Scan barcode
A review by ghada_mohammed
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
5.0
“I don’t have sad tales to tell you. I’m not some tragic character from a story, lost between two worlds. I revel in who I am. What I am.”
An absolute masterpiece!
The world-building, the culture, the politics, the folklore, the plot, the magic system, the characters, the humor: they were perfect. Even the setting was fresh: ancient Cairo where djinn walked the earth alongside humans, catalyzing a revolution in science and technology that upgraded not only the quality of life, but criminal activity also because of course, even ancient supernatural entities are not above that. The novel begins with a graphic scene depicting mass murdure then one mystery leads to the other. I'm all in for fast-paced plots and action-packed mysteries, but in this book that has both, the details take the cake: the intricacy of the world was mesmerizing. The author not only captured the big real-world historical events, the politics and seamlessly coated it with his own lore (I loved how he made the Fae native to France), he also captured the little things: the internalized racism some Egyptians still hold today against the “Black Africans”. Some go to extremes as to discriminate against their own countrymen who happen to have more melanin. I love how it was inserted casually and so matter-of-factly in the narrative which made it seem all the more disgusting. I loved the way the author conveyed the sexism that adamantly persisted in a world of sorcery and alchemy, where humans walk the earth with djinn and alleged angels, so much that led Fatma, the main character, to project her own frustration with the system onto her new female partner, Hadia.
I really wish more SFF authors will experiment a little more with their world-building. I mean there's a whole world of history out there spanning more than five thousand years yet so little books venture outside Western Europe (and its derivatives) in the Middle Ages.
An absolute masterpiece!
The world-building, the culture, the politics, the folklore, the plot, the magic system, the characters, the humor: they were perfect. Even the setting was fresh: ancient Cairo where djinn walked the earth alongside humans, catalyzing a revolution in science and technology that upgraded not only the quality of life, but criminal activity also because of course, even ancient supernatural entities are not above that. The novel begins with a graphic scene depicting mass murdure then one mystery leads to the other. I'm all in for fast-paced plots and action-packed mysteries, but in this book that has both, the details take the cake: the intricacy of the world was mesmerizing. The author not only captured the big real-world historical events, the politics and seamlessly coated it with his own lore (I loved how he made the Fae native to France), he also captured the little things: the internalized racism some Egyptians still hold today against the “Black Africans”. Some go to extremes as to discriminate against their own countrymen who happen to have more melanin. I love how it was inserted casually and so matter-of-factly in the narrative which made it seem all the more disgusting. I loved the way the author conveyed the sexism that adamantly persisted in a world of sorcery and alchemy, where humans walk the earth with djinn and alleged angels, so much that led Fatma, the main character, to project her own frustration with the system onto her new female partner, Hadia.
Spoiler
Also the sexism that led an underappreciated daughter to murdure her father, his cult and to slap it on the face of her disrespectful brother. I'm not promoting mass murdure as a healthy coping mechanism with social injustice, but I firmly believe that if a villain launches into their monologue and you could relate to some level, it's a well-written villain.I really wish more SFF authors will experiment a little more with their world-building. I mean there's a whole world of history out there spanning more than five thousand years yet so little books venture outside Western Europe (and its derivatives) in the Middle Ages.