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ashwaar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I have read Clark’s previous novel, Ring Shout, and his short stories set in the same universe as A Master of Djinn. You don’t need to read the short stories before this novel, but there are recurring characters and callbacks to previous events. I always find Clark’s worlds and ideas to be incredibly interesting, but I always end up feeling a bit left out, as it seems that everyone else adores this book and his stories, and I always end up disappointed.
My main issue with this book is the writing style. Although the premise is interesting, the descriptions and dialogue are wooden and uninspiring. Some fantasy novels I’ve read don’t provide any information about the world and still keep you hooked. In comparison, Clark feeds you spoonfuls of exposition at every opportunity, and it's just too much. Fatma describes every aspect of Cairo as we go through the novel, and it's so unrealistic. It's like if I walk past St Pauls Cathedral and say ‘ah yes, St Pauls, a Baroque-style structure built in the 17th Century by…’. Literally, no real person thinks the way Fatma does in this novel, and it really threw me off being able to connect with her.
I also found a lot of the themes to be very poorly explored. Clark brings up issues of wealth gaps, inequality, feminism, discrimination and social divides and it doesn’t seem like any of our characters really care about addressing that. It's like Clark is throwing everything at a wall and seeing what sticks and again, it's just too much going on. I know the story is about magic and djinn and investigating crimes but still... I expected more.
Overall it's a really interesting, original story, but it was just too poorly executed for me to recommend it. Clark clearly has a lot of this world thought out, not just in Egypt but across multiple countries, and he tries to introduce some of that in A Master of Djinn, but it just leaves too many loose threads. The story doesn’t feel neat, the characters don’t feel developed and Fatma isn’t someone I really want to root for. It's pretty disappointing honestly but I know what sort of fiction I enjoy, and I just couldn’t get on board with this.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendations: Build Your House Around by Body by Violet Kupersmith, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, War, Sexism, Murder, Blood, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Alcohol
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexism, Confinement, Police brutality, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Alcohol and Lesbophobia
librarianmage's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation, Body horror, and Slavery
ticktock's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Violence
laurajeangrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Islamophobia, Slavery, Racism, War, Violence, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
bisexualwentworth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The narration for the audiobook was kind of odd. If they were going to do accents for the entire book, surely it would have made more sense to find a narrator with an actual Egyptian accent?
If you enjoyed the Kane Chronicles or the Bartimaeus Trilogy as a child and want something that draws from the same mythologies but has a better understanding of imperialism and other issues, A Master of Djinn is definitely a great choice for that.
And it's sapphic!
One other thing: I was under the impression that Islam and magic don't mix and that it's bad to mix the two in fantasy writing, but I haven't seen anyone say anything about that aspect of the book, so it's possible that I was misinformed.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Cultural appropriation, Slavery, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Police brutality and Sexism
idksamiguess's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Colonisation
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Death
Minor: Sexual content and Sexism
lilyisblooming's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Death, and Violence
astropova's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Minor: Colonisation, Body horror, and War