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A review by dedonohoe
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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
TL;DR: A Master of Djinn is a queer, magical steampunk fantasy anticolonial alternate history murder mystery detective novel. And it’s excellent. My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A mysterious scientist-philosopher-magician of a bygone era opens the human realm to greater settlement by djinn and other “mythical” beings. Thanks to this historical development, Egypt has greatly benefited from advanced djinn magic and technology to become an early nineteenth century superpower.
One of the reasons I was excited to read this book is that the description (steampunk alternate history with anticolonial bent) reminded me of Nisi Shawl’s Everfair, which I read and enjoyed a couple years back. There were indeed thematic and steampunk genre similarities between the two, but these are ultimately very different kinds of stories. Mystery, detective, and fantasy tropes are far more prominent in A Master of Djinn. The main character, Fatma el-Sha’arawi, is an investigator with the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. The supernatural bureaucracy elements of the story reminded me a bit of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, as did the protagonist’s mission to stop a megalomaniac from harnessing potentially catastrophic magical powers.
There is so, so much to love in this book. The clues, twists, and turns of a good mystery. Strong, complex female heroes, sidekicks, and villains. A queer love story that navigates racial, religious, and other differences in identity and lived experience. Gender politics of turn of the century Cairo. Revenge fantasy scenes where white colonizers get what’s coming to them. Vivid and imaginative descriptions of setting and characters that make glorious use of color (e.g. Cairene woman protagonist is known for wearing androgynous and brightly color-coordinated European suits). Compelling historical allusions (e.g. Black New Orleans jazz musicians who fled Jim Crow America for Egypt give commentary on the racial politics of their adopted country of refuge).
As a big language nerd and someone who has traveled and lived in places with Turkic, Persian, and Arab cultural influences, I also LOVED the religious, cultural, and linguistic details that Clark weaves into his story. It’s quite apparent in his fiction that Clark is a historian by training.
I also want to address the question of whether A Master of Djinn is a standalone work. When I requested an ARC for A Master of Djinn, I hadn’t realized that P. Djèlí Clark had already written two novellas set in this fantasy world and featuring these characters. I was curious whether they were important to understanding and enjoying his debut novel, so I decided to buy and read them before jumping into A Master of Djinn. I can definitely report that it’s not necessary to read “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” or “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” in advance. The important information gets repeated in A Master of Djinn for the benefit of the uninitiated.
That said, if you want to get a taste of this world before committing to the full novel, “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” is very short (43 pages) and tells the story of a previous case Fatma has solved that is very relevant to the case she becomes embroiled in during the events of A Master of Djinn. “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” is longer (82 pages) and centers on side characters (Fatma only makes a brief cameo) and a case that is not central to A Master of Djinn. However, it is entertaining in its own right and provides background for some of the religious conflict present in this imagined Cairene society, as well as recent political movements for gender equality that are alluded to in A Master of Djinn.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me advance access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence
TL;DR: A Master of Djinn is a queer, magical steampunk fantasy anticolonial alternate history murder mystery detective novel. And it’s excellent. My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A mysterious scientist-philosopher-magician of a bygone era opens the human realm to greater settlement by djinn and other “mythical” beings. Thanks to this historical development, Egypt has greatly benefited from advanced djinn magic and technology to become an early nineteenth century superpower.
One of the reasons I was excited to read this book is that the description (steampunk alternate history with anticolonial bent) reminded me of Nisi Shawl’s Everfair, which I read and enjoyed a couple years back. There were indeed thematic and steampunk genre similarities between the two, but these are ultimately very different kinds of stories. Mystery, detective, and fantasy tropes are far more prominent in A Master of Djinn. The main character, Fatma el-Sha’arawi, is an investigator with the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. The supernatural bureaucracy elements of the story reminded me a bit of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, as did the protagonist’s mission to stop a megalomaniac from harnessing potentially catastrophic magical powers.
There is so, so much to love in this book. The clues, twists, and turns of a good mystery. Strong, complex female heroes, sidekicks, and villains. A queer love story that navigates racial, religious, and other differences in identity and lived experience. Gender politics of turn of the century Cairo. Revenge fantasy scenes where white colonizers get what’s coming to them. Vivid and imaginative descriptions of setting and characters that make glorious use of color (e.g. Cairene woman protagonist is known for wearing androgynous and brightly color-coordinated European suits). Compelling historical allusions (e.g. Black New Orleans jazz musicians who fled Jim Crow America for Egypt give commentary on the racial politics of their adopted country of refuge).
As a big language nerd and someone who has traveled and lived in places with Turkic, Persian, and Arab cultural influences, I also LOVED the religious, cultural, and linguistic details that Clark weaves into his story. It’s quite apparent in his fiction that Clark is a historian by training.
I also want to address the question of whether A Master of Djinn is a standalone work. When I requested an ARC for A Master of Djinn, I hadn’t realized that P. Djèlí Clark had already written two novellas set in this fantasy world and featuring these characters. I was curious whether they were important to understanding and enjoying his debut novel, so I decided to buy and read them before jumping into A Master of Djinn. I can definitely report that it’s not necessary to read “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” or “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” in advance. The important information gets repeated in A Master of Djinn for the benefit of the uninitiated.
That said, if you want to get a taste of this world before committing to the full novel, “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” is very short (43 pages) and tells the story of a previous case Fatma has solved that is very relevant to the case she becomes embroiled in during the events of A Master of Djinn. “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” is longer (82 pages) and centers on side characters (Fatma only makes a brief cameo) and a case that is not central to A Master of Djinn. However, it is entertaining in its own right and provides background for some of the religious conflict present in this imagined Cairene society, as well as recent political movements for gender equality that are alluded to in A Master of Djinn.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me advance access to this book in exchange for an honest review.