A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

Reviewed by Sam!

What I drank prior: it’s the superbowl… we lost. I don’t want to talk about it. But you can imagine how much I’ve had to drink.

Goodreads Overview:

Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city – or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems….

Drunk Overview: ok so let me think if I can get this right. So, there’s a chick magical detective. There’s a magical murder. We know as the audience it’s some god reincarnate that’s mad their teachings have been perverted who committed the murder. But basically this is a magical murder mystery in a steam punk Egyptian magical world.

Spoiler-free Thoughts: this should have won the Hugo. Was it the best thing I’ve read ever? No. Was it the best thing in that category? Absolutely. And yes, fuck you, I’ve read all the books nominated for best novel that year.

Characters: so there’s Fatma.. our leading lady. She is basically me. She’s driven by her job, she’s good at it, she doesn’t want anyone in her way, and she is so against any emotions ever. Am i saying this is a pro? No. Am i saying it’s me? Yes. She’s also super bisexual and her romantic interest is a siren… sorta… named Seti? Idk how to spell her name and i fucking love her. She’s just tryna live but also in such a healthy relationship and i can’t. Literally it’s amazing. they have miscommunications which are normal.. What’s not normal is when they’re not addressed. I hate when there are miscommunications and people don’t address them. These two do. ALSO i love the new partner. She’s also dope. I can’t really talk about the rest of the characters because I’d give away a few things, but just say that i love all the suspects. I think they are all awesome potential bad guys

Plot: while I’m not a murder mystery girl, i am a big fan of a good whodunnit… which is weird to say right? Tropically don’t like the James Patterson’s… but I love the non-mass market mysteries. Sorta. Idk… there’s a weird thing about it. ANYWAY we’re not here to debate why i have certain preferences when it comes to mysteries what we ARE here to do is to to tell you the plot is fast paced, unpredictable, and lovely.

Writing Style: i liistened to this on audio and it was awesome. I have that weird white person problem where if i listen to an audiobook that has language that’s unfamiliar from the two i know (Spanish and English) and languages that are not even close, i struggle. Not struggle because i don’t like the story or think it’s bad or whatever, but because listening is tough because of the different language. Usually if i read with my eyeballs language that’s not my own, it is FAR easier, because i pronounce them/read them differently in my brain. Audio has different pronoun citations and that makes me pause. THIS IS A LONG WAY TO SAY that this audio didn’t do that. It gave me th correct pronoun citations without making it confusing and that was awesome

World Building: I WaNT MORE

What to pair it with: this is an Irish coffee. WAIT HEAR ME OUT. It’s coffee with alcohol, and that’s what i get to call it because i dont know what else do call it.

Rating: 5/5 shots

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,
Sam