances around its death seems especially peculiar to Fatma. Determined to uncover the truth, Fatma finds herself quickly embroiled in some unexpected, fantastical situations.

Having very limited knowledge of Egypt and it mythologies, I was excited to be thrown into this supernatural world. I often found myself looking up the various people, creatures, things, etc. introduced. In no way did that take away from my reading experience. In fact, it played an integral part in my enjoyment because I was being both entertained and educated. That's always a win in my book.

I honestly can't wrap my head around how in less the 50 pages, a complete world was built with such intrigue. This moved fast and did not let you go until the end. (Admittedly, sometimes I got a little lost in all the action, but this is not my typical read so I expected some confusion and an adjustment period).

Things were hinted at that I would have loved to see developed more - especially with regards to the side character, Siti. A whole series of short stories (or novels) following Fatma and Siti as they contend with the magical world would be greatly appreciated.

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