2021 reread:In preparation for the upcoming novel, I read this one again and I’m once again amazed at Clark’s fantastic worldbuilding, especially considering that this novelette is only 43 pages long. It’s quite extraordinary. And while I said in my 2019 review that the characters are not particularly fleshed-out, something’s got to give in such a short tale. But Fatma el-Sha’arawi is nonetheless a very cool main character. And the story is fast-paced and fun. It put a smile on my face, and I de...

This Tor fantasy novella (free online here at Tor.com) is memorable mostly for its setting: A magical steampunk version of Cairo, Egypt, in 1912. Forty years earlier a man managed to open a portal to the other magical side, and djinni, "angels" and other magical creatures streamed through to our world. The good news is, they helped the humans quickly kick the British government out of Egypt. But can you trust them? Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi, an unusually liberated woman for her day...

3.5★I've had to think hard about my rating for this novella, as the story did show some fantastic creativity and I loved some of the descriptive passages & I found the end very exciting.It's just that I wasn't totally engaged at the start - in fact, I was more than a little confused! This could say more about me as a reader than Clark as a writer.Anyway a 3.5★ from me means that i have enjoyed the story enough that I want to read more work by the author & I'm hoping to get to The Angel of Khan e...

Oh my lord, we've got a police procedural with a lady detective in a magically version of our world in CAIRO with djinn & ifrits? This was 100% my jam - can't wait to keep reading in this series!

Fatma el-Sha’arawi is a Special Investigator for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in an alternate-history Cairo where supernatural entities live alongside human beings. The magically exsanguinated body of a djinn turns out to be only the first death of the night.Fun! Hope for more by this author. It would also be great as a graphic novel, very visual and with lots of action.

This is a fun, diverting, pulpy work of a fertile imagination. A pleasant treat between more substantive, lengthier books. My 3-star rating is not at all grumpy.

3.5/5 starsA Dead Djinn in Cairo was so interesting; seems like I have to give A Master of Djinn a try after all.A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark is highly praised and quite popular right now, but I felt a bit apprehensive; plenty of hyped debut novel in bookish social media has disappointed me. Because of that, I decided to give A Dead Djinn in Cairo a try first. Now, there’s a lot of limitation put into this novelette, and its short length doesn’t allow many rooms for exploration. But that’...

This is the first glimpse of the fascinating world that is further expanded in P. Djèlí Clark’s lovely Hugo- and Nebula Award nominated The Haunting of Tram Car 015. It’s the look at the alternate 1912 Cairo a few decades after a gateway to the world of supernatural was opened, bringing new residents in the form of the Djinn and the Angels (with the mechanical parts) and ghuls, turning Egypt into a modern and tolerant world superpower (the Djinn helped to defeat the British) and bringing quite a...

This was good fun. I’m in a slight reading funk where I feel like I could go into a slump at any time, so I’m trying to fight it. My trick is to read novellas and short stories, that way if something is not clicking, at least it will be over soon. I have been wanting to see what the Dead Djinn Universe was all about, and after three or four years of this sitting on my Kindle, I figured it was time to dip my toe in –especially since the full-length book came out this year. I’m really happy to say...

An alternative Cairo, filled with steampunk Angels, magic and Djinn. A murder mystery with a diverse leading woman who rocks a gentleman's suit and cane. And a wonderfully action filled plot that ricochets between the supernatural and the mysterious. And all neatly written within 50 pages. Honestly, Fatma's character development is better than I've seen in 500+ page books, and I felt fully invested in the story. The world building is just enough to whet my appetite without being too much for suc...

Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because "more, please" is not strong enoughA delicious taste. More, please.Rating: 3.5* of fiveIn honor of the publication tomorrow of A Master of Djinn, the first full-length novel in Author Phenderson Djèlí Clark's Majgickqal-Cairo steampunk series, as well as his publishing career, let's revisit the place it all began.Fatma of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and Aasim, the Cairo policeman, are two of the series' through-line ch...

"First unwritten rule of investigation-when in need of information, make sure you flatter your source."Wow! Absolutely blown away by this introductory short story to the author's Dead Djinn world. I'll be catching up on all the novellas before starting A Master of Djinn.

Another great short story in the Dead Djinn universe: a murder mystery with a lovecraftian touch.Can be read here: https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead...

Rad worldbuilding and a fresh spin on urban fantasy. I'm excited to read the novel and see what's possible with a longer story.

“most of cairo slept, except for the glow of a gaslight market or the pinprick lights of towering mooring masts where airships came and went by the hour. her fingers played with her cane’s lion-headed pommel, watching aerial trams that moved high above the city, crackling electricity illuminating the night along their lines.” last month i had the immense pleasure of reading the haunting of tram car 015, another novella by p. djèlí clark set in an enchanting, 1900s steampunk cairo. thu

As usual, I did this the worst way possible and read book 0.6 and half of book 1 before this one. But at least I’m on brand (:

A confident, urbane investigator has a dead djinn on her hands. The setting is vaguely a steampunk colonial Cario, with an interesting twist--when magic was discovered, the locals were able to throw out the British colonizers. The byproduct of magic is a plethora of djinns, angels, and ghouls. Really interesting and well done, with an intriguing female lead and hints of alternate gender/sexuality. I'd read a book-length tale. Might appeal to fans of Detective Chen (of Liz Williams) although with...

Audiobook narrated by Suehyla El-AttarThe hype is real. I had a wonderful time reading this novelette and I cannot wait to read more from the author. I believe the author did an excellent job to create a complex and fascinating magic world in not too many pages. What a breath of fresh air was to read about a setting which is not US or UK. The plot takes place in an alternate 1912 Cairo where magical creatures and divinities were released to Earth. There is a Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and...

An alternative Cairo, set in 1912. A world of magic and the supernatural, inhabited by ghouls, sorcerers, and evil spirits. Against this backdrop, Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi, has a dead Djinn on her hands. Murder, or a possible suicide ? Fatma will discover there’s a lot more to this death than meets the eye.Loved Fatma, and the action packed plot!It’s free here https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead...

This is Cairo; this is 1910 C.E…………….or it’s not. This is the second piece I have read by Clark https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and I am captured by this author's web. As you can see, I started and finished it in a few hours.This book's hero is a plucky young “inspector” named Fatma. She has the smarts and the style to tackle a world that we can only imagine since Cairo was changed a couple decades before this tale by someone who intentionally let magic and magical creatures into the wo...