2ndchance_chad's review against another edition
4.0
The Dead Djinn Universe by P. Djeli Clark has been on my radar since last year. As with many of us, it's always difficult to try and find time to read everything we want to. Luckily as I was looking through books I wanted to read for the Once Upon a Readathon this month, this fit nicely into one of the steps/prompts for me. That is why I went ahead and started with the short novella as my introduction into this universe before diving into book one here.
With that out of the way I will say this was a very unique and interesting and entertaining read for me. I have been dipping into the Historical Fiction/Fantasy more of late and this kind of goes along with that. We certainly have a historical setting here outside of the usual Western world themed fantasy I read which was a nice break. And we are not without plenty of magic and mythology in this story either.
We also have a nice sprinkle of world issues with our first female investigator(s) within the Ministry who keeps in eye on the weird world around Cairo.
World building was interesting though we spend most of time within one region and little bit of magical realms being explored. We certainly get a solid understanding and feeling of the world around the story being told.
Character building was great! I think this was my favorite aspect to this book and series. We learn so much as we see some of our characters develop and grow. We also get a lot of twists and turns as we work through the who done it type of story. Some reveals caught me off guard indeed. So much so I found myself a couple of times getting that old Scooby Doo vibe wondering who the masked man would end up being. And that is no knock to the author at all. It brought back found memories of my childhood!
Pacing was steady. I never found myself in a rut feeling bored just trying to get to the next bit of action. But we did of course have some ebb and flow where things do tend to pick up with action or suspense to get us on the edge of our seats at times. The writing style seemed very smooth for me. I never found myself stumbling over words or having to pause to look words up that I didn't get the context of what the author was trying to tell us.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read just a bit outside of my normal reads but not too drastically different. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining historical, mystery, fantasy fiction. This read would be well worth your time if you fall into that search.
With that out of the way I will say this was a very unique and interesting and entertaining read for me. I have been dipping into the Historical Fiction/Fantasy more of late and this kind of goes along with that. We certainly have a historical setting here outside of the usual Western world themed fantasy I read which was a nice break. And we are not without plenty of magic and mythology in this story either.
We also have a nice sprinkle of world issues with our first female investigator(s) within the Ministry who keeps in eye on the weird world around Cairo.
World building was interesting though we spend most of time within one region and little bit of magical realms being explored. We certainly get a solid understanding and feeling of the world around the story being told.
Character building was great! I think this was my favorite aspect to this book and series. We learn so much as we see some of our characters develop and grow. We also get a lot of twists and turns as we work through the who done it type of story. Some reveals caught me off guard indeed. So much so I found myself a couple of times getting that old Scooby Doo vibe wondering who the masked man would end up being. And that is no knock to the author at all. It brought back found memories of my childhood!
Pacing was steady. I never found myself in a rut feeling bored just trying to get to the next bit of action. But we did of course have some ebb and flow where things do tend to pick up with action or suspense to get us on the edge of our seats at times. The writing style seemed very smooth for me. I never found myself stumbling over words or having to pause to look words up that I didn't get the context of what the author was trying to tell us.
Overall this was a very enjoyable read just a bit outside of my normal reads but not too drastically different. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining historical, mystery, fantasy fiction. This read would be well worth your time if you fall into that search.
pancaked's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? No
5.0
moominland's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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
4.75
hheiling's review against another edition
4.0
4,5 *
That book was amazing.
The setting, wow, Cairo in the early 20th century. There were so many glimpses into the city and the culture.
Then the 3 differently strong female characters. I loved their backstories, would even like to learn more about them. Besides getting the job done, they showed love and had flaws.
The story in itself is a mystery interwoven with fantasy. The mystery plot is actually straight forward, reminded me a bit of Poirot-stories, probably because of the setting. What made it worthwhile for me were the djinn, the ghul, the the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities and the magic what came with all of this. Sometimes I got a whiff of the Daevabad trilogy.
This was a really fantastic read and I would love to go back to this world.
That book was amazing.
The setting, wow, Cairo in the early 20th century. There were so many glimpses into the city and the culture.
Then the 3 differently strong female characters. I loved their backstories, would even like to learn more about them. Besides getting the job done, they showed love and had flaws.
The story in itself is a mystery interwoven with fantasy. The mystery plot is actually straight forward, reminded me a bit of Poirot-stories, probably because of the setting. What made it worthwhile for me were the djinn, the ghul, the the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities and the magic what came with all of this. Sometimes I got a whiff of the Daevabad trilogy.
This was a really fantastic read and I would love to go back to this world.
kimu's review against another edition
3.0
Huge fan of the previous work by this author and especially set in this world, but really struggled with the pacing of this novel. There’s a lot to love in the world building and characters, but the flow of the story didn’t pull me in. Looking forward to more by this author though.
thebooktender's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
tiranamisu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
lbryant's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
alt_air's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
cheskaluciano's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
Rating - 7.6-8/10: the character development for Fatma fell short and I wish the mystery unraveling had more layers and twists since the ending was rushed. Hadia could have been utilized more and a conflict between Fatma and Hadia should have more impact on their partnership! Overall a fun read with immersive worldbuilding, I love the inner workings of the ministry, politics, and the magical beings such as the djinns and angels!