Book Review
Oct. 3rd, 2022 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariA Master of Djinn
by P. Djèlí Clark
This highly enjoyable fantasy novel is set in an alternate early-20th century Cairo in which djinn and creatures calling themselves angels live and work beside the human residents and magic is real. Suit-wearing Fatma el-Sha'awari is one of just a few women agents in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. She is called to investigate the murder of a secret society and becomes embroiled in a much larger mystery around someone claiming to be the mystic al-Jahiz, the man who opened a gate into the magical realm, allowing djinn and angels through.
I had a great time reading this book. The mystery is quite good and took me a while to unravel, but the best parts of A Master of Djinn were the setting and the characters. The world Clark has built is fascinating yet plausible, a compelling combination of magic and steampunk. Exploring this alternate Cairo was super cool. I loved Fatma, who is very smart, mostly confident, and quite clever. I also really liked Siti, her mysterious and ass-kicking lover. Hadia, Fatma's inexperienced yet tough fellow agent and new partner, was awesome as well. The secondary characters, and even some of the minor characters, are also very engaging and interesting. I will miss their company.
by P. Djèlí Clark
This highly enjoyable fantasy novel is set in an alternate early-20th century Cairo in which djinn and creatures calling themselves angels live and work beside the human residents and magic is real. Suit-wearing Fatma el-Sha'awari is one of just a few women agents in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. She is called to investigate the murder of a secret society and becomes embroiled in a much larger mystery around someone claiming to be the mystic al-Jahiz, the man who opened a gate into the magical realm, allowing djinn and angels through.
I had a great time reading this book. The mystery is quite good and took me a while to unravel, but the best parts of A Master of Djinn were the setting and the characters. The world Clark has built is fascinating yet plausible, a compelling combination of magic and steampunk. Exploring this alternate Cairo was super cool. I loved Fatma, who is very smart, mostly confident, and quite clever. I also really liked Siti, her mysterious and ass-kicking lover. Hadia, Fatma's inexperienced yet tough fellow agent and new partner, was awesome as well. The secondary characters, and even some of the minor characters, are also very engaging and interesting. I will miss their company.
