If you want to find the Angel of Khan el-Khalili, you have to make your way to the market at night. Not when the sun goes down, and Cairo’s masses spill out into the opening shops, where soot-smudged factory workers and well-groomed ministerial clerks mingle at open-air coffeehouses to debate local politics. Not even after the first stars have appeared and, beneath the glare of gaslight, hawkers practice their best chat-up lines to seduce idle wanderers to their stalls—where everything from coun...

Short but still packing an emotional punch.The second person POV actually works really well here. (Coming from someone who really hates that form of writing)

Taking place in Khan el-Khalili, the big bazaar in the heart of Cairo. Our main character is looking for an angel and a miracle... Forgiveness and retribution are the theme in this one. The story is narrated in second-person, which I find really hard to like as a reader. Straight forward story, not much in terms of plot, more of a small character study. It was ok.Can be read for free here: https://www.tor.com/2021/04/28/the-an...

This short story (first published in 2017) is set in the same world as Clark’s A Dead Djinn in Cairo, though there isn’t any other connection to that novelette. It is weakly connected to The Haunting of Tram Car 015, I think. But I’ll have to read that one again to be sure.Anyways, it is the story of a girl that is trying to save her dying sister. But mere wishes granted by a djinn won’t do. It will need a miracle. So that’s what she’s asking for, from an angel who calls herself Seeker. Seeker...

I'm reading all the prequels before reading A Master of Djinn so I feel like this one is a mystery as of yet, but a girl goes to ask a miracle from an angel. Why she's there and what she has to exchange is what the story is about. I'm not sure how it fits into the broader world except to emphasize the industrial nature of the worldbuilding and the prominence of the angels.

Mini-reviewAn impressive short story. I’m even more excited to read A Master of Djinn.I’ll keep this one brief. It’s a short story, after all. The Angel of Khan el-Kalili is a short story in Clark’s Dead Djinn Universe; it is a prequel to the main novel, A Master of Djinn. I am frankly impressed; this short story about a girl asking an angel for a miracle was packed with so much emotion. To make things even crazier, the author has the bravery to write the short story in second-person POV, which

A TOR.com short story, free at this linkSet in Cairo, in 1912, but with a steampunk overlay - mechanised automatons being repaired by the boiler eunuch mender in the opened scene; or the titular angel with a mechanised body.But angels are another matter. They are rarer things, ethereal beings who shroud their bodies behind contraptions of mechanical grandeur and hold themselves apart from mortals and djinn alike."Written in the second person, the reader takes the part of Aliia, sister to a dying...

I'm not sure how this relates to the rest of the stories as the main book, but that's actually not a bad thing, it's just making me more curious as to how everything ties together. It was still an enjoyable story!

Another excellent tale in his Cairo setting, in an early 20th Century where magic, spirituality and steampunk are intertwined. Wonderfully evocative, beautifully written and thoughtful.Read it here:https://www.tor.com/2021/04/28/the-an...

A great short story. Strong prose, packs an emotional punch, gives a glimpse of a fascinating world. I'm sold.

Such a short but captivating story. The writing is gorgeous and I don’t get how the author managed to write an almost complete story when it’s barely even a story.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

A fascinating little story within the Dead Djinn series. Aliaa goes searching for an angel to save her sister Aisha, looking for a miracle. What the angel wants in return is some that may be, literally, too soul crushing for Aliaa.I do not know if Aliaa appears in other Dead Djinn works, but I would love to see more of her. She's clearly a driven girl and despite all her ambivalent feelings towards the angel and her philosophy, she is very much struck by what happened. That being said, I would l...

Yesterday was my first day to go to the office, after more than a year working from home. I guess the thrill of it dizzied me that I had forgotten my kindle at home. Damn, what to do in those 30 minutes subway ride? So I looked up on tor.com and found this one. Good thing I did, because I had Clark under radar for some time, and was curious about his writing. I was entranced from the first words and that from a story written in second person, which is not exactly my thing. Superb writing, great

Real Rating: 3.5* of fiveThis meditation on the price of Truth and the unlikelihood of Honesty being its own reward is told in the second person. This is, I need not tell anyone of my acquaintance, a Literary Original Sin and usually causes me to slam covers and jab power buttons with disgust and outrage.Author Clark, somehow, is immune to this inflexible rule being applied to him. In fact, these behaviors didn't so much as occur to me. After reading the very, very moreish A Dead Djinn in Cairo,...

If you want to find the Angel of Khan el-Khalili, you have to make your way to the market at night. Not when the sun goes down, and Cairo’s masses spill out into the opening shops, where soot-smudged factory workers and well-groomed ministerial clerks mingle at open-air coffeehouses to debate local politics. Not even after the first stars have appeared and, beneath the glare of gaslight, hawkers practice their best chat-up lines to seduce idle wanderers to their stalls—where everything from coun...

"She studies you for a moment, then replies: 'Many claim to seek my wisdom. But in truth, it is my favors they hope to attain.' Her tone is not harsh or even scolding. Still, you feel your face heat up again. It is not a comfortable thing to hear that you are transparent. But you believe that gaze could strip any soul bare. 'Forgive me, Seeker,' you try again. 'I mean to say, I’ve come to ask a favor.'A powerful little morality tale set in Clark's Clockwork universe. A young woman who works in a...

"Speak your truth. Allow my embrace."While the crux of the plot won't likely knock anyone's socks off, the chilling emotional intensity that Clark achieves, as well as the marvelously realized setting in his fantasy steampunk Cairo, are masterful. His prose is in top form, affecting and evocative."I search for truth. I am drawn to it. Do you think your small mortal soul can conceal itself from me? Do you think I cannot see what you keep secreted in its innermost chambers""You mortals are such fr...

“They are not angels. All angels are in Heaven with God.” This reads like a tale, a sort of old Grimm one but modernised with a cool steampunk (not) Angel. I think in a way I preferred it to the first novella, just for its uniqueness which was also translated in its second person point of view. I don’t usually like it but in this case, it really worked its magic and I felt like I was in front of Seeker myself. I love how it keeps the mystery around these (not) Angels, I really want to learn m

Actual rating: 3.5 StarsI did not know this was written in second person POV but it wasn't weird (I remember it took me a while to get used to it in The Fifth Season and The Night Circus). It is a short story but it is a good one filled with emotions. Give it a chance guys!