Cairo, 1912 or so. There's a ghost in Tram Car 015, although Senior Agent Hamed is fairly certain it isn't a ghost. You see, the world has been opened to the land of the djinn since 1860 or so, and it's more likely that the troublemaker is some kind of lesser djinn. But Inspector and his new sidekick, the enthusiastic and open Agent Onsi will certainly find out. Meanwhile, the women of Egypt are mobilizing, advocating that Parliament give them the right to vote. It makes for a very volatile city...

Love this world, love Clark's body of work. I recently finished MASTER OF DJINN which takes places in this same world and it was a full novel so I'm a bit spoiled; I wanted more from this novella. But that's because I'm greedy. This was a solid fun read and I enjoyed it. It only suffers in the comparison to MASTER OF DJINN.

The world portrayed here feels so fresh and original. The customs, the magical creatures, the food, the places, the names, it all feels so foreign and exciting. With all that aside, the book was very eventful with little to no slowdowns. Where this novella excelled best was that it was self contained. It has a clear beginning and satisfying end. Even if you don't read any other entries in the series you can fully enjoy this for what it is, an adventure in a mysterious land.

A pitch-perfect investigative story, characters and worldbuilding I thoroughly enjoyed, and I had a big smile on my face by the end. I love this alternate history version of Cairo! And setting an investigation of a haunted tram car during the lead up to a vote on women's suffrage was immensely and unexpectedly satisfying.Longer review video: https://youtu.be/MYNok7U6nbk

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is a wonderful, atmospheric novella set in an alternate Cairo, featuring haunted steampunk technology.I already knew I liked P. Djèlí Clark's writing because of The Black God's Drums (...another alt-history, darker novella you should try if you haven't already) and because of A Dead Djinn In Cairo, which is set in the same universe as this book and is also free online (and you should read it). Even though I loved both of these, I was still surprised by how much I lik...

3.5 stars - While I didn't love this one as much as the first book in the series, this was still a really fun mystery plot set in a world that I was excited to learn more about. The inclusion of the women's rights movement in Cairo juxtaposed with the mystery I thought was especially smart... basically this gets me super hyped for the full novel we're getting in the spring :)

2021 re-read:I had forgotten how amusing some of this is. And also about the slight traces of horror. Still can't give this more than three stars, though. Something is missing. It probably should have been longer.2020 review:***2019 Nebula finalist for Best Novella******2020 Hugo finalist for Best Novella***I discovered P. Djèlí Clark when I did my annual reading of Nebula and Hugo nominated stories in 2019. And instantly became a fan of the author. So I was looking forward to this story, which

Set in 1912 in the same alt-history story universe as the author’s A Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Haunting of Tram Car 015 excels on multiple fronts: as a [magical] detective yarn, as a chilling, classically structured haunted house story, and as a vehicle for historian Clark’s speculative re-imagining of modern Egyptian civilization. The story follows Hamed Nasr, an agent for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and his eager but inexperienced new partner Onsi and they i...

“the pointed steel turrets atop ramses station that mimicked golden minarets served as mooring masts for airships. most of these ships were lightweight dirigibles that shuttled between cairo and the main port of alexandria by the hour, discharging passengers from across the mediterranean and beyond.” … if i could, i would also personally order a full-length novel set in this wonderfully captivating world p. djèlí clark has built. because rarely ever have i seen such an intriguing, wel

Unpopular Opinion AlertSomeone from my underground book club suggested The Haunting of Tram Car 015 when I requested short book recommendations (I’m still trying to get through Game of Thrones). My underground book club has never steered me wrong, so I picked this up without reading anything about it first.The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is a spooky book which I would classify as fantasy horror, and, admittedly, this genre isn’t my go-to. However, I will read anything if the storytelling is good. T...

Absolutely terrific. A fantasy-detective novella set in an alternate early 20th century Cairo, where the emergence of djinn a few decades ago have turned Egypt into the main global power. Our heroes are from the supernatural department of the police, attempting to deal with what looks like a routine haunting of an aerial tram car, which rapidly lurches out of control. Brilliant world building, which manages to be super vivid and detailed without ever feeling overloaded or slowing the story, and

I love stories with great world-building, and this one delivers on that front.This is a fun and well-done fantasy/detective novella set in the 1913 in Cairo — in the alternate version of Egypt where the world of djinn and other supernatural beings has met our reality a few decades prior, making Egypt a world super-power, and two Agents of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities — a seasoned agent Hamed and a rookie Onsi — are tasked with solving a mystery of a haunted ae...

Read because I much enjoyed A Dead Djinn in Cairo. This is set in the same time and place, although with more "everyday" type characters. I'm expecting that the author has at least one more story planned for Cairo, as some of the details about the side characters, especially Siti, seemed to suggest a larger story.

3.5/5 starsThe Haunting of Tram Car 015 was a fun mash-up of genres by Clark; I’m ready to read A Master of Djinn now.With this, I’ve read the novelette, short story, and novella prequel to A Master of Djinn. As the title says, the story in this novella follows agent Hamed and agent Onsi as they try to solve the mystery behind the Haunting of Tram Car 015. It’s a fun detective-style story, and the contrast in personality between Hamed and Onsi made them a fun character to read about. Clocking in...

A monster-of-the-week story set in a well worn, beautifully expansive world. It is unique, charming, and deeply magical in a way that only asks for more stories to be told.

My new girlfriend Fatma el-Sha’arawi is not in this instalment, which sucks greatly, BUT: Spooky Boys! Suffragettes! Hahaha stuff! Hathor fangirls and Hatshepsut addicts! Candy smugglers! Super Extra Yummy, Diverse as Fish Characters (SEYDaFC™)! Funky hijabs! Sequential hermaphroditism! Liberated boilerplate eunuchs! Djinns! Djinns! Djinns! Chicken sacrifices! I need to dance and stuff!Oh, and also: (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]· Book 0.5: A Dead Djinn in Cairo ★★★★★· Book 0.6: The A...

The more stories set in this world I read, the more fascinated I grow and the more stories I want. It's so expansive and feels like it holds and infinite amount of possibilities, and that takes mad skills.

The Angel of Khan El-Khalili ★★★ 1/2A Dead Djinn in Cairo ★★★★The Haunting of Tram Car 015 ★★★★It is not a common thing that I pick up a novella and end up being satisfied. That problem is because the length hardly helps delivering it all. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 was an exception to this case and is definitely one of the best novels I read. I think it works as a standalone but also it leaves the reader hungry for more.I liked the characters (I mean the main character is called Hamed!!) and

The Publisher Says: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark’s short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, ho...

“Wait, your tram is haunted?” The superintendent answered with a dour nod that made his moustache droop. “Tram 015, that runs the line down to the Old City. It’s one of the newer models that came out in 1910. Only two years in service, and we’re already having these troubles. God protect us!” “I didn’t know trams could be haunted,” Onsi murmured, plopping another sudjukh in his mouth."This is a bizarre and harrowing fast ride on an urban elevated tram system in an “alternate” Cairo, Egypt of a h...