Here’s one I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but only just managed to get around to. It seems to tick a lot of boxes in what I like to read – a story set in an alternative Cairo in 1912 that involves ancient cultures and cosmic creatures from other realms. Think of the archaeological world of Indiana Jones, at about the time of the Tutankhamun tomb discovery, but with a genre twist.
From the publisher: “Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself.”
I did like the story, which started slowly but built-up pace before taking a pleasing turn into science fiction. The world felt appropriately realistic, in a steam-punk kind of way, and I enjoyed wandering the streets and buildings of a of a city set in a world of wonder and mysteries before taking a turn into Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
Whilst the world-building is great, the characters are a little nondescript. Admittedly, it is difficult to develop character in a novella format, but there’s not a lot of detail about the characters, and as a result I liked the setting more than the plot. The characters seem to move through the world without being too invested in it. Weirdly, it all seems emotionally detached, whilst quite dramatic things happen.
Some elements do seem to be there to shock, and I’m not sure that they’re entirely necessary. Do we really need a description of the dead djinn’s genitalia in the first few pages? Whilst in many ways this story could come straight from a contemporary issue of Weird Tales, the point that this is not Disney’s Aladdin is perhaps made a little too forcibly.
Nevertheless, if the point of a story is to make a reader want more, then I guess A Dead Djinn in Cairo does its job. It introduces me to characters and places I want to know more about and that I want to see more things happen in. Although I finished the story feeling that there should be more, it was memorable enough to feel that I hadn’t wasted my time reading it.
A setting, and an author, with potential. I look forward to reading more in this world.
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
Published by Tor 2016
45 pages
ISBN: B01DJ0NALI
Review by Mark Yon
I agree with all your points, and would recommend P. Djèlí Clark’s follow up, THE HAUNTING OF TRAM CAR 015, as a big advance on this good first step. I really liked it, and in particular thought that the central double act of investigating partners worked to carry it in a way that Fatma el-Sha’arawi alone didn’t quite so much here (though the shadow she casts across the sequel is also effective).
Nice review and it’s helped me to buy this book
Thanks Aruna. I’m looking forward to more in the series.