Early Review – A Master of Djinn (Fatma el-Sha’arawi, Book 3) by P. Djèlí Clark (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Steampunk
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Tordotcom
Release Date: May 11, 2021
ASIN : B08HKXS84X
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Fatma el-Sha’arawi series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley to Review
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.
So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world forty years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.
Alongside her Ministry colleagues and a familiar person from her past, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city—or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…”
Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Fatma el-Sha’arawi series. I got this book from Netgalley for review.
Story (4/5): This was hands down my most anticipated book of the year and (while I enjoyed reading it and am glad I read it) I did find it a bit disappointing. Now, keep in mind I did have this book on a pretty high pedestal before reading, my expectations were just really, really high. I have been absolutely infatuated with everything else Clark has written and was super excited to see what he would do with a full length novel.
The big issue here was pacing and awkward insertions of information that didn’t feel in keeping with the series. There are parts of this story I loved and parts that just felt very awkward. For example mid-book Fatma ends up at a political event at the palace and suddenly we are meeting tons of delegates from other countries. It was a huge political diversion and info dump mid story. Tons of names are thrown at you, we find out there are goblins, and none of it really relates to anything we care about. It was really really tough to get through and really didn’t match the pace of the rest of the story. This portion was just not well done.
Characters (4/5): I continue to really enjoy Siti and Fatma. They are amazingly strong female characters. Clark does an amazing job writing about strong female characters; in fact he’s so good at it that sometimes I find his male characters a bit lacking. While I love a clever, strong, and tough female character I do like to see some balance as well.
Setting (4/5): The world building is awesome in this series. Clark has created an amazing world here that is engrossing and outstanding. The description is amazing and things are easy to picture. I do think the way some new elements were thrown in (goblins??!!) were a bit clunky but hopefully they will be expanded on in future novels/novellas.
Writing Style (4/5): The main thing I love about this series is the amazing world-building, the tight storytelling, and the strong characterization. While this book contains a good mystery and I really love the world and characters; the story-telling was a lot less polished and felt clunky this time around. Too much extra information and awkward transitions between scenes had me wincing at points. Unfortunately, I think the amazing qualities that Clark displays in novella writing were a bit lacking in this full length novel (a novel that feels very long and lengthy when you read it). Clark might just be better at writing novellas, which is still amazing. I love good novella authors!
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but was a bit disappointed. I had very high expectations for this novel and they just weren’t quite met. I continue to love the world and characters, but was a bit disappointed with the pacing and overall mystery. Hopefully these are just growing pains as Clark transitions from writing novellas to novels. I do plan on continuing the series. I just hope that it’s either transitioned back to novella style or Clark’s writing tightens up a bit and flows better in future novels.
