Monday, July 19, 2021

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

 




A Master of Djinn is the first full-length novel by award nominated/winning author P. Djèlí Clark, and the third story in his "Dead Djinn" universe.  Clark's work has always been fascinating (his Ring Shout just won the Nebula Award and is a decent favorite to win this year's Hugo for Best Novella) and this universe of his, which began with the novelette A Dead Djinn in Cairo (which can be read here) is particularly great - a universe where Egypt becomes a world power after a mysterious man reopens the boundaries between humans and djinn, and the djinn and humans of Egypt work together to empower the country in a steampunk-esque fashion.  And the populace of Egypt, empowered on a world stage in the early 20th century begins to march towards progressive values, with the second story (the novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015) featuring a drive for women's suffrage and the first featuring Fatwa el-Sha’arawi of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, first female agent, and a lesbian to boot.  These stories had some solid themes and backgrounds and has honestly just been plain fun.  

And A Master of Djinn, which resumes the story of Fatwa (although it can be read entirely stand alone without issue) is still absolutely tremendous fun, such that it was real easy to devour pretty quickly.  You have some pretty classical tropes here in what is essentially a magical/steampunky/djinn-featuring buddy cop romp, searching for a mystery man who controls an Ifrit and is spreading dissent in an uneven Cairo.  You have themes of power, of inequality, of racism and colorism (quite a lot of that).....all interwoven with a plot that might have some flaws, but is just really fun overall.  I've looked forward to this book for a long time and it did not disappoint. 

-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
Fatwa el Sha'arawi isn't just the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities first female agent, she's a legend, with her stylish suits, no nonsense style, and oh yeah she did save the world a short while ago from a renegade angel along with her mysteriously skilled old gods worshipping girlfriend.  But when a cult of Englishmen dedicated to al-Jahiz, the man who opened up the world to djinn winds up murdered in mysterious fashion by a figure who calls himself al-Jahiz returned, she finds herself on perhaps the most dangerous case of her career....all the while dealing with being assigned an actual partner, a young idealistic woman who wants to follow in her footsteps.  

But the mysterious culprit possesses powers and followers that make him incredibly hard to track down - a monster that can seemingly duplicate itself, a sword that sings, and an Ifrit somehow under his command.  And when the culprit begins stirring unrest in the Egyptian populace, and attacks the Ministry itself, it will take everything Fatwa, her new partner, and her lover to figure out his game and to stop him.  But to do so, Fatwa will have to learn secrets about herself, her lover, and the world, that may change everything she knows.......
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Master of Djinn is in some ways a buddy cop novel, with Fatwa the experienced veteran having to shepherd the young idealistic Hadia on the case - except Fatwa isn't some conservative old cop, but is a rule breaker and free thinker herself whose problem is more having another person she feels responsible for and who might hold her back rather than new ideas and thoughts.  It's in some ways a mystery novel, except honestly the mystery is its weakest element, and you'll guess the twist miles away.  It's in very many ways a tale of magic and djinn intersecting with a steampunk world that is just tremendously fun in its possibilities.  And its also a tale with heavy themes of race and power, as even among the Egyptians darker skinned people face prejudice, and Black refugees from the US find a better live in Cairo...but not total freedom from racism.  

Clark weaves that all together in a tale that's just really fun from start to finish, with a lot to wonder about even as the more serious issues pop up frequently.  Fatwa is a phenomenally fun protagonist, the investigator with a sense of style, a sense of justice, a sense of skepticism, but also a sense of creativity or ingenuity in how to approach the case and the beings, human and djinn, she encounters.  She plays really well off her partner Hadia, who is physically quite capable (to Fatwa's surprise) but just needs seasoning on how things work in Cairo, and who refuses to be put down just like a younger Fatwa.  And then there' Fatwa's relationship with her lover Siti, a woman who worships one of the old gods (Hathor/Sekhmet) and is mysteriously physically gifted with super strength, healing and agility, to say nothing of an ability to disguise herself and sneak around like none other.  

All three characters, plus the world and the adventure that goes with it, with the djinn and humans, make this really special.  The story deals again with race (Siti and others get talked down to for their darker skin, and some White Englishmen and other Europeans act like utter snobs, despite this being a world where Egypt has overthrown them) and poverty, as the mysterious antagonist preys on the fact that even a powerful Cairo still has people struggling on the streets, and especially in the last act - the promise of freedom and what it means to do what you want, regardless of who or what you are.  And of course there's all the very different religions, as the old gods of Egypt are still worshipped in private by many, even as Islam may be the predominant religion, and its worshippers and their belief in powers that come from their gods result in some interesting shifts.  And it mostly all works really well (an Clark is still a master at fun dialogue I should add somewhere).  

I say mostly because again, anyone who has read any sort of mystery novel or mystery plotline will figure out who the culprit has to be hundreds of pages in advance, as it relies on a twist that has to have been done hundreds of times before.  And the last act features a resolution that is fitting, but also maybe a bit too easy after everything else.  But still, the book is so fun, with some very solid but serious themes, that it's hard really to complain too much.  I know I keep overusing the word "fun" in this review, but that's basically the key word to explain it all - it's just tremendously entertaining and fun and so well written that this is an easy recommend, whether you've read the other stories in this universe or not.  

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)