A Master of Djinn
“His eyes took on a storyteller’s twinkle, and Fatma sighed. This was going to take a while.”
Fresh off the Locus and Nebula award victories for Ring Shout it is a great time for P. Djeli Clark to unleash his first epic full-length novel A Master of Djinn. This is not my normal genre, I am not a big fantasy reader, and steampunk fiction is not my thing. That being said when I discover a supremely talented writer like Clark(who is also a trained and active historian) then I am going to follow him.
Clark’s book Ring Shout was a near-masterpiece, excellent storytelling with an activist edge. I had him on the podcast (link below) and I think all the awards are well deserved. Ring Shout is a horror hybrid of Birth of a Nation, the TV show Supernatural, and maybe a sprinkle of the movie Mandy. A dark horror fantasy involving monsters, occult, and history is so up my alley.
A Master of Djinn is another work suited to the author’s unique skill set, training, and talent. It is a one-of-a-kind novel that no one else could write and, in that sense, I really dig it. The setting and the world-building are strengths but all the elements are there. None of that would matter if the characters were not vivid and the story compelling.
Good Reads lists it as number three in a series, but don’t be confused the first two were novellas, with a short story that sorta half counts. According to Clark, the novellas stand-alone and so does A Master of Djinn. Even without reading those earlier works that serve a purpose as the novel feels lived in like the dirt on the starships in Star Wars.
We may not have spent time in this alternate 1912 Cairo but PDC has spent time there. It shows on nearly every page. The World Building is A + throughout. So what makes this world so fun and compelling. Sure it is alternate steampunk history with automatic trolleys and all kinds of weird tech but the world is also populated with genies, Djinn of all kinds. So the world is full of supernatural creatures and magic, the perfect conduit is Fatma and the agent for the ministry that polices the weird in this world-power version of Egypt.
How weird is it?
“The three of them sat there - A Ministry agent, a half-djinn, and a cat (likely), staring out past the balcony to the sleeping city they somehow had to find a way to save.”
Plenty of stranger moments that connect to the plot, I am just making a simple point this is not your standard cookie-cutter genre anything.
A Master of Djinn I am not sure everyone will have this experience but I think I will remember the world more than the characters. Fatma is really cool character, an out and open lesbian in this magical world who has a serious edge. The relationship with Hadia the rookie partner forced on her is a pretty cliché dynamic but in this case, I found that it grounded the story. Like a stabilizing handhold that we could grab on to for all the otherworldly elements.
There is a murder in a secret society that sets off the procedural elements of the narrative. The whodunit elements drive the first act but the immersive magical took hold of the story in the second and third acts for me. The mythology of ancient Egypt weaves in and out of the mystery. Fatma also leaves she is closer to the magic than she thought possible.
A Master of Djinn would not work if the author didn’t have a keen eye for the realities of how this world would interface with the ugly reality of that region. The breaking down of Colonization is as important as the breakdown of the world of the natural and magic.
“And among His wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colors. For in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of innate knowledge.”
This novel is a work of balance. It is impressive for a first novelist (even though I feel Ring Shout is a novel). The novel balances a delicately and stylishly built fantasy world with many other elements. Vivid characters, sly and stealth historical and political commentary. Fun magical action and wrapped together with a murder mystery. One of my favorite moments is a spoiler but there is a intimate moment between a human a half Djinn on page 246 that was powerful.
If you like Steampunk fantasies it is a must-read. If that isn’t your genre you might still consider giving it a spin for all it manages to do. Not as impressive personally as Ring Shout but further proof that P.Djeli Clark is an author who will get my attention every time.
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