Fantasy

A Master of Djinn

A Master of Djinn

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  • Create Date：2021-09-05 08:51:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：P. Djèlí Clark
  • ISBN：0356516881
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Summary

Nebula， Locus， and Alex Award-winner P。 Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut， A Master of Djinn

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 50 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 her clever girlfriend Siti， 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。。。。

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Reviews

Margaret Bessai ，

A locked room mystery， in a world of science and magic。 "A Master of Djinn" is P。 Djèlí Clark's first full length novel。 It is set in 1912， in the alternate Cairo that Clark began in his novella “A Dead Djinn in Cairo”， a metropolis with airships， clockwork trams， and magic: djinns， ghuls， sorcerers， and ifrits。 His next novella， "The Haunting of Tram Car 015" gave us more back story to the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchant­ments and Supernatural Entities。 Locus reviewer Liz Bourke: A Master of Djinn A locked room mystery， in a world of science and magic。 "A Master of Djinn" is P。 Djèlí Clark's first full length novel。 It is set in 1912， in the alternate Cairo that Clark began in his novella “A Dead Djinn in Cairo”， a metropolis with airships， clockwork trams， and magic: djinns， ghuls， sorcerers， and ifrits。 His next novella， "The Haunting of Tram Car 015" gave us more back story to the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchant­ments and Supernatural Entities。 Locus reviewer Liz Bourke: A Master of Djinn is doing a lot with class and status， history and myth， racism and race and （post）colonialism， with sex and gender and the pressures of being a first， exceptional role-model; with magic and relationships and community and policing。 Mostly， though， it’s having fun。 https://locusmag。com/2021/06/gary-k-w。。。 。。。more

Hamna ，

Easily one of the best-written novel。 I've read so far。 Easily one of the best-written novel。 I've read so far。 。。。more

Macomfort ，

Clark's pacing and world building compliment each other beautifully， no dune-style exposition to be found here。 The book is Harry Dresden， 1001 nights， and murder on the orient express。 Clark's pacing and world building compliment each other beautifully， no dune-style exposition to be found here。 The book is Harry Dresden， 1001 nights， and murder on the orient express。 。。。more

Shriya Uday ，

This took a while to get into because there was just a lot of politics and layers at the beginning that went by too fast。 But once I had a hang of it， it was amazing。 I loved Fatma and her obsession with suits， and her relationships with everyone else was so well written and each was so distinct。 However it did feel like the whole thing with the angels went unanswered， I don't remember that question being dealt with。 Also I wish they'd followed up on this one particular djinn more。 Regardless I' This took a while to get into because there was just a lot of politics and layers at the beginning that went by too fast。 But once I had a hang of it， it was amazing。 I loved Fatma and her obsession with suits， and her relationships with everyone else was so well written and each was so distinct。 However it did feel like the whole thing with the angels went unanswered， I don't remember that question being dealt with。 Also I wish they'd followed up on this one particular djinn more。 Regardless I'm looking forward to reading the other stories in this universe 。。。more

Catherine Eisch Beeman ，

4。5 stars。Meet Fatma – unapologetically snappy dresser， wearer of bowler hats， djinn-wrangler， human。Fatma el-Sha’arawi is an Agent with the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in 1912 Cairo – and what a Cairo it is！ Visitors encounter humans， djinn as small as a mouse or as big as a house， talking cats， trickster angels， warriors， and mechanical eunuchs。 Enter a hut， and you may find yourself in a palace。 Which is the illusion – the palace or the hut？This is the challeng 4。5 stars。Meet Fatma – unapologetically snappy dresser， wearer of bowler hats， djinn-wrangler， human。Fatma el-Sha’arawi is an Agent with the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in 1912 Cairo – and what a Cairo it is！ Visitors encounter humans， djinn as small as a mouse or as big as a house， talking cats， trickster angels， warriors， and mechanical eunuchs。 Enter a hut， and you may find yourself in a palace。 Which is the illusion – the palace or the hut？This is the challenge faced by Fatma: she must discern reality from illusion at every turn in her quest to foil the masked stranger who identifies himself as al-Jahiz， the legendary warrior， returned to this world to turn it upside down after slaughtering the group that summoned him。Luckily， Fatma is not working alone; she has a new partner in the Ministry， and a person from her past is still with her， offering support。 The three are assisted by a ragtag urban task force of humans， djinn， booksellers， musicians， healers， and old aunties。This is an adventure – swordplay， romance， danger， a riddle solved， and an epic final conflict。 I don’t usually like adventure novels， but the endearing characters intrigued me。 I listened to the audiobook， and narrator Suehyla el-Attar is the perfect choice for this role。The plot is entertaining， mainly due to the fantastical creatures involved， but at one point the pace seems to speed up， with large-scale national events described in the space of a few paragraphs。 I had a sense that the events would have taken months to unfold， but then found that Fatima had moved forward only a day or two in time。 The resulting cognitive dissonance took me out of the story。 Also， when I figured out who this villain was well before the big reveal （as did other reviewers， based on my research）， I was disappointed。 This would have been a bigger pain point， but the many surprises after the reveal made up for the miss。 。。。more

Nur Izati ，

3。75 stars

Sarah ，

I really enjoyed this book！The world building is good and interesting。 I liked that it was a mystery novel and the case was interesting。 I also liked how Fatma， Hadia and Siti were the main characters - the book set in 1912 Egypt had women protagonists and I appreciated how they may not have had the same religious beliefs but it wasn't an issue。 Hadia choses to wear a hajib but the only mention of it is the colour。 There is also a romance with two women and it wasn't something people had issue w I really enjoyed this book！The world building is good and interesting。 I liked that it was a mystery novel and the case was interesting。 I also liked how Fatma， Hadia and Siti were the main characters - the book set in 1912 Egypt had women protagonists and I appreciated how they may not have had the same religious beliefs but it wasn't an issue。 Hadia choses to wear a hajib but the only mention of it is the colour。 There is also a romance with two women and it wasn't something people had issue with。I liked how Middle Eastern mythology was used。 If we get another book I hope to get more of the Egyptian gods。 。。。more

John ，

Going in， I wanted to really be blown away by A Master of Djinn。 The preceding short stories definitely elevated my expectations。 There is a lot that is predictable and tropey。 And， while the mystery is exposed early on， it is still a good time as things unfold。 There is an entertaining familiarity with the action and adventure elements while much of the fantastical feels new。 I look forward to what comes next。

Abbey ，

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this early free copy in exchange for an honest review。 This is a bit of a difficult book for me to try and review。 It’s the third book in a series， that supposedly can be read without having read the previous two novellas。 I don’t quite agree with this。 I hadn’t read the previous instalments in the serious and I do feel like if affected my enjoyment of this book， which is totally on me。 However I don’t think it should be said or suggested that it can Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this early free copy in exchange for an honest review。 This is a bit of a difficult book for me to try and review。 It’s the third book in a series， that supposedly can be read without having read the previous two novellas。 I don’t quite agree with this。 I hadn’t read the previous instalments in the serious and I do feel like if affected my enjoyment of this book， which is totally on me。 However I don’t think it should be said or suggested that it can be read as a standalone， there are quite a few references to the case solved by our main character Fatma dotted throughout the novel。 This did make me interested in reading the previous books。 I feel like I didn’t really get to enjoy the complexities of the main characters relationship with her love interest。 I did really love the setting and the mystery was intriguing enough to keep me reading and eventually finish this book。 I’m hoping that once I’ve read the previous books I’ll have a new appreciation for this book in particular。 I still recommend it， and think it’s still a very enjoyable book！ 。。。more

Chad Nabity ，

I had no idea what to expect from this book but it was on the NPR list of best SF from the last 10 years and on sale at Audible。 It belongs on that list and would have been worth full price。 The world/history imagined is clear and compelling。 The story telling is excellent and the concept is intriguing。I highly recommend this book and need to find the others。

Lauren ，

The world building was lovely and magical， but to me， this book felt very slow。 Big climatic moments often turned into monologues or debates in front of literal crowds of onlookers in public， slowing the story down substantially。 I liked the characters， but struggled to feel attached to most of them。 And our main character just felt incredibly unobservant。 I understand that she must miss some things in order to keep tension and mystery， but for the genius she's supposed to be， she didn't seem to The world building was lovely and magical， but to me， this book felt very slow。 Big climatic moments often turned into monologues or debates in front of literal crowds of onlookers in public， slowing the story down substantially。 I liked the characters， but struggled to feel attached to most of them。 And our main character just felt incredibly unobservant。 I understand that she must miss some things in order to keep tension and mystery， but for the genius she's supposed to be， she didn't seem to pick up on much the first time around。 I loved Siti and Hadia， but felt a bit let down by our main character Fatma。 。。。more

Ann Mackey ，

Just love this world and the characters， can't wait for more！ Just love this world and the characters， can't wait for more！ 。。。more

Lynsey Sharp ，

Early 1900s Cairo is a diverse city， with humans and magical djinn living peacefully alongside each other。 But when a masked imposter starts seizing control of djinn - using them to murder people and create social strife - Agent Fatma of the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchantments， and Supernatural Entities is tasked with tracking down the malefactor。 This enchanting steampunk mystery， full of witty， sharp-dressed， all-around badass women， will make you want to follow Agent Fatma on countless more dan Early 1900s Cairo is a diverse city， with humans and magical djinn living peacefully alongside each other。 But when a masked imposter starts seizing control of djinn - using them to murder people and create social strife - Agent Fatma of the Ministry of Alchemy， Enchantments， and Supernatural Entities is tasked with tracking down the malefactor。 This enchanting steampunk mystery， full of witty， sharp-dressed， all-around badass women， will make you want to follow Agent Fatma on countless more dangerous adventures。 。。。more

Beth ~~Just One More Chapter I Swear~~ ，

This is not your grandfather's Cairo BUT is it mine？？ I don't think so。 I listened to the previous novella via Audible and loved it！ I tried listening to this book as well and even though the narrator is the same， I just couldn't get into the story。 I found it difficult to care about what was happening or for the characters。。。 an unforgivable travesty that is difficult to overlook and power through in my opinion。This one is a DNF for me at ~ 50%。 I tried over and over to psych myself up to go ba This is not your grandfather's Cairo BUT is it mine？？ I don't think so。 I listened to the previous novella via Audible and loved it！ I tried listening to this book as well and even though the narrator is the same， I just couldn't get into the story。 I found it difficult to care about what was happening or for the characters。。。 an unforgivable travesty that is difficult to overlook and power through in my opinion。This one is a DNF for me at ~ 50%。 I tried over and over to psych myself up to go back to it but， ultimately， I failed。 ~ Sorry 。。。more

Robert ，

Really enjoed this， both story and worldbuilding。 Had some noticeably weak story aspects， but in general quite good。 A glossary of some of the words would have been nice; some the kindle could look up， but many （especially when not online） had to infer from context。

Julia ，

This is was fun！ I had a hard time getting into it， so I got the audiobook from the library， and I really liked the narrator。 I think this world and the lore are great。 The ending had kind of an odd tone- everyone seemed to start talking more tongue in cheek or more like modern people and it took me out of it， but overall， I had a good time。

Angela Holbert ，

wonderful immersive read; looking for other books by this author now…

Mya ，

I love the world that Clark has created here。

Kaitlin ，

I read this one for a book club and I’m glad I picked it up as it was certainly a read I enjoyed and a new to me author。 The one downside of this for me is that it draws a lot on the same mythology as City of Brass， which I recently reread， and yet this one feels a lot more like a mystery/police procedural which happened to have magic （more in the same vein as Rivers of London） rather than a fantasy as a whole。 Whilst I think this works well for anyone looking for a mystery/adventure I don’t thi I read this one for a book club and I’m glad I picked it up as it was certainly a read I enjoyed and a new to me author。 The one downside of this for me is that it draws a lot on the same mythology as City of Brass， which I recently reread， and yet this one feels a lot more like a mystery/police procedural which happened to have magic （more in the same vein as Rivers of London） rather than a fantasy as a whole。 Whilst I think this works well for anyone looking for a mystery/adventure I don’t think it compares on magical immersion and characterisation， so it really depends what you’re looking for whether you should go for this one or City of Brass。 We follow Fatma， a detective in Cairo who works for the Ministry and is tasked with finding out what happened at the scene of a gruesome and magic-laced mass murder。 She is one of the few women in the ministry and she’s worked hard to prove herself， and for this case she gets assigned a new partner too。 They work together to interview， uncover and understand just what happened and who is behind the murders， and the book has a fast plot overall。 This world has Djinn and magical beings as a part of the day to day life and I liked that element even though I do feel that they could have been fleshed out more。 I think the characterisation is a bit lacking in this story so I never felt tricky worried or invested in the characters， but I still liked the journey they went on。 Overall， it’s a mystery in a fantasy setting and if that’s what’s you’re after you’ll likely enjoy it。 I gave it 3*s and I’m intrigued enough to look out for more from this author in future。 。。。more

Anie ，

Aiii this book is so good （as is this universe！）。 Cairene steampunk with djinn and airships。。。 yes please， sign me already for this trope。 Add in a cast of lovable-but-blessedly-imperfect characters， interesting and well-developed worldbuilding， and an exciting plot， and you've got a great book。 （Unlike many steampunk novels， Clark also actively and openly interrogates colonialism， racism， sexism， religious bigotry， and general assholishness in a straightforward way。） Aiii this book is so good （as is this universe！）。 Cairene steampunk with djinn and airships。。。 yes please， sign me already for this trope。 Add in a cast of lovable-but-blessedly-imperfect characters， interesting and well-developed worldbuilding， and an exciting plot， and you've got a great book。 （Unlike many steampunk novels， Clark also actively and openly interrogates colonialism， racism， sexism， religious bigotry， and general assholishness in a straightforward way。） 。。。more

Micah ，

It borders on "come on already" with the big twist that you're waiting for。 I feel like the protagonists should have figured it out sooner， but the back third really comes together well。 It borders on "come on already" with the big twist that you're waiting for。 I feel like the protagonists should have figured it out sooner， but the back third really comes together well。 。。。more

Glennis ，

Review to come

Anna ，

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did。 It started out great， but pulled me deeper and deeper in。 There are a few moments where the social commentary was a bit heavy-handed or shoehorned。 And the ending wasn't the biggest surprised， but I love it anyway！ I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did。 It started out great， but pulled me deeper and deeper in。 There are a few moments where the social commentary was a bit heavy-handed or shoehorned。 And the ending wasn't the biggest surprised， but I love it anyway！ 。。。more

Zurairi ，

First thing first: somehow I felt like this book should've been written by a woman， or someone of Arab/Muslim descent。 It felt mildly appropriative， but respectful nonetheless。That said， this was a fun speculative world without colonialism。。where an egalitarian， multi-cultural metropolitan flourish since its peoples were never subjugated & divided。 There shouldn't be any room for what might have been for the Muslim world， but instead we must move forward to make it reality。 The message is clear: First thing first: somehow I felt like this book should've been written by a woman， or someone of Arab/Muslim descent。 It felt mildly appropriative， but respectful nonetheless。That said， this was a fun speculative world without colonialism。。where an egalitarian， multi-cultural metropolitan flourish since its peoples were never subjugated & divided。 There shouldn't be any room for what might have been for the Muslim world， but instead we must move forward to make it reality。 The message is clear: slavery， in any form is evil， and Islam past present & future reflects this。 。。。more

Dianthaa ，

I loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 15 when I read them last year。 I favor Dead Djinn slightly more because it also follows Fatma el-Sha’arawi。 She and the setting are my favorite bits about this series so excuse a little ramble。The setting is steampunk Cairo in the early 20th Century， with Djinn， clockwork angels and a lot of other supernatural creatures。 With technology and support from the Djinn， Egypt has pushed off the British colonial forces and is now a global power I loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 15 when I read them last year。 I favor Dead Djinn slightly more because it also follows Fatma el-Sha’arawi。 She and the setting are my favorite bits about this series so excuse a little ramble。The setting is steampunk Cairo in the early 20th Century， with Djinn， clockwork angels and a lot of other supernatural creatures。 With technology and support from the Djinn， Egypt has pushed off the British colonial forces and is now a global power。 I like how in the novel we got to learn a little bit more about how different countries are adapting to having magical creatures in our world， more of an International context and bigger picture， it made the world all the more real。It was very easy for me to picture everything very， all the clockwork， the Djinn， the lovingly descripted outfits and foods。 I loved that there are different kinds of Djinn， like Marid who have water powers and Ifrit who have fire powers， and a few others。 There’s also a bit of ancient Egyptian mythology coming up， I’m a huge fan of that and hoping it’ll be even more present in further books。Fatma is a modern unconventional woman， she’s had a lot to prove to get to where she is in the organisation， and that shows when she’s partnered up with another younger woman。 The contrast and similarities between the two are great。 Starting with dress， Fatma’s always in men’s suits， so stylish， and Hadia is also stylish， but wearing more traditional clothing and a hijab。 And I loved how Hadia’s not put down for the way she dresses and the fact that she’s far more religious than Fatma （who’s also religious in some ways， sometimes）。 I thought it was such a good way to have different women in a job， without competing and putting one down to elevate the other。 Their professional relationship evolved so well through the story， it was a joy to read。I know I started by saying how much I love Fatma， but really I cannot choose between her and Hadia。 They’re both amazing。 I think this is one of Clark’s strengths， cause I the same feeling from Ring Shout。 And their dynamic， so good。 And some extremely satisfying moments。 Dammit this is making me want to reread already。 But yeah， Hadia is clever， quick， aware and confident in her skills， honest。If you came here expecting a cohesive train of thought， sorry to let you down。I loved the action in the book， the way magic and sword fighting/hand to hand fighting merged。 It was a lot of fun。 Which kinda saved it because the actual main mystery was probably the weakest part for me。 I felt like the hints were dropped a little too heavily。 Though it didn’t decrease my enjoyement， because part of hints were stuff that would only come together for the reader， what tipped me off wasn’t something I could realistically expected Fatma to catch。 And honestly I would happily read just about anything with these characters in this world， so I wasn’t fussed。Yeah， so overall loved， lots of fun， lived up to the promise of the previous books and I can’t wait for more。 。。。more

Kerrie ，

A new novel that combines Egyptian mythology and steampunk and a bit of romance into a fun action / adventure novel set in turn of the century Egypt。 I struggled a little with some of the unfamiliar Arabic names and places， but Clark builds a fantastic world filled with good guys， bad guys， Djinn， Angels， and Deities。 This book sucked me in and I am super eager to read the next one！

Sanjida ，

This is a really interesting world that I do want to know more about。 A very strong 3 1/2。

Evin Grody ，

I finished a whole slew of books at once and didn't get around to logging them immediately， so let's just call this one my 100th new book for the year - huzzah！ Because it was so fun and deserves that 'honour'？ Sure， we'll go with that。But really: this was ludicrously fun。 Ludicrously。。 It was also engrossing and quick and funny and clever and excellent and the world！ and their love！ and all the other really， really great things。 And that ending。 I could not stop actually really laughing in I finished a whole slew of books at once and didn't get around to logging them immediately， so let's just call this one my 100th new book for the year - huzzah！ Because it was so fun and deserves that 'honour'？ Sure， we'll go with that。But really: this was ludicrously fun。 Ludicrously。。 It was also engrossing and quick and funny and clever and excellent and the world！ and their love！ and all the other really， really great things。 And that ending。 I could not stop actually really laughing in the real world， really truly gut-wrenching laughter for the whole bloody climax。 Fucking brilliant。 I mean， （view spoiler）[Ahmed biting damn Abigail's hand off？！？！？！ and then the scarab lighter in the box he sent to Fatima （hide spoiler）]？ I died。 Actually dead now。 And still laughing as I wander off to Sobek's land to bow at Ahmed's feet for all of it， actually unintentionally creepy lurking and all。Everyone should read it and the short stories on Tor that go with it。 。。。more

Elysia Joy ，

Master of Djinn is stunning and even more enjoyable to read if you've enjoyed the shorter works Dead Djinn in Cairo and Tram Car 015。P Djeli Clark is a master of social commentary， world building and mystery。I'm deeply invested in the main characters， especially all the girl power， and in the relationships explored。 I can't wait to dive back in if this world is ever expanded。 In the mean time I'll just have to reread when I miss Fatma， Siti， and Hadia。 Master of Djinn is stunning and even more enjoyable to read if you've enjoyed the shorter works Dead Djinn in Cairo and Tram Car 015。P Djeli Clark is a master of social commentary， world building and mystery。I'm deeply invested in the main characters， especially all the girl power， and in the relationships explored。 I can't wait to dive back in if this world is ever expanded。 In the mean time I'll just have to reread when I miss Fatma， Siti， and Hadia。 。。。more

Deborah ，

Amazing book with well rounded， connectable characters and a story that draws you in。 The world Clark creates is vivid and believable。 Now I need to check if there is a sequel。。。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Master of Djinn

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Master of Djinn&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Master of Djinn&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0