Inventive worlds are one of Clark’s hallmarks, and it’s fun to see alternate-Egypt fleshed out.

Hadia was one of the joys of this story, and if she’s a bit of a Mary-Sue, it’s a relief, because the story is badly in need of competent protagonists.

In the eternal style of the buddy-flick, she’s also assigned a new partner, the enthusiastic rookie Hadia. Set in the same world as The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it follows Agent Fatma as she’s on a big case–that of the British aristocrat and a number of his guests being viciously murdered. So now I find myself in a quandary because of that most troublesome phenomenon, hope-experience mismatch. Imagine my delight when I was approved it was like Christmas in January. I was anticipating A Master of Djinn and when it appeared on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to request it. I’ve read through most of his short stories and purchased most of his novellas, something I don’t do for just anyone these days. Djèlí Clark is one of those authors that’s on my ‘to watch’ list. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.Īlongside 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. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions.

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. 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. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of DjinnĬairo, 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.

A master of djinn