Another great story from this master wonderful story teller. A silly man decides to buy a kraken egg to hatch in a bathtub because he thinks it’ll make him rich: how foolish some people are.
You can read it for free at Uncanny Magazine.
If you would prefer to listen to the audio book then you can listen to it in the ‘Uncanny Magazine Podcast’.
Bye for now.
Once again, Djèlí writes the perfect short story, this one about zealots going to the battle fields of Golota to kill and die for their respective gods.
On the floor dying, is Zahrea, one of the zealots, and waiting to pick her body clean of valuables is Teffe, a picker, one of the local orphans who survive by combing the fields after each battle for anything worth selling. Teffe doesn’t believe in gods but while he waits for Zahrea to die he has no choice but to listen to everything she has to say about that.
Super good.
This is available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 37.
Next up on Djèlí’s timeline, from 2019, is The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
The second story from the Dead Djinn Universe, which i only just got hold of with it having been quite some time since i finished the other three books (silly me thought it was a trilogy). But not to worry, while it would have been better to have read it before The Haunting of Tram Car 015, it was very much worth reading still and doesn’t detract from anything i’ve already read in this series.
Once again, all the super good writing we’ve come to enjoy from Djèlí, my only question would be is will there be any more Cairo books? I do so hope so, this is a fantastic world Djèlí has created that begs to be explored a lot more. And i totally recommend this whole series for everyone, even if you’re not already into steampunk flavoured fantasy with a North African twist you soon will be.
This is available in the anthology, Clockwork Cairo and also can be read for free over at Tor.com.
More great fantasy story telling from Djèlí. And i’m definitely looking to return to this issue of Fantasy magazine once i’ve got done reading the rest of Djèlí’s books.
This is available in the periodical, Fantasy Magazine — Issue 60.
Next up in my P. Djèlí Clark reading festival will be The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, which i seem to remember reading is just an excerpt from A Dead Djinn in Cairo. Which i’ll be perfectly happy reading again anyway, so who cares anyway?
Available in the periodical, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly — Issue 23.
To begin, a risha is to an Arabian oud as a plectrum is to a guitar. If you want to know more you can read all about ouds and rishas by clicking here.
So, with that out of the way, let’s get to a review.
Great book. This is early Djèlí introducing steampunk elements into his fantasy. Our story begins with our oud player, Saleh, getting rescued by a philosopher pirate (captain who’s not a captain), Usman, and the rest of the crew of the airship The Beggar. Then we’re off on a 537-kindle-loc-point adventure to find treasure, amongst which is a magical golden risha with which Saleh gets to play his oud.
I really enjoyed this book and hopefully, one fine day in the future, Djèlí might even sit down and write some more stories with Saleh and Usman. There’s got to be some great stories to be told about a philosopher pirate captain and his side-kick minstrel oud player.
And so, next up in my Djèlí reading list will be The Things My Mother Left Me
Available in Daily Science Fiction – Oct 2012.
This one fits in my Mermaids, Selkies, Sirens and Other Mythical Sea Folk collection.
Although it’s a very short short-story, it’s still a good modern fairy tale about one of those “Other Mythical Sea Folk”.
Beware the sea!
Next up in my Djèlí reading list is With a Golden Risha.
Available in Every Day Fiction – Aug 2012.
A good, little, short story which wasn’t the kind of “fantasy pick” i was expecting from Djèlí.
The “fantasy pick” of the title is about sport stars, the GOATs, those greats that we love to stand upon pedestals to cheer and worship, what we expect of them and at what cost. It also raises some questions as to modern medicine and at what point that will be considered performance enhancing and how far the fans are willing to put up with this. Will the fans even care about the player’s overall welfare and what it ultimately costs them as long as they are getting entertained?
At least that’s what i got out of it. Good stuff.
Next in my P. Djèlí Clark reading adventure will be What the Sea Wants.
Available in Daily Science Fiction – Apr 2011.
Extremely short, and definitely not the most imaginative piece of writing from Djèlí: he has most certainly come a very long way since writing this.
Not sure why it’s in Daily Science Fiction.
Available to read for free, right now, in the online magazine, Every Day Fiction – Dec 2010.
A wonderful little short that gives one a pause for thought.
Next up on my Djèlí reading list will be Wings for Icarus.
Take some super good fantasy with a good African/Caribbean flavour, season with a nice hint of steampunk, and bake slowly for a few of hours in an althist New Orleans: what more can you ever want from a book?
This good length novella is from around the same time as Djèlí was writing the Dead Djinn series, and with all of these stories you really pick up on the time in Djèlí’s writing that he begins to introduce steampunk elements into his unique and wonderful style of fantasy.
A really well written, really enjoyable read.
For my next P. Djèlí Clark story, i’m going back in time. I managed to track down some earlier stories of his that i missed: gotta read them all. First up of those will be The Things My Mother Left Me.
I bought this for “The Things My Mother Left Me” written by P. Djèlí Clark. However, if the rest of it is anything like Djèlí’s writing i will definitely be reading through all of it.
You can read this for free, or buy the issue, over at Uncanny Magazine.
You can read this for free, or buy the issue, over at Apex Magazine.
So i’m continuing on my journey of Djèlí’s wonderfully refreshing fantasy. In this story, Ayen’s husband has died and he won’t leave her, and as a poltergeist he causes her to be driven out of her tribe. So off she goes in search of someone to help her exorcise his ghost from her mind.
But all is not as Ayen first believes it to be.
Really, really good.
Next up in the Djèlí timeline is A Tale of Woe, from 2018.
You can find this in the anthology, Griots: Sword and Soul.
I was hoping for more of the similar and i wasn’t disappointed.
Once again we’re thrown right into North-African/Middle-Eastern folk lore kind of stuff with Djèlí’s incredible writing that just keeps dragging you along without a pause.
Djèlí’s writing is so refreshing, and i’m so looking forward to reading many more of his stories in the future.
Next up in the Djèlí timeline is Ghost Marriage.
Available in the anthology, The Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly: Vol 1.
Having just read Djèlí’s Dead Djinn books and totally enjoyed them, i had no choice in my good book reading avarice but to go hunting for everything i could find by Djèlí and start reading it all in publication order, and you guessed it, Shattering the Spear is, i think, the first story published.
Shattering the Spear seems to me to be based upon an African tribal warrior, in a land that reminds one of those vast pictures of African grasslands. It’s also full of Animist religious ideas, which, being an Animist myself, is really nice to find in a book these days. There’s also some good fight/action scenes, with the same great writing that you find in the Dead Djinn books. In fact, there’s quite a lot packed into this short story.
Next up on the Djèlí list is Skin Magic, but before i get around to that i’ve got a few other writers and their books to catch up with and read first.
The fourth book in the Dead Djinn Universe and carrying straight on from where The Haunting of Tram Car 015 left off, with all our favourite characters involved, this really is some great writing.
This trilogy has been my first taste of Djèlí’s writing and i’m very impressed. His imagination is excellent and his ability to put that imagination into words for all us avid readers is simply marvellous. I’m certainly going to be reading more of his work in the future: i’m hooked.
All in all, a wonderful blend of steampunk, fantasy and folklore all thrown into an alternative history in Cairo with lots of shenanigans mixed will in. And it’s great to have main protagonists who are strong women, from different religions, who also happen to be in a same sex relationship.
The third book in the Dead Djinn Universe, and is very similar to A Dead Djinn in Cairo, although with mostly different characters and a lot more pages to enjoy.
Once again, wonderfully written, keeps on a moving, interesting characters, great descriptions.
The only thing left to do is to read A Master of Djinn, which is a rather good length novel that i’m so looking forward to devouring.
All stories copyright 2018.
The first book in the Dead Djinn Universe, and what a good start it was. While it’s only a short story, 36 pages, it’s a very good short story and is packed with great hints as to what the rest of the series is going to be like in this alternative fantasy/steampunk Cairo.
The title gives the beginning away in that a Dead Djinn is found in Cairo by its lover. A special investigator from the “Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities” is brought in with a police inspector to investigate and then it’s just non stop until the end.
Then once you’re at the end of this i can’t imagine that any reader wouldn’t want to dive straight into The Angel of Khan el-Khalili, which is the next book in the series.
Great writing, great characters and just plain good stuff for those who like their fantasy mixed up with steampunk elements.
