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A review by christinecc
Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Look, I know it has flaws. Probably tons of them. But gosh gosh gosh did I love this.
"Djinn City" follows three principal characters in Bangladesh: Indelbed (a young half-human, half-djinn boy), Indelbed's father Kaikobad (... for whom I won't spoil details), and Rais (Indelbed's cousin and generally hilarious character with no direction in his life).
All three characters get roped in the no-so-hidden world of djinn, where politics and especially the Lore (read: very intricate legal rules, case law, contracts, etc.) rule supreme. Also, a lot of these djinn are a little... shall we say, eccentric? You'd be eccentric too if you were older than Babylon.
Although I loved all three storylines (ok no, Kaikobad's took a bit of getting used to, but it definitely paid off and it made me cry, what more do you want exactly?), I absolutely adored the exploration of djinn as entities and how their powers work. Let's just say the author brings a lot of scientific know-how, and he makes it incredibly easy to follow and compelling, which is not something a lot of people pull off well. Oh, and the djinn Givaras the Maker... my god, I can't forgive what he does to Indelbed. I knew he wasn't trustworthy when he said he'd done the experiment on previous djinn. But wow. What a detestable and compelling character. I hate him and yet I loved reading his scenes. Terrible djinn. Incredible character. I went back and read his scenes multiple times as I worked my way through the novel.
All this to say: Mr. Hossain, if you're reading this, PLEASE please please don't leave us with this ending. Don't do it. I need the rest. Like, it's a good ending, and I can probably live with it because I like a good open ending. But... if you feel like dropping the ending in a footnote somewhere in one of your upcoming novellas (like "Kundo Wakes Up"? Maybe? Probably not)... I'm not going to begrudge that. I'll take it.
Recommended if you want an adventure with djinn, twists, great characters, strategic gambits and legal loopholes, not to mention a super detailed and fascinating exploration of djinn magic without stripping away the awe attached to beings that are, by human standards practically immortal (but really aren't). Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
"Djinn City" follows three principal characters in Bangladesh: Indelbed (a young half-human, half-djinn boy), Indelbed's father Kaikobad (... for whom I won't spoil details), and Rais (Indelbed's cousin and generally hilarious character with no direction in his life).
All three characters get roped in the no-so-hidden world of djinn, where politics and especially the Lore (read: very intricate legal rules, case law, contracts, etc.) rule supreme. Also, a lot of these djinn are a little... shall we say, eccentric? You'd be eccentric too if you were older than Babylon.
Although I loved all three storylines (ok no, Kaikobad's took a bit of getting used to, but it definitely paid off and it made me cry, what more do you want exactly?), I absolutely adored the exploration of djinn as entities and how their powers work. Let's just say the author brings a lot of scientific know-how, and he makes it incredibly easy to follow and compelling, which is not something a lot of people pull off well.
All this to say: Mr. Hossain, if you're reading this, PLEASE please please don't leave us with this ending. Don't do it. I need the rest. Like, it's a good ending, and I can probably live with it because I like a good open ending. But... if you feel like dropping the ending in a footnote somewhere in one of your upcoming novellas (like "Kundo Wakes Up"? Maybe? Probably not)... I'm not going to begrudge that. I'll take it.
Recommended if you want an adventure with djinn, twists, great characters, strategic gambits and legal loopholes, not to mention a super detailed and fascinating exploration of djinn magic without stripping away the awe attached to beings that are, by human standards practically immortal (but really aren't). Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Ableism