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A review by chantaal
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
3.5
P. Djèlí Clark has rapidly become an author I'm always interested in. He has a great imagination that centers black characters in fantasy, and I know he's always going to come up with some cool worldbuilding and character dynamics.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a ton of fun, and takes place in a fantasy world that is so richly described and built. We follow our main character Eveen, who is not a cat nor does she have a tail, but she is dead and she is an assassin. After a job goes wrong and she suddenly has memories of a past life she's not supposed to remember at all, the plot kicks off.
As I've already said, the world building is grand. Clark really knows how to build a world up around a character as they move through it and interact with other characters within it. He's fantastic at showing, not telling, and it's fun to find out about this world as Eveen's story unfolds.
Though the world building is strong, there are other aspects of the novel that didn't work as well for me. This feels like a madcap sort of story; it moves along at a strong pace that is steady but also feels very rushed at times. Additionally, I wasn't a huge fan of the humor or tongue-in-cheek character work. I never really felt totally connected to all the characters, which was unfortunate because the story itself was interesting as it unfolded.
This is a pretty fun novel, in the end. I would highly recommend this for readers who love plot driven stories, and who are looking for a fun new fantasy world with fun characters to read about.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing this ARC for review. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins just had its publish date pushed back to August 6, 2024.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a ton of fun, and takes place in a fantasy world that is so richly described and built. We follow our main character Eveen, who is not a cat nor does she have a tail, but she is dead and she is an assassin. After a job goes wrong and she suddenly has memories of a past life she's not supposed to remember at all, the plot kicks off.
As I've already said, the world building is grand. Clark really knows how to build a world up around a character as they move through it and interact with other characters within it. He's fantastic at showing, not telling, and it's fun to find out about this world as Eveen's story unfolds.
Though the world building is strong, there are other aspects of the novel that didn't work as well for me. This feels like a madcap sort of story; it moves along at a strong pace that is steady but also feels very rushed at times. Additionally, I wasn't a huge fan of the humor or tongue-in-cheek character work. I never really felt totally connected to all the characters, which was unfortunate because the story itself was interesting as it unfolded.
This is a pretty fun novel, in the end. I would highly recommend this for readers who love plot driven stories, and who are looking for a fun new fantasy world with fun characters to read about.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing this ARC for review. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins just had its publish date pushed back to August 6, 2024.