Reviews

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

the_readingduck's review

adventurous funny 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? Yes

4.0

It's always a pleasure to read P. Djèli Clark's book and I'm very happy I got an early access to this one !

It's a shift from your regular hired-assassin tropes, no one falls in love in that one, but the mystery is a thick one to crack.

I really liked Eveen as a main character and I enjoyed the world building and magic system.

It's a short read and I wish we could have had something bigger as to explore the world more, but it was extrememy entertaining.

It was however a bit hard to understand the goddesses at the end. 

jenhurst's review

4.0

3.5.
I have really enjoyed P Djeli Clark’s other books and I think this had a super unique premise. The writing was good and I liked the main character a lot. My issue was that because it as a novella it wasn’t fleshed out enough for my liking personally. I would’ve liked it if it another 100 pages longer I think. The world building could’ve been a bit fuller and we could’ve got better pacing.
I do recommend this if you are a fan of the authors other works or like novellas.
Thank you to netgalley and tordotcom for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

julalbert56's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a fun and mysterious adventure story with tons of cool fights and epic characters! For being a novella it accomplishes a lot in very few pages. I wish the lore of the world tied more directly into the revelation/climax of what was going on in the central narrative. The Pirate Princess stories were interesting but ultimately weren’t very relevant. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Child death

sarah2438's review

1.5

I hate giving negative reviews of ARCs but I really, really did not like this one. It's not quite a one-star for me, but it's close-- I would give it 1.5, and that's only because I was intrigued at the start and saw glimpses of good writing. Granted I understand this is a novella, but the worldbuilding felt very poorly done considering how important it was to the plot. Eveen just drove me nuts with her one-dimensional "I'm a badass, look how tough I am" persona. When all of the assassins started coming after them, it almost reminded me of Scooby Doo or something-- "oh no, not HIM! How am I gonna get out of this???" *gets out of it easily* "oh no this person is EVEN WORSE! How am I gonna get out of this?" *gets out of it easily*-- and this was just on loop. This book takes place over the course of about a day but the pacing dragged so much, it just felt endless. Also, I think catchphrases are really only appropriate in bad TV shows, never books. The phrase "Aeril's fiery tits!" occurs SIXTEEN TIMES in this 200-page novela. That's ridiculous, it was so obnoxious. Also, the use of "Edgelords" as a group was SO cringe, even if that was the intention, I couldn't stand it. There were other similar moments where the author was trying to be funny or clever and I just couldn't stand it, especially as the book went on and it became more frequent. Another example is when the borderline-incomprehensible deities use the word "mansplain". I'm so disappointed because I've heard great things about this author but this has put me off their work and I don't think I will be revisiting it. Very curious to see what others think, especially because other early reviews seem to be very positive.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!**

johannawilbur's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

retrogirl20's review

adventurous mysterious 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

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for allowing me to read this early!

I was instantly drawn to this book by the title and the cover and the synopsis  sealed the deal, I HAD to read this book! I have only ready one other book from Clark’s backlog and am happy to say this doesn’t disappoint! My only real complaint is that it wasn’t longer! The world that Clark builds is so unique and the story that comes of it takes you on an unexpected adventure. The characters, world building and plot are extremely well thought out and keeps the readers interest and attention. I highly recommend this!

ninamoskowitz's review

adventurous funny mysterious 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

3.5

kaavyareadsbooks's review

5.0

 

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the arc. I could not put this down. I loved reading TDCTA. The concept immediately intrigued me, the world building is phenomenal, and the characters so compelling. I want to read more stories set in this world. Though this novella is short, the world, the magic, the plot, and the characters will stay with me for a long time. I loved the plot, it was really fun. I also really want to visit this world, especially during the Festival. I want to explore the whole place. The stories, the legends, the magic system, the guilds, the gods and goddesses, every thing was made to intrigue me. I did not plan on staying up to read this, I just wanted to read a few pages before bed, but that was my mistake, because now I want to read everything P Djeli Clark rights. Normally I don't like novellas because they always feel lacking, but this was perfect. It was short, fast, and so intriguing and captivating. Love Eveen so much, and Sky, and Fennis, and Baseema. The prose was also so pretty and perfect. I really hope there are more stories set in this world. This is probably the best world building I have ever come across in my life. I need more stories here.

 

kylie_t's review

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

haylee_reads's review

adventurous dark 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

3.5

The world building in this novella was so lush, I truly felt transported to Tal Abisi. There was so much lore and history packed into such a short amount of pages. I also really enjoyed Eveen and Sky as characters. I think they were well developed and entertaining to read about. The overall idea was also super unique and I really enjoyed the whole dead assassin thing. I did struggle a lot with the pacing. The first half of the book was essentially Eveen being chased around, then that would stop, then they’d be chased around again. It got a little repetitive. The second half of the book was a lot slower paced and it took me quite awhile to get through 224 pages. Pacing aside, I did really enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.