The Black God's Drums

Well, I finally got around to this novella. After discovering P. Djèlí Clark earlier this year and hitting myself on the head because why hadn't I read his works before, I've finally caught up with his first novella and as expected, it blew my mind.

While the Cairo that he created was magical, his version of New Orleans is equally amazing. The way the author weaves an alternate history of Civil War era America, a free New Orleans as well as a similarly independent and emancipated Haiti and the West Indies, is masterful. The book is so short but without ever resorting to any info dumps, we are presented with the politics of this world perfectly. On top of that, I also loved that we have airships and dirigibles and many other mechanical devices in use, similar to the author's other works. Added to the mix are the African Orisha gods and goddesses - and everything feels pretty organic and very very real.

The writing is spectacular as usual and it feels like we are thrown right in between the characters and we are experiencing it all ourselves. The descriptions are lush and gorgeous and I could almost feel the smell of the incoming storm and the sting of the raindrops. It's very rare that I feel this immersed and it was amazing. The pacing of the story is also very fast, which is understandable given the page count, and within a short span we get a mystery, a kidnapping, an adventure and so much more. In this journey, we meet a whole set of eclectic characters, one more fascinating than the other and I honestly can't choose whom I'm more taken by - the delightful Creeper, the stern smuggler captain of an airship or the two eccentric nuns who have their finger on the pulse of the city.

I specially want to mention the audiobook narrator Channie Waites because she brings a whole new life and personality to the story. She is evocative, making us feel every emotion that characters feel, and her different accents for the various nationalities we meet are absolutely on point. I'm definitely more impressed with this story because of the way she tells it.

To conclude, this story was all kinds of wonderful and I had so much fun. If you think you'll enjoy an alternate steampunky Civil Era New Orleans, magic of African goddesses, a stormy adventure and a splendid set of characters, then this novella is perfect for you. And even if you aren't sure, I would still recommend that you give this audiobook a try because it's an experience that you shouldn't miss.

Actual rating: 4.5

A super interesting alternate history fantasy sci-fi. There was a lot of elements in such a short novella, but all of them intriguing and enjoyable. I'm disappointed in how short it was, if anything! The world-building is magnificent and I want to read more about the character of Creeper and Ann-Marie.

Full review to come.

I have been to New Orleans, once. And even in my limited understanding of New Orleans, I can imagine how difficult it would be to get down on paper. Not only does P. Djèlí Clark get it on paper, but he also evokes the “spirit of the place.” He understands what makes New Orleans hum. Clark understands the smells, and he gets the people. He gets what it feels like to walk the cobblestone streets and hear the music of Mardi Gras. Any reader can read this story and smell beignets, moss, and hear the deep thrumming of drums in their bones. It is no small feat.

The Black Gods Drums is an immersive tale, a steamboat-esque alternative history. An Eloquently written, and researched, story set in confederate era New Orleans post Civil War Stalemate. Clark took legends and folklore from Haiti, the Caribbean, and Africa and paired them with the history of the Haitian Slave Rebellion of 1794. In reality, the rebellion helped create only Haiti, a state free from slavery, and ruled by non-whites and former captives. Yet, in this story, the rebellion helped free Haiti as well as most of the Caribbean and created a state known as The Free Isles. Thus a great stalemate was born between the Free Isles and the slave owning south. A stalemate based upon a mysterious weapon, previously used once against the French fleet. A weapon that is so powerful that to use it again, it would destroy everything.

Against the backdrop of history, both real and imagined lay New Orleans and our protagonist Creeper. Creeper is a 13-year-old street kid gifted or cursed by the goddess Oya. She makes her living stealing and doing what is necessary survive. Even though Creeper is a thief, there a strong moral current that flows through her. Given different circumstances, you know that Creeper wouldn't steal. There is no great thrill to stealing save for prolonging her life a day at a time. Oya, the Yoruba goddess of winds, lightning, and violent storms, death, and rebirth. She was brought to New Orleans in the hearts of slaves. Part of Oya has settled inside of Creeper, sending her visions and protecting her on occasion.

Creeper wants to escape her circumstance. After a chance meeting with a Cajun smuggler and overhearing some useful and important information, Creeper has a chance to leave. What follows is an exciting array of characters. Specifically in the form of Captain Ann-Marie of the airship Midnight Robber. The Captain has secrets of her own and that could involve Creeper. The story has exciting plot elements and a gorgeous retelling of history from that era.

If you like stories that involve nuns, smuggling, mysticism, and saving the world. All set against New Orleans, this is the story for you. It is gorgeously and atmospherically written and I cannot wait to read whatever else Clark writes.

This was such a fantastic book and I had such great fun reading it. The world building was so immersive and I really found myself lost in how much I love the writing in general.

I think this book would truthfully be better as a full length novel rather than as a novella. This is based on my opinion that with such a short amount of pages we weren't able to fully dive into the world that we have been introduced to. I also think with that, we would be able to explore more about the characters and their complexities.

However, as a novella, this is fantastic and I understand exactly now why the rating for it is so high. This is a great, fast read.

I'm wanting to read more sci-fi this year and this has been on my TBR for the longest times so I am so happy I was finally able to pick it up.

It took me a very long time to read this very short book (about 65 pages), and I thought it was me. I'm a slow reader after all. But after finishing it, I realized there just wasn't enough story here to interest me.

I don't want to say too much about the plot since the book is so short, but essentially we follow a young teenage girl who is living on the streets of New Orleans. But this version of New Orleans is some sort of alternate history. I'm not sure of the specifics, and I'm not sure when exactly the story is supposed to take place. The world isn't fleshed out very much. There are also skyships and magic (more-or-less) involved.

It's an interesting premise, and it's a bit sad since, if this story were developed more, the world could be amazing. I've been reading short books to try to read more books, to experience more stories beginning to end, but this one really let me down.

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I can always appreciate novellas. They can do so much in so little time. This one clocked in at about 100 pages and still had great worldbuilding and a complete story.

I wasn't into it enough though to warrant more than 3 stars for me. The author very much has a unique voice which I can appreciate and did fit in with the world, but wasn't something I was particularly into. A lot of the dialogue you had to read aloud to know what they meant. And sentences like:

It make my feet want to dance and it seem like the whole world is moving with me.

It adds to the world but for me it more often than not just takes me out of it.

I can say though - there are some very unique characters to be found in here, most of them female. I actually thought the author was a woman while reading, so I was a bit surprised to see that he wasn't. The nuns were my favorite!

The story itself was okay. Nothing too engrossing. This was definitely more about the characters and the world.

I'm going to say that, for me, this book was okay. I didn't like it, I didn't dislike it. It was mildly entertaining to listen to while I was at work. And this is why I don't know if my biggest problem was because I was listening to it or because it just wasn't working for me.

Because this book seemed very abrupt. I mean, it didn't feel like there were any transitions and, more than once, I wondered where the people were and why those characters were in this scene. I don't know. (I also felt very jarred by just how young the MC is.)

Beyond that, much like my usual problem with novellas, it seems compacted in such a way that I struggled to care about the characters or the plot. And, ultimately, wondering what the point of the plot actually was. Two stars taken away for that, one star added back for being so girl powered.