Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

17 reviews

bubbeleh's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A dapper butch detective in early 20th century Egypt in which Egypt is a ruling power, complete with mythical creatures. I was hooked from start to finisg

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I loved the plot and pacing of the mystery. The characters were great and so diverse, but I have a feeling they’ll hit their stride more in the second book. 

Historical Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, Diverse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

asahome's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious

3.5

TL;DR: A young woman must solve a mass murder case where she discovers the supernatural is closer than she thinks. In the end, people challenge the status quo and they are not wrong when discussing the way power is distributed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kappafrog's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This. Was. FANTASTIC!! One of the best books I've read all year. I love the setting, the characters, the history, the folklore... Wow!! I want more books like this! A historian writing steampunk that centres entirely different cultures and histories than usual... I love it! Reading this felt like eating a delicious and varied meal you'd never tasted!

Fatima and Hadia made a great detective team, and I loved Siti. There were so many amazing side characters too, from a musician refugee from Jim Crow calling himself Mansa Musa, to a haughty djinn librarian, to a master of thieves feeding hungry children while keeping some wealth for herself. The world building was so rich, with so many strands woven together to make an engrossing tapestry. I'd love to see more of this world!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Blood, Islamophobia, Dementia, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

novella42's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was beautiful, the worldbuilding was excellent, the characters were multi-dimensional, their problems and responses were believable, and Clark explored social issues with nuance. I loved so much of this book!

The story began a little slow for me because I'm not into mysteries, but by the second half I was having a hard time putting it down as the pacing built more and more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

jpremmel's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery

bel017's review against another edition

Loved the world building and characters, didn't love the (repetitive) stating of the obvious, or the plot. (Initially I didn't like Hadida but realised that was because she got lumped with 'stating the obvious' job the most, once I ignored all those comments she improved). The drawing out of the plot hinged on

internalised sexism

, which is a trope that deeply irritates me, and I just didn't buy that from Fatma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Body horror

the_bees_books's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An amazing book about djinn, a mysterious murder, and a fun cast of characters that I really should've read sooner! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury

avacadosocks's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery

trickstercast's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I loved the world building, but there were times where the dialogue jolted between something that fit the setting and something out of the modern day, which I found very jarring. I also struggle to see the appeal of Fatma as a main character. Her main character traits are that she's the first woman agent, she loves suits, and she loves Siti. I was also frustrated by how the incredibly cold and calculating villain devolved into standard Scooby-Doo monologuing as soon as they were found out. It's like all their skill went out the door. 

I really liked Hadia though and would read more adventures to learn about her. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, and Lesbophobia