Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

58 reviews

jpremmel's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Body horror, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery

crystalisreading's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

#23for23

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Murder, and Islamophobia

Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia

00phantom's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, War, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Slavery

klbreyfogle's review

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Slavery

lolajh's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Wowwwwww. Now this guy can write women, and let them be powerful ass lesbians at the same time!!! This took me forever to read, but it was worth it. The mystery, the characters, the world, having romance as a side-plot, all made for a truly wonderful read. Also I’m very much in love with Siti 🤭 she has CLAWS COME ON

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Racism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Sexism, Murder, and Colonisation

avacadosocks's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Slavery

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Murder, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Sexism

Moderate: Classism and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and War

anni_swanilda's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Gore

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Slavery, Police brutality, and Colonisation

Minor: Addiction and Alcohol

discarded_dust_jacket's review

adventurous funny mysterious 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

2.75

I thought this book was very well thought-out. The world that Clark has built is incredibly unique and impressive. The characters are equally dynamic.

I struggled with it perhaps for the same reason that I struggled with The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: mysteries (especially murder/crime mysteries) that deal too much with politics tend to lose my attention easily.

So the case here is once again not that the book was bad, but more that it was for me.

I also found the “twist” to be too easily predictable. Clark pulled a Big Hero 6 here by setting up a character the reader is obviously meant to be suspicious of from the start as the logical villain, except it was too obvious and too perfect, making it easy to spot as a diversion from a mile away. 

I kind of hoped that I wasn’t right about Abigail and that Clark was going to truly surprise me, but ended up disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Slavery, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Fire/Fire injury

tigger89's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This started off slow, but by the end I couldn't put it down. The layers of deception and mesmerization, not to mention the foreshadowing of such, were very well done. While a few short stories and a novella have been previously published in this universe, you don't have to have read them to understand A Master of Djinn. The one thing you might have trouble with is the Angels. I don't really understand what they were. I'm also not convinced that reading the previously published material would have shed any more light on that, as I think they're supposed to be a bit unknowable.

Unfortunately, I found the steampunk setting to be underutilized. I believe it might have played a significantly larger role in the previous stories set in the universe, but in this novel the focus was largely elsewhere. It's a shame too, because we all know about steampunk London, but I was really looking forward to steampunk Cairo.

I did really appreciate the dynamic between Fatma and her work partner Hadia, especially how their relationship grew over the course of the story. Most of the mysteries I've read lately have had the detective working mostly inside their own head, and it was refreshing to see a well-executed foil, even if it was reluctant at first! 

This is the second P. Djèlí Clark story I've read, and I'm noticing a few patterns. First, his wry skewering of colonialism and white people who are being ignorant is very appreciated, and utilized well in this novel. And second, he seems to have a thing for writing women in sexual relationships with other women. To be clear I don't have any complaint with how they were written here, but if you're someone who avoids sapphic content written by men on principle, be advised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Gun violence

Minor: Police brutality