A review by magicshop
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

“Djinn. Ghuls. Sorcerers. Never had to worry about this in my grandfather's day.”

i read this very quickly, and not just by virtue of its short length.

you should read this book if...
  • you want a quick shot of inspiration (that's what it did to me as an artist at least ⁠— i want to draw every single object and creature described in this book now)
  • you value worldbuilding above all else. honey, you've got a storm comin'

the good
  • worldbuilding grabbed me by the throat and bled me dry
  • likable main character (completely ymmv of course, as with most opinions about fiction, but i liked her candid and matter-of-fact personality despite the stereotypes i'll mention in the bad section)
  • interesting exploration of religion, if not very in-depth due to being so short. i hope to see more of this in the rest of the series.
  • badass lesbians!
 
the bad
  • main character is a "woman in a man's world," which is an old and tired trope in my opinion
  • mc's sidekick is pretty boring, though he's probably meant to be so at least in part to make her shine in comparison
 
the complicated
  • main character gave me nonbinary/gnc vibes with her whole get-up and attitude toward her society's treatment of gender, but it's not confirmed in any way. had it been so i would probably have bumped it up to a slightly higher rating.
  • plot was quite interesting but definitely overshadowed by the worldbuilding. not really a negative per se but could've been even better to elevate this beyond its already impressive caliber.

i'm glad i read this little story and i think it's very rereadable as well; i'll keep it close for whenever i need some fresh character design inspiration, cause damn. he did that.
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