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hellbuny's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.0
The audio performance of this really helps set the location, characters and create a sense of immersion in the world. It starts a bit slow with alot of setup but the juice is worth the squeeze. The story has many twists and turns, the characters are lovable and relatable. Bit of love story, loads of mystery, great creative uses of technology and magic systems and some great action towards the end. All in all a very fun adventure read
crybabyghost's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.5
baillie's review against another edition
4.0
Woman goes around town talking to a lot of different people, getting very few answers, and has a lot of internalized misogyny (because your female partner surely can't be good at fighting and the crying white woman definitely can't be a bad person :/)
librarylandlisa's review against another edition
5.0
Wallahi, this was SO GOOD! My only critique is at the very end of the story, which still made the other 95% of this novel worthy of 5 stars. The audio was fabulous and helped with much of the Arabic language idioms and expressions in the novel that were not explained. Great read!
pcronn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
explodingcat's review against another edition
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
4.0
shauna_grenead's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.5
I feel the need to share my experience with the audiobook. I was going back and forth between print and audio, as I often do with my commute. I had to send the audiobook back to the library after a few chapters. The narrator’s attempted accent is very distracting. It made me not want to continue. Once I went to reading it in print only, I found it wasn’t bad. I don’t know that I’d recommend it, though. I thought it was just okay. Nothing really kept my attention or made me want to go home and put everything down to read, but it was interesting enough to read before bed.
alliecat0601's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
hr_b's review against another edition
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
5.0
mcloonejack's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an engrossing book thanks to Clark’s remarkable world-building abilities, by far the standout facet of an overall great read. He does my favorite version of world-building, which limits the exposition dumps and instead reveals the history and rules as they become necessary. (Similarly, the references to A Dead Djinn in Cairo, the short story that immediately precedes the events here and is included at the end, feel more like the classic “Remember _____?” in spy movies where they never give more details than necessary but establish a great report, even though the story does exist this time.) I particularly enjoyed the subtle, and not-so-subtle, changes that come with an un/decolonized Egypt.
But beyond the world-building, the dialogue is witty and lived in, peppered with Arabic phrases in a way that, for example, Agatha Christie would throw in French phrases. We’re so used to the former that I’m sure the usage here was jarring for some, but it fits squarely with Clark’s repeated refutations of the stodgy white ways of writing sci-fi/fantasy. His pushbacks feels a little heavy-handed maybe one time, but it’s fleeting.
This book is much more than its subversions, however. At its core is frenetic action and a compelling mystery, woven with some truly fantastic lore and varied characters.
I know there are other short stories in this universe I need to read, but I’m looking forward to more from Clark in this world.
But beyond the world-building, the dialogue is witty and lived in, peppered with Arabic phrases in a way that, for example, Agatha Christie would throw in French phrases. We’re so used to the former that I’m sure the usage here was jarring for some, but it fits squarely with Clark’s repeated refutations of the stodgy white ways of writing sci-fi/fantasy. His pushbacks feels a little heavy-handed maybe one time, but it’s fleeting.
This book is much more than its subversions, however. At its core is frenetic action and a compelling mystery, woven with some truly fantastic lore and varied characters.
I know there are other short stories in this universe I need to read, but I’m looking forward to more from Clark in this world.