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A review by ashwaar
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Set in 1912 in Cairo, A Master of Djinn follows Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, who works for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. Ever since the great mystic, Al-Jahiz, opened the veil to the magical world 50 years ago, Cairo has become a central hub of both technology and magic, and Fatma must navigate this new world as she investigates supernatural mysteries.
I have read Clark’s previous novel, Ring Shout, and his short stories set in the same universe as A Master of Djinn. You don’t need to read the short stories before this novel, but there are recurring characters and callbacks to previous events. I always find Clark’s worlds and ideas to be incredibly interesting, but I always end up feeling a bit left out, as it seems that everyone else adores this book and his stories, and I always end up disappointed.
My main issue with this book is the writing style. Although the premise is interesting, the descriptions and dialogue are wooden and uninspiring. Some fantasy novels I’ve read don’t provide any information about the world and still keep you hooked. In comparison, Clark feeds you spoonfuls of exposition at every opportunity, and it's just too much. Fatma describes every aspect of Cairo as we go through the novel, and it's so unrealistic. It's like if I walk past St Pauls Cathedral and say ‘ah yes, St Pauls, a Baroque-style structure built in the 17th Century by…’. Literally, no real person thinks the way Fatma does in this novel, and it really threw me off being able to connect with her.
I also found a lot of the themes to be very poorly explored. Clark brings up issues of wealth gaps, inequality, feminism, discrimination and social divides and it doesn’t seem like any of our characters really care about addressing that. It's like Clark is throwing everything at a wall and seeing what sticks and again, it's just too much going on. I know the story is about magic and djinn and investigating crimes but still... I expected more.
Overall it's a really interesting, original story, but it was just too poorly executed for me to recommend it. Clark clearly has a lot of this world thought out, not just in Egypt but across multiple countries, and he tries to introduce some of that in A Master of Djinn, but it just leaves too many loose threads. The story doesn’t feel neat, the characters don’t feel developed and Fatma isn’t someone I really want to root for. It's pretty disappointing honestly but I know what sort of fiction I enjoy, and I just couldn’t get on board with this.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendations: Build Your House Around by Body by Violet Kupersmith, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
I have read Clark’s previous novel, Ring Shout, and his short stories set in the same universe as A Master of Djinn. You don’t need to read the short stories before this novel, but there are recurring characters and callbacks to previous events. I always find Clark’s worlds and ideas to be incredibly interesting, but I always end up feeling a bit left out, as it seems that everyone else adores this book and his stories, and I always end up disappointed.
My main issue with this book is the writing style. Although the premise is interesting, the descriptions and dialogue are wooden and uninspiring. Some fantasy novels I’ve read don’t provide any information about the world and still keep you hooked. In comparison, Clark feeds you spoonfuls of exposition at every opportunity, and it's just too much. Fatma describes every aspect of Cairo as we go through the novel, and it's so unrealistic. It's like if I walk past St Pauls Cathedral and say ‘ah yes, St Pauls, a Baroque-style structure built in the 17th Century by…’. Literally, no real person thinks the way Fatma does in this novel, and it really threw me off being able to connect with her.
I also found a lot of the themes to be very poorly explored. Clark brings up issues of wealth gaps, inequality, feminism, discrimination and social divides and it doesn’t seem like any of our characters really care about addressing that. It's like Clark is throwing everything at a wall and seeing what sticks and again, it's just too much going on. I know the story is about magic and djinn and investigating crimes but still... I expected more.
Overall it's a really interesting, original story, but it was just too poorly executed for me to recommend it. Clark clearly has a lot of this world thought out, not just in Egypt but across multiple countries, and he tries to introduce some of that in A Master of Djinn, but it just leaves too many loose threads. The story doesn’t feel neat, the characters don’t feel developed and Fatma isn’t someone I really want to root for. It's pretty disappointing honestly but I know what sort of fiction I enjoy, and I just couldn’t get on board with this.
Rating: 2/5
Recommendations: Build Your House Around by Body by Violet Kupersmith, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, War, Sexism, Murder, Blood, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Alcohol