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takarakei'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
I love P. Djèlí Clark's ability to weave history into fantasy. I love to learn little bits of history while reading the immersive lush settings Clark is able to create in such short novellas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Gun violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Slavery, and Death
Minor: Blood and Death of parent
ran_sophia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
I love writing and storytelling style of this book. It has amazing characters and it read a very well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
4.25
Context:
This is the second book by P. Djèlí Clark that I have read. Last year, I read his novel A Master of Djinn and thought it was decent, but I didn’t like it as much as I hoped. I picked up The Black God’s Drums because I wanted to give his writing another chance.
Review:
The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark is an adventurous, deeply imaginative novella set in an alternate-history steampunk New Orleans. One thing I loved about A Master of Djinn was its worldbuilding, and Clark once again proves his strength in this area with The Black God’s Drums. I adore how he constructs a believable alternate history of the United States and New Orleans for this story, as well as how he incorporates historical and African spiritual elements into the narrative. Besides the fantastic worldbuilding, this novella features a quirky and diverse cast of characters and an exciting adventure. The only thing keeping me from rating from this book higher is its length; although it tells a contained and well-paced story within its 112 pages, I don’t think it will stick in my memory much. I would love to see Clark write another book within this universe!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Blood
2treads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Just as rich as the first time I read it. Clark is a great storyteller and in such little time and pages gives us history and compelling characters.
Content Warnings
Minor: War, Gun violence, Slavery, Death, and Death of parent
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
3.0
This would’ve made an epic movie
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Death and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Blood
tigger89's review
adventurous
fast-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
4.0
This bite-size adventure was a fascinating window into an alternate history. As I was reading the first few scenes, historical inconsistencies - wasn't the Civil War over? what were these factions? - began piling up, and I forgive the author for the resulting expository info-dump because it was all so interesting. He clearly spent a great deal of time thinking through the necessary what-ifs and so-thens to create his alternate New Orleans. I especially loved the way the orishas were woven into the setting and plot, not just creating a good story but also driving me to wikipedia after I'd finished the book.
Something else I think he did well was the incidental diversity. It was never particularly important to the story that a character was bisexual or had a prosthetic; rather, they just existed in the world, as they have every right to. The author's use of dialect, which is present on nearly every line of dialogue, might bother some readers. I never had a problem following the speech, but if it's a problem for you, there's no escape from it.
One thing I didn't like was less the fault of the book and more a problem with the marketing/cover copy, and that was that I had been promised an airship adventure. Unfortunately, that's not what this book is about. This book is the prequel to the airship adventure(sadly, not yet written), but is itself very firmly grounded. It features sky pirates, but is not a sky pirate adventure. Maybe one day he'll revisit this setting and we'll get to see Jacqueline all grown up and ready to take to the skies.
Something else I think he did well was the incidental diversity. It was never particularly important to the story that a character was bisexual or had a prosthetic; rather, they just existed in the world, as they have every right to. The author's use of dialect, which is present on nearly every line of dialogue, might bother some readers. I never had a problem following the speech, but if it's a problem for you, there's no escape from it.
One thing I didn't like was less the fault of the book and more a problem with the marketing/cover copy, and that was that I had been promised an airship adventure. Unfortunately, that's not what this book is about. This book is the prequel to the airship adventure(sadly, not yet written), but is itself very firmly grounded. It features sky pirates, but is not a sky pirate adventure. Maybe one day he'll revisit this setting and we'll get to see Jacqueline all grown up and ready to take to the skies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
lucystolethesky's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Death, Trafficking, Violence, War, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Sexism
honeyvoiced's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Racism, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
carissa230's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Creeper lives on the streets of an alternate history New Orleans. Creeper overhears something that she thinks will buy her a ticket out of New Orleans. She seeks out the captain of a ship to trade her secret for escape. This is a really short book so there isn't much else to say here.
The book was an interesting, and compelling read. The book was a little short for the information packed into it. I think this would have made a better full-length novel.
The book was an interesting, and compelling read. The book was a little short for the information packed into it. I think this would have made a better full-length novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death of parent
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.25
i got such mixed feelings abt this book. on the one hand, the alternative history, culture, and language are exciting and downright ingenious; on the other, i find it a tad predictable and juvenile.
my favorite thing abt the black god's drums is the rich african and diasporic culture, and how clark cleverly weaves his own version of a history gone right into very refreshingly thriving black societies and all the endless possibilities that creates. the main character creeper/jacqueline is also spunky and surprisingly astute for her age, but we dont get to know the other characters as much.
the book's a lil too predictable for me, however, and it feels juvenile at times. although things dont always go well and there are hiccups along the way, the obstacles faced by our main characters still seem easy, thus robbing the story of any real excitement despite its adventurous style. i wish the ending was a lil longer as well. even so, i'll still be checking out clark's master of djinn.
my favorite thing abt the black god's drums is the rich african and diasporic culture, and how clark cleverly weaves his own version of a history gone right into very refreshingly thriving black societies and all the endless possibilities that creates. the main character creeper/jacqueline is also spunky and surprisingly astute for her age, but we dont get to know the other characters as much.
the book's a lil too predictable for me, however, and it feels juvenile at times. although things dont always go well and there are hiccups along the way, the obstacles faced by our main characters still seem easy, thus robbing the story of any real excitement despite its adventurous style. i wish the ending was a lil longer as well. even so, i'll still be checking out clark's master of djinn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Slavery, and War