A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark Narrator: Suehyla El-Attar
Series: Dead Djinn Universe #0.1
Published by Macmillan Audio on August 27, 2019
Source: Library
Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk
Length: 1 hr 41 mins
Pages: 43
Format: Audiobook
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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 thoroughly enjoyed A Master of Djinn and my library had “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” on audio, so I picked it up. The setting is a steampunk 1912 Cairo in a world where magic has been discovered/released. With the help of the djinn, Egypt has pretty much thrown England out.
Fatma is sent out to investigate the apparent suicide of a strong djinn, but nothing’s ever that simple is it. I enjoyed meeting Fatma again and seeing how her relationship with Siti started. The plot was fun, full of djinn and clockwork angels and ghouls. The main problem, the thing Fatma has to stop, becomes a problem again in the first full-length novel in the series, so I’m not sure if I’m glad to see how it originated or disappointed that the same “machine” is used in both.
About P. Djèlí Clark
Phenderson Djéli Clark is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn, and the award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots and Hidden Youth.
I love the idea of a book set in a steampunk Cairo in 1912! I’ll have to look for the first one in this series. 😀
This is kind of a prequel to the series, and you can read it at https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead-djinn-in-cairo/ for free to see if you like the world.
Good to know. Thanks! 😀