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Master of Djinn et al by P. Djeli Clark
May. 23rd, 2021 01:03 pmA Dead Djinn in Cairo, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
3/5. A novelette (link goes to the free text), novella, and novel set in alternate 1912 Egypt which has overthrown British rule after the advent of magic and djinn. Mostly, these are about a dapper lesbian magic cop solving crimes.
Somewhat uneven. The worldbuilding is fun and the characters are engaging (dapper lesbian), but the plotting is obvious and the mysteries heavy-handed. Points for the novel having a subplot about how, even as you are a woman busting through the glass ceiling, you can become complicit in keeping other women down. This is something that the protagonist gets called on, correctly, and she knows it, but she still struggles with it. You don't see stories about that very often, even though it definitely is a real thing.
3/5. A novelette (link goes to the free text), novella, and novel set in alternate 1912 Egypt which has overthrown British rule after the advent of magic and djinn. Mostly, these are about a dapper lesbian magic cop solving crimes.
Somewhat uneven. The worldbuilding is fun and the characters are engaging (dapper lesbian), but the plotting is obvious and the mysteries heavy-handed. Points for the novel having a subplot about how, even as you are a woman busting through the glass ceiling, you can become complicit in keeping other women down. This is something that the protagonist gets called on, correctly, and she knows it, but she still struggles with it. You don't see stories about that very often, even though it definitely is a real thing.