A Dead Djinn in Cairo

4.5*. This story was such a breath of fresh air. A steampunk fantasy AU of 1912 Cairo, Egypt, where our protagonist is a female investigator (something of a rarity in the story, apparently), where two out of the three significant characters in the story are Muslim and actually talk like Muslims, while investigating the death of a djinn. There's also a cult of people who worship the ancient Egyptian gods too, and I get a whiff of a non-heterosexual relationship possibly coming up in future instalments. Amazing.

This short story (I wouldn't even call it a novella) packed a lot of world building details and I see it as a primer for the subsequent stories in the series. The actual plot is pretty straightforward, which is fine because the intention here is clearly to immerse the reader in this incredibly rich world and lore of this universe that the author is building.

The story is available for free on Tor's website and if you're a fan of fantasy and historical fiction, there's really no reason why you shouldn't give it a go. Highly recommended!

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is the third story by P. Djèlí Clark that I have had the pleasure to read and review. In all three stories, Clark demonstrates a keen ability to tease out small details to the reader and build an evocative and confident story.

He manages to do all this within the confines of a short story. I think he is one of the best fantasy short story writers working today.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is the tale of investigator Fatma el-Sha'arawi in 1912 steampunk Cairo. A confident, articulate, and intelligent detective tasked with the case of a dead djinn.

Why is the djinn dead?
What are the repercussions to the magical community?
What is Fatma's part in all this?

All questions that get answered within a wildly atmospheric and richly detailed steampunk setting. There are flying machines, and streetcars, beautifully tailored suits, and a kickass female Nubian magic wielder named Siti.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is an exciting addition to Clark's catalog of already outstanding short stories and is definitely worth the read.

An extremely satisfying prequel to [b:The Haunting of Tram Car 015 36546128 The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Fatma el-Sha'arawi, #2) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537226167l/36546128.SY75.jpg 58277622]. Clark continues to shine in his ability to build a rich and interesting setting. In this case, I found the steampunk angels that were controversially “angels” versus angels and were being of pure ethereal light encased in a steampunk chassis fascinating. I think the continued richness of magical, metropolitan Cairo that Clark develops is perhaps one of the strongest de facto arguments in favor of the importance of diverse authors in speculative fiction. Clark just really brings a unique voice to the field. I found Fatma a much richer character than those in Tram Car – I loved her opinionated stance, the idea of her exotifying Western culture and of course the gender nonconformity. The downsides here were similar to Tram Car: Clark doesn't seem to really know how to conclude a story and instead just abruptly ties all the loose ends in a bow and declares the story over. I found it just as jarring in this novelette as I did in Tram Car – these are rich, complex settings with so much nuance in the set up and then almost anticlimactically neatly wrapped up. I am interested in finding out if this will persist to the upcoming full-length novel in this setting. But, nonetheless, Clark is now on my must-read list.

This is a short story by P. Djeli Clark, clocking in at forty six pages, and I have to say that they are forty six pages of pure gold.??

I don't know how P. Djeli Clark does it, he must be a magician becasue he sets up this little self contained story with such craftsmanship.?? When I read this was absolutely engrossed with this take on an alternative world in which Cairo is inhabited by Djinn, Clockwork Angels and murderous ghouls, all painted on a steampunk backdrop.

In such a short space of time, he introduces his snarky, bowler hat wearing female protagonist, Fatma el Sha'arawi at the scene of a death in which a Djinn has died in what appear to be suspicious circunstances. Fatma is an investigator in the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Emtities, who besides wearing a bolwer hat, carrying a specially made cane, likes to look ‘exotic' by wearing an english style suit. As soon as Fatma quips at the salacious police chief Aasim in the first scene I knew I was going to like her. However, P. Djeli Clark just populates his little world with brilliantly realised characters.

Immediatley you are thrust into a world which is vibrant and colourful, and that is surprisingly expansive. Cairo is brilliantly realised with trams, motorised cariages and strange flying machines. Clark builds the world so vividly that never once are you lost as you move through the city with Fatma.

The pace of the story is like a runaway motorised carriage and it takes you along at such a speed you are shortly out of breath. Honestly, from begining to end not one word is wasted. And before you know it, you are at the climactic end, holding your breath until events play out.??

I will most definitelybe seeking out the next instalments of these stories, with the Novella ‘The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and Clark's debut novel, The Master of Djinn. Which is to be relaesed in May 2021. I'm not sure if they have Fatma el Sha'arawi in, but I hope so!

This had just about everything I like all wrapped up in one short story! (With the exception of Austenian romance I guess - but there's a little roguish flirtation, which will serve.)- a murder mystery (without too much noir confusion, though it definitely has a noir influence)- fantasy creatures- steampunk-ish sci-fi- religious ideas/skepticism (this echoes Gaimain's [b:Murder Mysteries 490789 Murder Mysteries Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1301171696l/490789.SY75.jpg 345975] in some great ways)- a saucy rogue (who 100% has the voice of a young Shohreh Aghdashloo in my head)- Lovecraftian elements- feminism- words and concepts I had to look up (and thus learn cool new things)I'm IN for [b:The Haunting of Tram Car 015 36546128 The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Fatma el-Sha'arawi, #2) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537226167l/36546128.SY75.jpg 58277622], I tell you!

Definitely a solid 4.5.

I've always heard that the short stories by Tor.com are awesome but never got around to reading any before. But as I'm waiting for the nebula nominated The Haunting of Tram Car 015 to arrive from the library, I decided to try this short in the meantime. And it was just wow.

Clocking at just about 40 pages, I was only expecting a fun murder mystery being solved by a female investigator but I didn't expect the author to capture the atmosphere of a steampunk, paranormal early twentieth century Cairo so beautifully. In so few words, we get a brief history of the world and all it's magical inhabitants, experience the slightly sexist culture, look at the various forms of innovative transportation available and also follow a badass woman solve some gruesome suicides/murders through her sharp intellect and observational skills. I was completely mesmerized while listening to the audiobook, and I would be remiss not to mention the stunning job done by the narrator and kept wishing that the story would go on.

Finally, all I want to say is that if you enjoy short stories, you cannot miss this one. It has everything you need in an urban fantasy packaged into just a few pages and I promise you, it'll instantly impress you. Also, it's free!!! So what are you waiting for - read it or listen to it (listening is a way better option here) and be ready to be captivated. And now I'm doubly excited because we have a full length novel coming up in 2021 featuring our badass investigator Fatma called A Master of Djinn and I can't wait to read it as soon as possible.

4 ★
Bom por demais.

Só não dei 5 estrelas porque... poderia ter mais coisa. Mais, muito mais. Me entreguem um livro de 500 páginas com esse tema, essa mitologia, esse ritmo de escrita e envolvimento, que leria com toda a alegria da vida.

Gostei muito de Fatma, e achei ousada a escolha do autor para o perfil de personagem.

Excelente!

P. Djèlí Clark's short story tells a tale of an alternate Cairo filled with steampunk flourishes, supernatural oddities, and a deadly plot that could destroy the world. Clark packs a complete story into this vivid setting and it works splendidly. A considerable amount of time is spent on exposition, but it's all fascinating and I imagine it makes this story a great primer for both his 2019 novella and his 2021 novel, which are set in the same world. I'll surely be checking those out after this excellent start.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

will write more later but i read this at night cause i couldnt sleep and got spooked by the descriptions of the ghuls lol

(it's later so let me write more) i love love the setting and the characters, siti in particular, are really engaging. the prose is sometimes more Tell than Show (the most egregious being the way Fatma's physical appearance is described at the beginning by her catching her reflection on a surface) but it's not bad at all. i may check out clark's other books at some point because magical Cairo is suchhh an interesting setting.

I originally bought this to sample the author's work, not having read him before.

The plot has a beginning, a middle, and an end, so it is a genuine story, but there are short stories out there that feel more complete than this novelette does. Probably the author was deliberately giving us a sample of his fictional world, rather than trying to write a standalone story.

It's a deliberately exotic creation, rubbing our noses in the strangeness of this alternative version of Cairo in 1912, in which supernatural beings of various kinds have come in from another universe and taken residence in the city alongside more-or-less normal humans.

I like the quality of the writing and world-building; I quite like the characterization; I'm not so keen on the plot, which is too bizarre for its own good.

An auspicious series starter, from an author who knows the world he's building and how to show it without spoon-feeding the readers too much exposition. The magic systems, the characters, the setting, lore, all of it–I want more. And luckily, there is more. So you'll have to excuse me for a bit while I track those down and dig in.

3.75

was just looking for a short read to palate cleanse and pleasantly found myself enthralled by this world, its creatures, and its magic system. the writing was lush and mystical without being overly descriptive. i had fun following the main character throughout her investigations and had satisfaction (the right amount) watching her piece the puzzle together! short but impactful.

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/review/R3OG51QIG57S3Z/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm


Three cheers for the inventive setting. The story opens by telling us that Fatma el-Sha'arawi is a special investigator with the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities and is looking at a dead djinn. Immediately, we are tossed into a different world, one where djinns and ghuls and angels co-exist with “boilerplate eunuchs”, who seem to be robots, airships that dock in this Cairo of a British-free Egypt in what seems to be the early 20th century, and Marx-reading Sufists revolutionaries. It is a wildly inventive setting.

Fatma is a liberated woman who wears a version of a British suit, a bowler hat, and carries a cane. She is apparently trained in magical arts, that became a reality about forty years before when al-Jahiz drilled down to the world of the supernatural.

Fatma is tasked with solving the murder of the eponymous Djinn. Her investigation proceeds like a cannonball, as she busts through one scene to another, picking up clues to solve a conspiracy of Lovecraftian proportions.

The writing is good, the plotting seemed to verge onto the fortuitous and contrived, there is a cliched hint of a lesbian relationship in the offing and girl-power ascendant with Hathor-worshiping priestesses and female assassins, which is fine so long as it doesn't turn preachy, but the setting is imaginative catnip.

This is Tor.com book, which means that it is supposed to showcase characters or setting from a novel that Tor wants to push. I don't see the novel, but hopefully, there will be one in the future.

Holy smokes, this is now on my list of favorite novellas of all time. A badask woman detective in a world of djinn, angels and ghouls? Yes please, more please. In 43 pages/2 hours (I highly recommend the audiobook) the author manages an awesome mystery plot with characters that feel like we had been with them for considerably more time. I can't wait to continue on in this world and explore more from Clark - hopefully much sooner than later.

An investigator in an alternative Egypt with ghuls, djinn, angels, other-worldly foes, a plethora of faiths and all set in a steampunk world.The writing is nothing special, the plot still mostly to-be-found at the end of this thankfully very short novella - this is pretty much the most boring novella I've read in years. The most redeeming feature of the simplistically named “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” is its brevity. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram