Review of "A Master of Djinn" by P. Djèlí Clark

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book from Tor.com in exchange for an honest review.

P. Djeli Clark returns to his steampunk, magic-driven Cairo for a full-length mystery novel that shows us more of the fantastic, enveloping world he's constructed. In "A Master of Djinn," he once again paints a rich picture of an alternate world where the early 20th century is drastically altered by Egypt's magic-fueled emergence as a world power. The novel mixes Islamic traditions, the old Egyptian gods most readers will know (and perhaps love!), and details of how the rest of the world--including the United States--has been altered by the re-emergence of magic. While the scope might be a little broader, this is not yet a geopolitical thriller; Clark sticks to the beat-cop supernatural mysteries he's had so much success with, though the greater length lets him weave in more steps between the inciting incident and the final showdown. At times the stakes seem to escalate too quickly, with ever-more-powerful entities emerging from the shadows to pose larger and larger threats. The novel is at its best when it slows down and unspools the rich world it's built in, even if that means slowing down the action and taking detours from the "main" case. At the risk of stretching out a taut, tense plot, "A Master of Djinn" might have benefited from being slightly longer to allow room for some of the more esoteric details of the world to breathe. However, those quibbles barely stand in the way of this enchanting portrait of a world just familiar enough to keep the reader wondering what slight twist will appear next.

Four and a half out of five stars.

More spoilery details, including for Clark's three shorter works in this world ("A Dead Djinn in Cairo,"  "The Haunting of Tram Car 015," "The Angel of Khan el-Khalili") follow. There are a few major unresolved supernatural plotlines that the novel leaves hanging, presumably in anticipation of a potential sequel. One is the "always a bigger fish" structure of the supernatural world. "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" made clear that angels stand half a step above ordinary djinn, working more actively to maintain (or break) the balance between our world and the Kaf. With a visit to the angels' citadel, "A Master of Djinn" doubles down on this idea, and hints at the presence of even greater powers in worlds beyond. Fortunately, the angels are used more as a shadowy power pulling strings behind the scenes than a get-out-of-jail-free, deus-ex-machina resolution, but the opening for further extradimensional problems leaves a bit to be desired. There is enough depth to this new djinn-powered Cairo, and enough human mysteries to solve, without pulling out yet another trump card.

More successful, at least in my eyes, is the shadow of Egypt's old gods. Siti is perhaps their most visible avatar, and the presence of Sekhmet behind her eyes is a twist that I found much more interesting than the reveal of her half-djinn heritage. However, Ahmad/Sobek completely steals the show. In a story where there are always nefarious parties lurking in the shadows, Clark is consistently able to surprise and delight by having Ahmad appear when we expect the worst. His gift for detail shines as he shows the slow transformation from man to crocodile, a change which perhaps foreshadows similar trials ahead for Siti. Indeed, I thought that the old goddess, not the new magic of the djinn, would be the source of her power--a successful bit of authorial misdirection. Ahmad's final gift of the scarab lighter is the kind of open ending I enjoy most; it allows space for further development and new layers of meaning while still giving the current story closure. The old gods of Egypt are surely big enough to demand a starring role in the future, but for now their cameo appearance in a book already full of magic strikes the perfect balance.