A Master of Djinn
Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark goes full-length for the first time in his dazzling debut novel 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 forty 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 a familiar person from her past, 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…
Stats for nerds
3recommend
4mentions
4people
2021–2024years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I finally read Count of Monte Cristo (unabridged) Fully worth the hype.
Also read a lot of Arabian fantasy (?). Fantasy with djinn etc. Favourites were Master of Djinn and the City of Brass series.
- A Master of Djinn (Fantasy Novel) by P Djeli Clark is a fun exploration of this world.
- For fantasy, I recommend "A Master of Djinn" by P. Djèlí Clark [1], a fun steampunk alternate history story where Egypt is a world power due to the magical power of djinn and other supernatural forces. Features a fun female investigator from the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities.
If you're not sure about reading it, check out his prequel short story, “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” on Tor<dot>com. [2]
[1] https://pdjeliclark.com/a-master-djinn/
[2] https://www.tor.com/2020/06/08/read-p-djeli-clarks-a-dead-dj...
- Take a look at the Hugo Novella shortlist authors associated with Tor from 2016 to present[1].
I poke at this specifically because Hugo shortlist authors---with the lesser Novella Award serving as gateway---tend to generate exceptional sales figures relative to their peers, and Tor authors have had a statistically overwhelming shortlist presence over the past decade.
Filtering on non-female authors:
- Dexter Gabriel (P. Djeli Clark) wrote three unrelated novellas, all of which were shortlisted. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 was a warmup to his Nebula-winning novel A Master of Djinn. Arguably the most notable example, but doesn't quite fit the implicit business strategy I was alluding to...more like take random novella shots and further develop the thing that sticks, as opposed to committing two novellas to a strategic theme while reserving the option to follow up.
- Victor LaValle got a lot of attention across the board with his novella nomination, but jumped ship to a Penguin Random House imprint for his breakout novel The Changeling that was produced into a television series for Apple TV+.
- Kai Ashante Wilson wrote two related LGBT romantasy novellas; one was shortlisted. Sales clearly just wasn't there.
- Daniel Polansky...doesn't have a wiki page. Nomination was for a single standalone fantasy novella.
- Neon Yang and Nino Cipri identify as "they". Both were nominated for LGBT fantasy novellas; the former's Tensorate appears to have hit better sales metrics relative to the latter's LitenVerse.
- Adrian Tchaikovsky was already a reputable science fiction author riding on laurels, so doesn't fit the implicit business strategy; his nomination struck me as more "traditional".
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novella#Wi...
