Reviews with content warning for Murder - A Master of Djinn

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A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

45 reviews

horizonous's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

3.25

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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bookwyrmknits's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? Yes

5.0

I have loved Clark's Dead Djinn Universe since reading The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (quickly followed by the other stories in the universe). This full-length novel is no exception! It was a lot of fun to read, and had the perfect amount of mystery to it. I especially appreciated that I figured out the puzzle (using clues, not guesses) just before Fatma did. It's always nice when an author gives the reader enough clues to solve the mystery, but not so many that the MC seems slow in comparison.

This is a highly enjoyable novel, and while you don't need to read any of the shorter pieces that come before it before picking up this book, I personally liked the little nods to those stories that I found since I *had* already read them. That extra knowledge, though, is a bonus and not at all necessary if you don't want to start with the short stories.

As with the prior installments in this universe, the focus is on setting and plot, and not characters. While we do get some minor character development in this novel, it seems that it's usually plot-driven development and not the other way around. This isn't a problem, especially if you're aware of it going in, but it might help manage expectations about what this novel is going to deliver.

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

A mystery is a balancing act, and overall this one does a good job of leaving clues the audience can follow and making sure it all pays off. Also djinn are cool as shit.

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deedireads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-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

4.5

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

A Master of Djinn is a whodunit magical police procedural set in a Cairo shaped by alternate history, and it’s SO fun with a ton of heart. Now I need to go back and read the prequel novellas!

For you if: You like mystery AND fantasy novels, and/or books that feature Arabic mythology.

FULL REVIEW:

A Master of Djinn has been on my radar since it came out, but then it was nominated for the Nebula AND the Hugo Awards, and so right to the top of my TBR it went. And I loved it! This book was just plain fun: easy to read, imaginative, and fast-paced — with a great big heart.

The story is a magical whodunit police procedural set in Cairo, but in a world shaped by an alternate history in which a man named al-Jahiz brought magic back into the world. Cairo is now a major world power, and our main character, Fatma, is one of the only women agents at the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities division (and she’s damn good at it). When an old rich British man who was leading a secret brotherhood winds up dead, and a person claiming to be al-Jahiz takes credit, Fatma is called onto the case. We also get to meet her gorgeous lover, her new agency partner, and some other truly delightful friends.

This is P. Djèlí Clark’s first full-length novel, but it’s not the first story set in this “Dead Djinn Universe” — there are a few prequel novellas. That said, A Master of Djinn is a standalone and can be read without having read the novellas — I am proof of that! While there were a couple of moments where I could tell he was referencing a previous story, and I’m sure there were probably things like inside jokes between characters I missed, all the info I needed to love this book was included.

Still, I loved the universe and the characters so much that it seems like I’ll be going back to read those novellas after all. ;)

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schnaucl's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

I really liked it, though I think I would have benefited from reading the short story set in the universe first. I actually liked the fact that certain things (mostly related to fashion) weren't explicitly explained for an audience who may not be familiar with it

The idea that America would be very anti-magic seems fitting.

I think the politics will be fascinating since not only is there the introduction of magic about 40 years ago, but it looks like World War I never happened. Egypt is a great power. Britain's power is waning for but for somewhat different reasons than happened in reality.

It's always interesting to explore the mythologies, magic traditions, and religions of other places and cultures. Lots of interesting stuff about colonial power, race, gender and religion to chew on.

I really liked the Jasmine Club.

I was a little frustrated, that Fatma didn't pick up on the fact that Siwa was trying to give them clues the only way he could the first time. I didn't understand the clues, but I figured that's what was happened. I also thought his second attempt where he was literally like here's a story about a woman dressed as a man doing a thing was pretty on the nose. Then again, I figured out who the true culprit was as soon as the doctor explained about the mask, since Fatma took her information from the person who first described the mask to her.

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