Apr 15

Apr 15 A Master of Djinn

Author: P. Djèlí Clark
Publisher: Tor.com
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

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….

TL;DR Review

A Master of Djinn is a whodunit magical police procedural set in a Cairo shaped by alternate history, and it’s SO fun with a ton of heart. Now I need to go back and read the prequel novellas!

For you if: You like mystery AND fantasy novels, and/or books that feature Arabic mythology.

Full Review

A Master of Djinn has been on my radar since it came out, but then it was nominated for the Nebula AND the Hugo Awards, and so right to the top of my TBR it went. And I loved it! This book was just plain fun: easy to read, imaginative, and fast-paced — with a great big heart.

The story is a magical whodunit police procedural set in Cairo, but in a world shaped by an alternate history in which a man named al-Jahiz brought magic back into the world. Cairo is now a major world power, and our main character, Fatma, is one of the only women agents at the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities division (and she’s damn good at it). When an old rich British man who was leading a secret brotherhood winds up dead, and a person claiming to be al-Jahiz takes credit, Fatma is called onto the case. We also get to meet her gorgeous lover, her new agency partner, and some other truly delightful friends.

This is P. Djèlí Clark’s first full-length novel, but it’s not the first story set in this “Dead Djinn Universe” — there are a few prequel novellas. That said, A Master of Djinn is a standalone and can be read without having read the novellas — I am proof of that! While there were a couple of moments where I could tell he was referencing a previous story, and I’m sure there were probably things like inside jokes between characters I missed, all the info I needed to love this book was included.

Still, I loved the universe and the characters so much that it seems like I’ll be going back to read those novellas after all. ;)