Review by Booklist Review
In 1912, forty years after the mystic al-Jahiz put a hole through the realities that allowed djinn to enter our world, Cairo is a bustling metropolis with commerce, intrigue, and steampunk technology. The Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities keeps the peace between humans and everyone else in the city. When someone claiming to be al-Jahiz stirs up trouble in advance of a summit of world powers, Agent Fatma el-Sha'arawi, the young and capable ministry employee with a penchant for dressing like an English gentleman (introduced in A Dead Djinn in Cairo, 2016), is called in and paired with a determined new academy graduate, Hadia Abdel Hafez. As al-Jahiz fans the flames of unrest and manifests the ability to control djinn, Fatma and her allies, including her inscrutable love interest Siti, rush to identify and stop their foe before the world is destroyed. Clark deftly explores colonialism and the history of Cairo with an immersive setting that acts as another character in this delightful combination of mystery, fantasy, and romance. Give this to alternate history enthusiasts and mystery readers who enjoy a dose of the magical. Fans of S. A. Chakraborty, Martha Wells, and Zen Cho should be particularly pleased.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Returning to the bustling streets of the alternate 1912 Cairo first visited in the novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, Clark's stunning full-length debut follows the adventures of Fatma el-Sha'arawi, a special investigator with the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Decades earlier, the prophet al-Jahiz eliminated the separation of magical and non-magical realms, forever altering the world before disappearing from the public eye. Now members of a brotherhood dedicated to al-Jahiz's legacy turn up murdered. When Fatma is called in to investigate the crime, she discovers the perpetrator to be a man of rare magical abilities who claims to be the returned al-Jahiz himself. Together with her clever partner, Agent Hadia Abdel Hafez, and her girlfriend, Siti, Fatma sets out to uncover the truth behind this self-professed prophet. With this fantastic feat of postcolonial imagination, Clark reconfigures history with a keen, critical eye toward gender, class, and imperialism. Meanwhile, the colorful prose and thorough worldbuilding allow readers to truly enter this imagined world. An epic tale of magic and mystery, this is sure to wow. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In 1912, Cairo dealt with its share of supernatural issues, and now magical and mundane beings live together in relative peace. But now members of a secret Brotherhood devoted to al-Jahziz, the man who ripped open the veil between the magical entities and mankind, are murdered, with al-Jahziz himself laying claim and condemning the oppression in the current world. When Fatma el-Sha'arawi is brought in to investigate, she is sure that the person is an impostor, and she applies her skills as an agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities to solve the murders. However, Fatma has her own challenges, with a new, unwanted partner and a past entanglement becoming more solidly involved. Fatma must find a way to stop the unrest from spilling beyond Cairo's borders and (hopefully) save the world once again from magical destruction. The fantastical worldbuilding highlights the thematic issues of colonialism, spirituality, and race relations, while Clark's prose provides a cinematic lens to issues of gender and class viewed through Agent Fatma's investigations and relationships. VERDICT Although the book is marketed as Clark's debut novel, readers have been following him for several years (Ring Shout is an LJ 2020 Best Book) and this work builds upon his alternate history Cairo, bringing together several enjoyable characters in a richly detailed, action-packed novel.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
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