Reviews

Los Tambores del Dios Negro by David G. Vaquero, P. Djèlí Clark, P. Djèlí Clark, Raúl García Campos

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lourdeslo's review against another edition

3.0

The scene is New Orleans a few days leading up to Mardi Gras. Creeper is a 13 year old girl who is living on the streets. Though she is living on the streets of New Orleans ,she is protected by the god Oya who lives within her. When Creeper needs help, Oya uses her powers through Creeper to protect he making sure Creeper is not harmed if possible.

One night Creeper over hears a Haitian doctor may have a way to get the Black Gods Drum in exchange for a jewel. Creeper realizes this is of grave importance and she wants to use this information to her advantage . She wants to sell the importation to get something in return.

This leads her to a ships captain Anne Marie. Anne Marie has a secret of her own though. She also has a god living inside of her as well. These two soon realize that it is fate that brought them to each other .

Creeper and Ann Marie go on a mission to find this doctor and find out why he is willing to give up the Black Gods Drum , which is a traitorous act .

What we find out is Creeper and Ann Marie are the only two who can stop what has already been set in motion. Also what is the important Jewel.

The story was so well written and amazing to be a novella . P. Derelict Clark is an amazing author who can take bits of history and mix them into an amazing adventure filled story. A great novella to add to your TBR .

vicreads24's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

daines's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

4.0

arualle's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

inadct's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was so so so good. I always trust P. Djèli Clark to get me
out of a reading slump and he did it once more.

This story was so fresh, i’ve never read anything related to the Orishas and it was so interesting to see this take on Oya, Oshun, and Shango because I’ve grown up hearing so much about them.

Would love to read more in this world, maybe a future story of Jacqueline being grown and working in the airship with the Captain.

lauraborkpower's review against another edition

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3.0

I haven't read something for this age group in a while and it was nice to get into something that was fast-paced, action-packed, and concise. The idea of humans living with internal gods reminded me a lot of Akwaeke Emezi's Freshwater, and I hope Clark continues to explore that in the rest of the series.

A quick warning for people w/ kids: there's some graphic violence in the final fight sequence and our hero is really bloody and hurt. It might be a lot for young readers.

And a bonus: Clark's bio in the back of the book reveals that he "currently resides in a small castle in Hartford, Connecticut" with his wife and dog, so he has given me a new #castlelife goal.