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A review by rwatkins
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
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.