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layallyourbooksonme's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
tatyanavogt's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so I really enjoyed this and I would have given it a 5 if I could remember what happened. I remember some bits and pieces but not enough which means that the story wasn't super memorable for me... I do love P. Djèlí Clark's writing in general and would love to read this again to see if I do actually like it as much as I felt like I did.
rwatkins's review
3.0
I liked it. Overall: 2.5/5 (13.5/25)
*Review Disclaimer*
I had not read the novella that introduces this world or many of the characters before reading AMOD. This has likely skewed my score more negatively in Characterization (If you already knew the characters, they may be stronger for you than my perception from reading just this book alone. Also, with the author already establishing many of these characters previously, he may have purposefully done less character building in this book, given that work had already been done elsewhere). I do not think this affected my scoring of the other categories. I didn't know this was an expansion on a novella before I starting reading it.
This was an Egyptian, steampunk detective mystery with a romance subplot and new partner/buddy cop tropes. If you like Djinn, automatons, detective stories or magical police procedurals, then give it a try. The detective story itself was lackluster, and characters were flat. There is still a lot of fun to be had through the setting, feminist message and adventure aspects. If plotting, consistency and strong characters are musts, though, then skip it.
Minor Spoilers below.
Plot: 2.5/5
Like most murder mysteries, it starts with a murder. The mystery unfolds from there as the detective, her new partner, and her lover all follow leads to figure out the villain. The new partner gives some typical buddy cop moments. The love interest adds a romance subplot.
The magical mass murder made for a great hook at the start.
Unfortunately, the mystery elements fell apart after that. Unraveling the mystery involved being told to go somewhere, witnessing something or get some information, then get told to go somewhere else. Repeat this until the end. It made for a very repetitive and stale mystery plot. It isn't boring, however, because cool things do happen. It's just the plotting itself that became redundant. Every time a robot messenger showed up with directions to the next plot point I rolled my eyes.
The romance was more connected to the plot than I expected. A decent amount of time is dedicated to the romance. I'm not the target audience for romantic fantasy, so for me it was okay.
The new partner and buddy cop portions were typical, with a feminist touch.
Characters: 2.5/5
Fatma is the main character, a detective assigned to the case. She's a horrible detective, though, and I don't understand how she's a specialist in investigating magic crimes. She doesn't seem to know a lot about magic, she's not particularly perceptive, she's ill-equipped in arresting magical beings. And yet her department treats her like the best detective there is. She lets the bad guy escape at least three times, has to constantly be told where to go next, doesn't do any real detective stuff at all. I'm just confused how she got this job and why she still has it.
Siti is her lesbian lover, with mysterious powers and claws. Outside of her role in the romance and plot, she doesn't have much dimension to her. That said, I did like how she was connected back to the plot in a few different instances. These twists landed for me and added to that fun factor that helped lift my enjoyment of this book.
Hadia, the new partner with a thousand cousins and ultra-feminist, seems better informed about the magical world and more perceptive than Fatma. She was interesting.
The supporting characters are fun, but mostly one-note, there for a single purpose, and that's it.
Setting: 3/5
The historical world with added magic was great.
The steampunk motifs were awesome.
The Egyptian, Arabian and African inflections were fantastic. However, there were some uses of dialogue where I couldn't understand because there weren't any context cues, such as repeated exclamations in Arabic. Luckily, I live near Dearborn, Michigan, so I have easy acessability to friends versed in Arabic. I even asked a stranger in my favorite reading spot, a local coffee shop, to ask for help in clarity with translating/inflections when I needed it. Some readers will not like the level of included terms they may need a translator for and may not have such readily available resources.
The magic and mysticism, including magical creatures, magical peoples and magical artifacts were exciting to read about. Cultural stories, superstitions and beliefs all added flavor to the story.
The only thing holding back the setting score for me was a lack of consistency in the rules established. In one chapter, it is told that djinn cannot talk about something, but the very next chapter breaks that rule. This kept happening, breaking down any consistency just to keep including exceptions to rules that were just established. It wasn't done in an artful way and just made it difficult to understand the rules of the world.
Style: 2.5/5
Prose is a bit simplistic but pacing was fast, linear, and easy to follow.
I've already criticized the plot/character issues with Fatma being reactive and inept, which were choices I didn't enjoy.
There are instances of applying today's social politics to the historical world of the past, which broke immersion. These feminist stances worked for thematic exploration but were a bit blatant and heavy-handed, hurting style in their execution.
Themes: 3/5
Feminism drives the messaging in this book, with powerful female characters dealing with the inept and self-important men around them. This takes on multiple angles through multiple characters.
Police presence as a weapon of the wealthy and at odds with the poor is presented as a potential theme but quickly abandoned and left underdeveloped.
Cultural appropriation, colonial theft, racism, unequal treatment of women, slavery. A lot of heavy themes touched on but not quite delved into.
After reading Ring Shout, I expected more depth from Clark, as he is an author not afraid to tackle the social issues of the times and doing it in a more meaningful way.
*Review Disclaimer*
I had not read the novella that introduces this world or many of the characters before reading AMOD. This has likely skewed my score more negatively in Characterization (If you already knew the characters, they may be stronger for you than my perception from reading just this book alone. Also, with the author already establishing many of these characters previously, he may have purposefully done less character building in this book, given that work had already been done elsewhere). I do not think this affected my scoring of the other categories. I didn't know this was an expansion on a novella before I starting reading it.
This was an Egyptian, steampunk detective mystery with a romance subplot and new partner/buddy cop tropes. If you like Djinn, automatons, detective stories or magical police procedurals, then give it a try. The detective story itself was lackluster, and characters were flat. There is still a lot of fun to be had through the setting, feminist message and adventure aspects. If plotting, consistency and strong characters are musts, though, then skip it.
Minor Spoilers below.
Plot: 2.5/5
Like most murder mysteries, it starts with a murder. The mystery unfolds from there as the detective, her new partner, and her lover all follow leads to figure out the villain. The new partner gives some typical buddy cop moments. The love interest adds a romance subplot.
The magical mass murder made for a great hook at the start.
Unfortunately, the mystery elements fell apart after that. Unraveling the mystery involved being told to go somewhere, witnessing something or get some information, then get told to go somewhere else. Repeat this until the end. It made for a very repetitive and stale mystery plot. It isn't boring, however, because cool things do happen. It's just the plotting itself that became redundant. Every time a robot messenger showed up with directions to the next plot point I rolled my eyes.
The romance was more connected to the plot than I expected. A decent amount of time is dedicated to the romance. I'm not the target audience for romantic fantasy, so for me it was okay.
The new partner and buddy cop portions were typical, with a feminist touch.
Characters: 2.5/5
Fatma is the main character, a detective assigned to the case. She's a horrible detective, though, and I don't understand how she's a specialist in investigating magic crimes. She doesn't seem to know a lot about magic, she's not particularly perceptive, she's ill-equipped in arresting magical beings. And yet her department treats her like the best detective there is. She lets the bad guy escape at least three times, has to constantly be told where to go next, doesn't do any real detective stuff at all. I'm just confused how she got this job and why she still has it.
Siti is her lesbian lover, with mysterious powers and claws. Outside of her role in the romance and plot, she doesn't have much dimension to her. That said, I did like how she was connected back to the plot in a few different instances. These twists landed for me and added to that fun factor that helped lift my enjoyment of this book.
Hadia, the new partner with a thousand cousins and ultra-feminist, seems better informed about the magical world and more perceptive than Fatma. She was interesting.
The supporting characters are fun, but mostly one-note, there for a single purpose, and that's it.
Setting: 3/5
The historical world with added magic was great.
The steampunk motifs were awesome.
The Egyptian, Arabian and African inflections were fantastic. However, there were some uses of dialogue where I couldn't understand because there weren't any context cues, such as repeated exclamations in Arabic. Luckily, I live near Dearborn, Michigan, so I have easy acessability to friends versed in Arabic. I even asked a stranger in my favorite reading spot, a local coffee shop, to ask for help in clarity with translating/inflections when I needed it. Some readers will not like the level of included terms they may need a translator for and may not have such readily available resources.
The magic and mysticism, including magical creatures, magical peoples and magical artifacts were exciting to read about. Cultural stories, superstitions and beliefs all added flavor to the story.
The only thing holding back the setting score for me was a lack of consistency in the rules established. In one chapter, it is told that djinn cannot talk about something, but the very next chapter breaks that rule. This kept happening, breaking down any consistency just to keep including exceptions to rules that were just established. It wasn't done in an artful way and just made it difficult to understand the rules of the world.
Style: 2.5/5
Prose is a bit simplistic but pacing was fast, linear, and easy to follow.
I've already criticized the plot/character issues with Fatma being reactive and inept, which were choices I didn't enjoy.
There are instances of applying today's social politics to the historical world of the past, which broke immersion. These feminist stances worked for thematic exploration but were a bit blatant and heavy-handed, hurting style in their execution.
Themes: 3/5
Feminism drives the messaging in this book, with powerful female characters dealing with the inept and self-important men around them. This takes on multiple angles through multiple characters.
Police presence as a weapon of the wealthy and at odds with the poor is presented as a potential theme but quickly abandoned and left underdeveloped.
Cultural appropriation, colonial theft, racism, unequal treatment of women, slavery. A lot of heavy themes touched on but not quite delved into.
After reading Ring Shout, I expected more depth from Clark, as he is an author not afraid to tackle the social issues of the times and doing it in a more meaningful way.
bratzdoll444's review
5.0
First off i’d like to say that P. Djeli Clark, is a beautiful writer. the atmosphere, character building, the mystery! Well done!
I really enjoyed all of these characters but i will truly cherish Fatma, Siti, and Hadia. seriously he’s created such beautiful, smart, talented, and strong women in this book. I really enjoyed the setting, and the investigation aspect. Clark has such a unique way to create intricate details into this story that is completely mind blowing.
I also loved the relationship between fatma and siti, it felt so precious, i just love them. i felt bubbly and light when i read their conversations with each other. their just perfect and so cute!
I really did love this book! it took me a little bit to get into, but when i finally did i was very happy with the result!
I really enjoyed all of these characters but i will truly cherish Fatma, Siti, and Hadia. seriously he’s created such beautiful, smart, talented, and strong women in this book. I really enjoyed the setting, and the investigation aspect. Clark has such a unique way to create intricate details into this story that is completely mind blowing.
I also loved the relationship between fatma and siti, it felt so precious, i just love them. i felt bubbly and light when i read their conversations with each other. their just perfect and so cute!
I really did love this book! it took me a little bit to get into, but when i finally did i was very happy with the result!
meowyagnes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
katieinca's review
3.0
First: this may be labeled "Dead Djinn Universe #1" but it's not the first story in this world, it's the fourth. I wish I'd known this, especially since one of them was included at the end of this book! Do yourself a favor and read them in order, and maybe you'll avoid some of the "wait, am I supposed to remember that or not?" that I experienced.
I was SO excited to read what the cover called "a wickedly fun steampunk mystery" set in an alternate history Cairo, where Egypt is an independent world power. Better yet, our detective is one of the only female agents in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and her girlfriend seems to have mysterious powers. The worldbuilding was brilliant. The plot and characters left me a little lukewarm. To the extent this was supposed to be a mystery novel (which I was less and less sure of as the book went on), our smart detective seemed to be picking up on things pretty slowly.
For a book that has so much of what I'm looking for in a great read, this took me forever to finish. I understand this is Clark's first work of this length, and I'll definitely pick up the next entry to see if it goes better for me.
Other stories in this universe are listed on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Dj%C3%A8l%C3%AD_Clark#Dead_Djinn_Universe
I was SO excited to read what the cover called "a wickedly fun steampunk mystery" set in an alternate history Cairo, where Egypt is an independent world power. Better yet, our detective is one of the only female agents in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and her girlfriend seems to have mysterious powers. The worldbuilding was brilliant. The plot and characters left me a little lukewarm. To the extent this was supposed to be a mystery novel (which I was less and less sure of as the book went on), our smart detective seemed to be picking up on things pretty slowly.
For a book that has so much of what I'm looking for in a great read, this took me forever to finish. I understand this is Clark's first work of this length, and I'll definitely pick up the next entry to see if it goes better for me.
Other stories in this universe are listed on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Dj%C3%A8l%C3%AD_Clark#Dead_Djinn_Universe
fadingapple's review against another edition
3.25
3.25/5 stars
I wanted so badly to love this and truth be told, it was just okay. I loved the concept, the plot, the setting....but the writing failed to truly make me care about the characters themselves. Siti was the only one I really loved and it was just because of her sass. I liked the characters, don't get me wrong. But I wasn't invested.
The writing was good, the story and setting fascinating....I can't quite pinpoint why I didn't care as much as I felt like I should have, where I was missing the investment.
I understand why this is a beloved book and I do think a lot of people would really love it and enjoy it. But for me it was just only okay.
I wanted so badly to love this and truth be told, it was just okay. I loved the concept, the plot, the setting....but the writing failed to truly make me care about the characters themselves. Siti was the only one I really loved and it was just because of her sass. I liked the characters, don't get me wrong. But I wasn't invested.
The writing was good, the story and setting fascinating....I can't quite pinpoint why I didn't care as much as I felt like I should have, where I was missing the investment.
I understand why this is a beloved book and I do think a lot of people would really love it and enjoy it. But for me it was just only okay.
girlsaturday's review against another edition
Interesting world, plot was kinda slow. Expected you to have read a short story??
jaji's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
5.0
I read this in both print and audiobook form.
The print version is very good, however the audiobook narration makes it excellent.
The print version is very good, however the audiobook narration makes it excellent.