Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

14 reviews

takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

I love P. Djèlí Clark's ability to weave history into fantasy. I love to learn little bits of history while reading the immersive lush settings Clark is able to create in such short novellas.

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ran_sophia's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I love writing and storytelling style of this book. It has amazing characters and it read a very well.

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2treads's review

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adventurous hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Just as rich as the first time I read it. Clark is a great storyteller and in such little time and pages gives us history and compelling characters. 

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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

3.0

This would’ve made an epic movie

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shaythereader's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

3.75✨

"The magic of those old Afrikin gods is part of this city, ma maman used to say, buried in its bones and roots with the slaves that built it, making the ground and air and waterways sacred land. Only we forgot the names that went with that power we brought over here."

This is a retrofuturistic story that takes place in New Orleans. We follow a young orphaned girl who lives on the street through an adventure to rescue a kidnapped scientist. 

There are visions and gods that follow and protect her. 

I enjoyed the story, but I feel like I wanted more. I needed to know more about the world and the Sci fi elements. 


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lucystolethesky's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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? No

5.0


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csevet's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

definitely thought there'd be more airships, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. 

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thewordsdevourer's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.25

i got such mixed feelings abt this book. on the one hand, the alternative history, culture, and language are exciting and downright ingenious; on the other, i find it a tad predictable and juvenile.

my favorite thing abt the black god's drums is the rich african and diasporic culture, and how clark cleverly weaves his own version of a history gone right into very refreshingly thriving black societies and all the endless possibilities that creates. the main character creeper/jacqueline is also spunky and surprisingly astute for her age, but we dont get to know the other characters as much.

the book's a lil too predictable for me, however, and it feels juvenile at times. although things dont always go well and there are hiccups along the way, the obstacles faced by our main characters still seem easy, thus robbing the story of any real excitement despite its adventurous style. i wish the ending was a lil longer as well. even so, i'll still be checking out clark's master of djinn.

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jhbandcats's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

A slender tale of a valiant girl who loves her home of New Orleans and fights to save it against powers both evil and meteorological.

Creeper, a 13-year-old orphan, is a pickpocket just struggling to get by when she overhears a conspiracy being planned. The wind god Oya, who has been a part of Creeper since her birth, knows something bad is coming to New Orleans, so Creeper heads off to get the help she needs. She enlists the Captain and makes a deal - she'll reveal the conspiracy if the Captain lets her come work on the airship.

As this is all taking place about twenty years after a fragile truce in the US Civil War, issues of freedom are paramount. New Orleans, a neutral zone, is full of escaped slaves and freemen, Confederate and Yankee soldiers, and citizens of all colors and classes. The author's vivid imagination and his charismatic main character keep this lively story going. It's a small but worthwhile entry in the steampunk genre and Black sci-fi / fantasy.

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steffiraquel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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