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coolcurrybooks 's review for:
The Black God's Drums
by P. Djèlí Clark
What a great story!
The Black God’s Drums is a steampunk novella following Creeper, a girl in the free and neutral city of New Orleans. She’s a street urchin living in a hidey-hole near the airfield, watching the airships come and go and dreaming of seeing the world. When she overhears some valuable information involving a Haitian scientist and a weapon called the Black God’s Drums, she sees her chance — use the information to try and buy her way onto the smuggler ship The Midnight Robber, lead by the famous Captain Ann-Marie. But Creeper also has another card up her sleeve: the goddess Oya of winds and storms who grants her divine powers and sometimes visions. Including a vision of a giant skull in the skies over New Orleans…
Since The Black God’s Drums is a novella, it’s no surprise that it’s a quick read. I read the entity of the story in little under an hour. The pacing is also quick, and the story moves right along without any dragging.
My main hesitation with The Black God’s Drums was some of my prior difficulties with the steampunk genre. Essentially, I have too often run into steampunk that privileges the aesthetic over the story and characters. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue with The Black God’s Drums! The characters are compelling and the plot well crafted.
That’s not to say that the world itself isn’t intriguing — it is! We only see a small segment of it, but what you do see is vibrant and lifelike, giving the feel that it extends beyond the page. The alternate history aspect is also intriguing. The United States fractured into a variety of countries during the Civil War, although there’s currently a peace treaty between the North and the South. New Orleans is neutral territory that outlaws slavery. Haiti is a major world power thanks to the efforts of their scientists. All in all, it’s a world I would be happy to see more of.
I also enjoyed how The Black God’s Drums added its own unique take through the inclusion of the fantastical and mythological aspects. Oya and the other divinities of The Black God’s Drums are some stand out elements and characters in their own right.
While I don’t believe there’s any plans for a sequel, I’d love to have one! For now, I’ll just have to keep a close eye on everything else Clark writes.
Review from The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
The Black God’s Drums is a steampunk novella following Creeper, a girl in the free and neutral city of New Orleans. She’s a street urchin living in a hidey-hole near the airfield, watching the airships come and go and dreaming of seeing the world. When she overhears some valuable information involving a Haitian scientist and a weapon called the Black God’s Drums, she sees her chance — use the information to try and buy her way onto the smuggler ship The Midnight Robber, lead by the famous Captain Ann-Marie. But Creeper also has another card up her sleeve: the goddess Oya of winds and storms who grants her divine powers and sometimes visions. Including a vision of a giant skull in the skies over New Orleans…
Since The Black God’s Drums is a novella, it’s no surprise that it’s a quick read. I read the entity of the story in little under an hour. The pacing is also quick, and the story moves right along without any dragging.
My main hesitation with The Black God’s Drums was some of my prior difficulties with the steampunk genre. Essentially, I have too often run into steampunk that privileges the aesthetic over the story and characters. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue with The Black God’s Drums! The characters are compelling and the plot well crafted.
That’s not to say that the world itself isn’t intriguing — it is! We only see a small segment of it, but what you do see is vibrant and lifelike, giving the feel that it extends beyond the page. The alternate history aspect is also intriguing. The United States fractured into a variety of countries during the Civil War, although there’s currently a peace treaty between the North and the South. New Orleans is neutral territory that outlaws slavery. Haiti is a major world power thanks to the efforts of their scientists. All in all, it’s a world I would be happy to see more of.
I also enjoyed how The Black God’s Drums added its own unique take through the inclusion of the fantastical and mythological aspects. Oya and the other divinities of The Black God’s Drums are some stand out elements and characters in their own right.
While I don’t believe there’s any plans for a sequel, I’d love to have one! For now, I’ll just have to keep a close eye on everything else Clark writes.
Review from The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.