Tag Archives: Hamed Nasr

Should ‘A Master of Djinn’ win a Hugo?

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So, we’re back with another edition of ‘Should [insert title] win a Hugo?‘ and while I understand that Hugo voting already took place on August 11th, I didn’t want to let my tardiness prevent me from posting about this awesome book.

(Honestly I will probably continue to post reviews of Hugo nominated works in this format up until and even after the winners are announced. I just like the ring of the title lol)

And the answer, for me, is ABSOLUTELY!

There is so much to consider within these 392 pages that it’s really hard to figure out where to even begin with my review, but I think it might be safe to begin with what the general public might enjoy, before diving into my particular brand of Ancient Egypt – centric nonsense.

A review over on Josh Garik16’s SciFi/Fantasy Reviews and Other Thoughts, points out just how ‘fun’ A Master of Djinn is to read. I couldn’t agree more. Agents Fatma and Hadia have excellent back-and-forth, while her and Siti exhibit the type of witty romance we all wish we might fall into someday. Then there’s Fatma’s rapport with Aasim from the police, and of course agents Ahmed and Onsi . . . her short shrift for self important djinn . . . Really just Fatma DOING ANYTHING is a joy to behold.

Perhaps the next feature of this book which deserves attention, is its deft handling of Theme (with a capital T lol). Of course, modern day Cairo is an intricate mix of different peoples, religions, beliefs and customs. Clark’s ‘Steampunk Cairo‘ does not shy away from this complexity in A Master of Djinn but rather embraces it, using it as a platform to examine issues of race, and prejudice. Ultimately, Clark’s version of Cairo is not a utopia in which all of these issues are washed away, but a city very much still grappling with them. Though nothing can be solved in a single adventure, I left the story feeling hopeful at the very least.

Finally, perhaps the most awe inspiring part of A Master of Djinn is the worldbuilding. All of the mystical and mundane beings we met in A Dead Djinn in Cairo (as well as a major plot point which I won’t spoil) return, and are even more mysterious, magical, and amazing. Readers will recognize one particular market from The Angel of Khan El-Kahlili, and I’ve already mentioned two returning characters from The Haunting of Tram Car 015, but the world of this novel is sooo much bigger than these little winks to previous installments. A Master of Djinn truly earns the ‘epic’ part of epic fantasy, with international intrigue, kings, courts, imperialism, and more magic than I could describe in a single post (all the while hitting all the beats of a thrilling mystery too).

But because I’m me, I was enraptured by the nods to Cairo (and Egypt’s) more ancient past. One of the first places we see is the Temple of Hathor, dedicated to the “Lady of Stars”. Here Clark clearly did his research, providing the more common depiction of Hathor with statuary involving calf’s horns, and representative of motherhood etc. But I also felt his incorporation of the duality between Hathor and Sekhmet (something it seems Disney’s Moon Knight is doing also) clever as well.

In general, we see more Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses than we have yet seen in any previous installment. We actually meet Sobek, and cults to Anubis, Nephthys, and Set are implied if not shown. I can’t remember if any others are mentioned, but what I enjoyed the most about their inclusion, was that Clark was not afraid to take liberties with the myths, and really made them fit the story he was trying to tell (for instance Set and Sobek are roommates because housing in Cairo is expensive (wow does that speak to me)). And when agent Fatma points out inaccuracies in how the myths play out, well:

“Ahmad’s generous nostrils flared as he gritted his sharp teeth.
‘Why is everyone so slavish to texts written thousands of years ago?’ he snapped. ‘Gods can change. Grow apart. Try new things. Besides, Set was a jerk. He never knew how to treat her properly. How to worship her.’

Clark, P. Djeli; A Master of Djinn pg. 63-64 (2021)

I guess the author knew there’d be people in the audience pushing up their spectacles and raising a finger to say “Excuse me . . .” Why not head us off at the pass. It got me laughing at least.

One last interesting incorporation of Ancient Egyptian mythology was essentially the incorporation of human avatars for the Ancient Gods (Ahmad being the most prominent), and the in-world belief that the God’s tombs existed in the world somewhere and presumably could be found, and that the gods could ‘awaken’.

So far as I know, Ancient Egyptians only ever built tombs for human beings. Human beings which they believed would more or less take the form of Gods in the afterlife (or during your regular life if you were the Pharaoh).

I only think these things are interesting because they were also espoused in Disney’s recent superhero series Moon Knight. It is interesting to me that this would appear in two pieces of media around relatively the same time, considering I don’t think any scholars are espousing this view. It would be interesting to try and hunt down where these ideas are coming from, but I’m sure I have zero idea how to even begin that search.

Focus Dude . . . Award?

Anyway, yes, if we’re going off of what I’ve read so far, I absolutely want A Master of Djinn to win best novel. I enjoyed Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary but I don’t think it stood out to me as a Hugo contender the way this book did.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now. Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!!

See you next time!

A Review of “The Haunting of Tram Car 015” By P. Djeli Clark

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Still making my way through P. Djeli Clark’s A Dead Djinn Universe stories in anticipation of A Master of Djinn.

The first story in the series — from which the “universe” gets its name — A Dead Djinn in Cairo, left me wondering how I’d missed it back in 2016. A thoroughly steampunk Cairo, reimagined as a city of equal or greater prominence than western cities like New York or London. Egypt is at the heart of the mechanical and magical advancements of the early 1900s and as we investigate a mystical Djinn’s murder, we dive deeper into a city which contends with cults to ancient Egyptian Gods, more Djinn, mysterious Marid and Angels.

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili was a much shorter stay in this unique setting. Clarke uses the (I guess) controversial 2nd person point of view to put us in the mind of a young girl on very a personal mission. The magic and wonder of the world show through brightly, and we’re able to learn just a bit more about the mysterious Angels presented in the first story. There’s a bit of a twist which I enjoyed (but won’t spoil) and I was generally really impressed with this little bite sized glimpse into the setting.

But what about the tram car?

Yes! This review is of The Haunting of Tram Car 015. This trip into steampunk Cairo was a little less enchanting for me than my first outing in A Dead Djinn in Cairo. We are introduced to a new main character (well really two new MC’s although we only get POV of one), this time a man, who also works for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Hamed Nasr lacks the style and pizazz of A Dead Djinn‘s main character, Fatma el-Sha’arawi, but does his best working lower profile cases. He’s experienced, diligent, and thorough, which means he’s a reliable man for the job, if not necessarily an exciting one.

This perhaps brings me to my first negative critique of the piece. Hamed is meant to be showing the other MC (Onsi Youssef) the ropes and instructing him in the ways of detection etc. However, it felt like Onsi’s ingenuity and wit progressed the case more than anything Hamed did, and Onsi’s schemes — however seemingly naïve — also provided significantly more humor as well. I know many detective stories will pair a ‘straight man’ with a funnier character for laughs, but the more sensible character still needs to pull us in if they’re in fact the hero. I never felt I was reading to see Hamed succeed so much as to see what new hijinks Onsi would come up with.

Next we consider the main thrust of the plot, the haunted tram car, 015. I enjoyed this plot for several reasons, the first being its uniqueness in terms of place. We are all very familiar with houses being haunted, or asylums, or maybe an old ship out at sea, but I think this is my first reading of a haunted tram car (unless we count One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston which isn’t really framed as a haunting in the traditional sense). It seems as good a place as any for a spirit to reside and seemed to fit the rest of the setting very well.

The type of spirit (which I won’t spoil) also serves to make the world of this universe that much larger which for me was good and bad. I always appreciate learning about a new mythology which I haven’t been exposed to before, but in this case I kind of wish we had continued to explore the mythology founded in A Dead Djinn before importing something new.

Finally, we get to the pivotal scene, which I also will try not to spoil (too much), but will say that I thought the imagery quite funny to imagine while still being rife with tension. The progress of women’s rights in this reimagined Cairo, given just a passing nod in the beginning of the story, and mentioned here and there throughout the rest of the story, ended up being the platform on which the whole finale takes place. I hope to someday be able to employ a similar trick in my own writing. It felt that good.

Recommend?

In general, yes I’d recommend this story, but with the caveat that if you’re looking for another Dead Djinn in Cairo, you may be a little disappointed. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is very much its own story even though it is set in the same universe. Though there is some crossover (we do actually share a dessert with Fatama in one scene), Onsi Hamed is the star of his own adventure.

It will be interesting to see what if any connections will be drawn from Tram Car 015 once I finally get to A Master of Djinn.

In the meantime, what did y’all think of this story? Were you able to guess who what kind of spirit was haunting the tram? Who was your favorite character? What made you laugh? Leave me some comments so we can chat. Looking forward to discussion on this one!