rorareads55's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Minor: Animal death and Gore
thereaderfriend's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Had higher expectations for this :/ the potential was there but not executed well. Did like the wacky mysterious vibes. Didn't like the women's suffrage subplot to the main plot. That wasn't good. Didn't like the MC but the rest of it was decent. Definitely a starting novella for the author. Liked the monster action and world building. Looking forward to Fatma's book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Animal death
Minor: Blood, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
aardwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
I really like Clark's work and all the weirdness and reflection on human frailty and fundamental potential for goodness and cool monster action is here, though you can kinda tell it's an earlier work (lot of "as you know, Bob" dialogue), the exposition dumps sit lightly because the bizarre worldbuilding is a large part of the draw.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Pregnancy, Sexism, Blood, Cannibalism, and Gore
bekahmccue's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
awpatton's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, and Gore
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? Yes
5.0
“How do we stop it?”
Madaam Mariam sipped her tea before answering. “You will need iron, to bind it. Something sharp, preferably. Even as small as a needle. Prick the spirit. Then, once that is done, bring it home and make it work for you.”
Hamed squinted back at her. “That’s a bit strange.”
“Most of these stories are,” she told him flatly.”
TITLE—The Haunting of Tram Car 015
AUTHOR—P. Djèlí Clark
PUBLISHED—2019
GENRE—historical fantasy; steampunk
SETTING—a sort of alternate historical 1912 Cairo
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—djinn magic & mythology, Islamic history, women’s suffrage, artificial intelligence
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Onsi was my favorite. 🥰
PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—I loved the inclusion of womens suffrage as a theme in the story! also all of the folklore surrounding the al and other similar beings…
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wanted this novella to be longer simply because I became completely absorbed by the worldbuilding and enamored with the characters and engrossed by the storytelling, but Clark’s story is a perfectly complete one that felt neither rushed nor left incomplete.
Set in the same Cairo as the first novella and third book, this story focuses on the story of Hamed and his partner Onsi who are also agents with the Ministry, though both “Siti” and Fatma make their appearances. Hamed and Onsi’s mission to “exorcise” a haunted tram car turns into an exciting, funny, and philosophically beautiful story of folklore and the power of women.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW // violence, some gore, scary supernatural creatures
Further Reading—
- everything by P. Djèlí Clark
- folklore retellings, like Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold, edited by Daisy Johnson
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Violence
nsmonteiro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Sexism
leahsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a great novella. It grabbed my attention right from the start, and held it until the very last page.
The characters are captivating, and I loved that it was a seasoned investigator paired with a bright eyed new recruit. Their personalities and skills complimented each other nicely, and I loved how they interacted with each other and the rest of the characters in the story.
There are a variety of beings in the story, and added to the place and time in which the story was set, it was faintly reminiscent of The Daevabad Trilogy, with djinn, ifrit, and marid being mentioned often. Even so, it still had its own unique flair, and I fell in love with the storytelling and the steampunk elements. In one day, I've become a huge fan.
The characters are captivating, and I loved that it was a seasoned investigator paired with a bright eyed new recruit. Their personalities and skills complimented each other nicely, and I loved how they interacted with each other and the rest of the characters in the story.
There are a variety of beings in the story, and added to the place and time in which the story was set, it was faintly reminiscent of The Daevabad Trilogy, with djinn, ifrit, and marid being mentioned often. Even so, it still had its own unique flair, and I fell in love with the storytelling and the steampunk elements. In one day, I've become a huge fan.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore
notagreatreader's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was excellent. Short and sweet. A bit of an 'RPG quest' feel to it, but that's not a bad thing. Several good plot twists. For such a short story, the world was very well developed and immersive. The alternative history magic steampunk is really cool - I wouldn't mind to read more stories from this world. Nice to read a story set in Egypt, a place not often seen in books. Even had great character development too.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gore
The gory stuff is just briefly described by the characters, does not actually happen to characters on the page.
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