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This was a really interesting, fun, fantastical novella. It was a quick dip into an alternate Egypt in 1912 filled with the supernatural. We follow Special Investigator Fatma as she unravels the mystery of a curious suicide and adventures through magic rituals, angels, and the undead in order to stop a bigger plot that risks the world.
Really enjoyed this one & looking forward to learning more about this alternate history in the rest of the series

This was unique. While it was incredibly short, the story was complete and was done remarkably well. This author has a talent for short forms. I usually don't see short stories like this that are written so well. The concept seems unique as well.

4/5⭐ A short investigative story set in a lush, fully realized magical steampunk Egypt with mythological and Lovecraftian elements. I'm looking forward to diving into this world again.

Short investigative fiction with interesting characters but the ending became a little too predictable

I loved getting to read how Siti and Fatma met! The “angels” were so creepy! 😖 I‘m looking forward to reading the other short stories Clark has for his djinn filled Cairo universe!!❤️

I finished this in October, just didn‘t have a chance to post it. This is the prequel novella. I needed a quick read and this was it. I started reading the 1st book in the series earlier this year and just had too much going on to continue. But reading this makes me want to pick that book back up!

#scarathlon2022 #teammonstermash #spookoween #31by31 #20in4 #pointsathon

An auspicious series starter, from an author who knows the world he's building and how to show it without spoon-feeding the readers too much exposition. The magic systems, the characters, the setting, lore, all of it--I want more. And luckily, there is more. So you'll have to excuse me for a bit while I track those down and dig in.

Here is my April #BookSpin list. I really have no idea what I‘m going to be in the mood to read in April. I also want to do #ThingsinCommon, so I have no idea where my reading will take me!

Really fast read! Good book, left me wanting more

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili isn‘t listed separately here, but it is on Goodreads. I absolutely love this alternate Cairo that Clark has created and this short story was just as much fun as the tagged one. I can‘t wait to read more of this universe.

I bought this in 2019 because it had Djinn in the title and I‘m obsessed. I didn‘t realize that it takes place in an alternate 1920s steampunk Cairo and I couldn‘t love it more. This introduces Clark‘s alternate world and fantastic, fun characters. I bought the two other short stories and the full length novel. I definitely have to move them up my TBR priority! #ReadingAfrica2022 #Egypt

This short story has been on my Kindle for ages and I finally read it. Not sure how to describe it - mystery, historical, fantasy, clockwork, steampunk? I liked the setting and characters, so someday I might read the rest of the series.

Such a great story!

🎧 I‘m thinking about starting this series.

Steampunkish alternate 1912 Cairo with a touch of magic. Nice!

A djinn has appeared to have taken his own life. Why?

I like the investigator … MC … Fatma is a special investigator of odd occurrences. Scully? This short story paints an interesting world & sets the scene for future books. Snarky assassins, ghouls, djinn & clockwork angels. Not a lot of character development but it‘s short!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another fun story in Clark‘s alternate-history-fantasy world. It speeds toward a fairly predictable ending, but I love the world and characters. I‘m looking forward to reading A Master of Djinn, which I believe is the first full-length novel in this world.

Next up! I‘m much more confident that I‘ll like this one 😁

Fatma el-Sha‘arawi stood gazing through a pair of spectral goggles at the body slumped atop the mammoth divan.
A djinn—near twice the size of a man, with fingers that ended in talons, long as knives. His skin was a sheath of aquamarine scales that shifted to turquoise beneath the flickering gas lamps. He sat unclothed between tasseled cushions of lavender and burgundy, his muscular arms and legs spread wide and leaving nothing to the imagination.

I‘m playing hooky today from work or chores. It‘s in the 90s and wildfire smoke is rolling in. I‘m chilling under my mulberry tree with two young hens. I‘m planning a deep dive into P. Djeli Clark‘s Djinn books. Just finished this short story. I love his crazy worlds.

I really enjoyed this story, even though it was very short. A refreshing new idea. And - since I am living in Cairo - I can confirm the correct use and description of the named places. 😜 I am really looking forward to the next two in this series.

I am trying out the dark mode of my tablet. I am definitely not used to read white letters on a blackly background, but it looks good. Not sure whether I am keeping it or not. 🤔

Next read?!? 🤔😊
I think I saw it in a post of @julesG

Another awesome fantasy novela from p. Djeli Clark! This is one of the few male authors that really writes awesome, fully realized female protagonists. It is getting to the point that he‘s an automatic buy for me no matter the story he chooses to tell

I‘m not sure how Clark does it, but he packs a big punch into a smaller amount of pages! What an incredible world he‘s created. Can‘t wait to read more! Ring Shout will always be my fave though 👏🏻👏🏻

😲 Wow! This is a really fun fast paced fantasy/ mystery in an alternate history of Cairo. There are Djinn, Angels (not the angels you might expect...), and a lot of interesting characters. I can‘t wait to read Clark‘s new full length novel. He packs so much into a short story or novella, I bet the depth in a longer work will be incredible.

This is only 45 pages, easy to read in an hour or two. Definitely recommend!

I can't get enough of this world P. Djeli Clark created! So excited for the full length novel next month.

Have I mentioned how excited I am to finally have hoopla?! 😉

#TBRPile 📚 Egypt, 1912. 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 a plot that could unravel time itself...

I've started with the second book in the series, and now finally managed to read the first volume as well. Once again I enjoyed the world Clark imagined. And once again I wished for his books to be larger in volume. There's so much to discover here, and Fatma is a great character I wish to spend more time with. Hopefully, she shows up in volume three as well!

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks
#SeriesRead2021 @TheSpineView
#SeriesBingo @AkashaVampie

Start of a very cool series set in 1912 Cairo. Djinn have become part of the world bringing magic and tech, amazing advancements, but also some dangerous magical entities. In Cairo, a government ministry manages these matters and Agent Fatma el-Sha‘arawi is one of the best. A djinn‘s body leads to discovery of a plan to unleash horror upon the world. https://cannonballread.com/2021/01/a-dead-djinn-in-cairo-and-the-haunting-of-tra...

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12

1) finish knitting a pair of socks and pack up them up as a birthday gift for a friend
2) homemade biscuits
3) any time, but right now it's late at night, because homeschooling

Thanks for the tag @maich

Want to play? @Buechersuechtling @Crazeedi @ozma.of.oz @slategreyskies

Plus the tagged book.
Stolen from IG. If the original artist is on here please feel free to tag them for credit. #thatsclassic #itslit

"The ministry suspected a radical cell of anarchist necromancers, though no one had come up with any leads."

This sentence, written so casually by the author, read so casually by the narrator, brought me great joy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book, my only qualm is it was too damned short. #recommended #litsy #fantasy

This novella was the one that called me from my Kindle during a beautiful day on East Lynn Lake in WV. ❤️ I loved the steam-punky alternate Cairo, I loved the protagonist, and I loved the queer rep that was hinted at but not fully developed (due to its short length). I‘m hoping for more of these characters in the next book which seems to be set in the same universe. (Tagged in comments.)

Happy West Virginia Day, y‘all!

Wonderful Short Story. I‘ve only read one other novella by this author but I can‘t wait to see what else he writes. #MtTBR

Loved this steampunk-fantasy-historical-police-procedural story! I hope Djeli Clark returns to this world sometime; it was really fun and well-constructed.

I‘m becoming obsessed with Tor.com SF/F novellas and short stories. The only problem is every single one I read, they‘re over too quick and I want more.

Sometimes short story is worth more than big novel.

Just started this one 🤔

These were the chosen books for our #LitsyATXReadersSociety meeting today. This month‘s topic was: something read by someone else in the club last year 😊. The tagged title has rave reviews from three club members now, so it‘s added to my TBR!

I‘m tagging the other books in the comments ❤️📚

honestly I can't believe this is just a short story I read in an hour when it has such rich worldbuilding and a colorful setting 😱 I've heard about P. Djeli Clark before since I planned to read one his of other novellas and this excellent short story only made me more excited to do so 👍

hitting another reading slump...right on time for the semester ending 😢 slowed my reading pace a bit but that hasn't stopped me from continuing to buy cheap kindle books 😅

The first short story I came across in my TBR - I'm looking forward to reading this urban fantasy set in Cairo!

#GratefulReads Day 12 #shortstory

This novella is set in an alternative fantastical version of Cairo in 1912, where Djinns and angels exist and the English never got hold of egypt. We follow the female protagonist, an investigator, in a pretty straight-forward mystery. It's really short, but the world-building is great and I liked the writing style. There's another novella set in that world that I will check out 📖

Trying to finish one more book this evening so not posting my June wrap up yet, but figured I could do a quick post on some of the LGBTQ books I read this month.

As Casey McQustin posted in her insta story today, Pride month isn't the only good time to read LGBTQ books by *any means* but it does give us a good excuse to celebrate these books and authors!

Such a great short story about an alternate Cairo in the early 1900s where the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, & Supernatural Entities manages the supernatural djinn & angels living in the city alongside humans. Read this in anticipation of The Haunting of Tram Car 015 since it's sort of a prequel. I've loved everything I've read by Clark so far & definitely recommend this one:

https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead-djinn-in-cairo/

I love the world building in this short story. More of this please!