Tag: #pdjeliclark

Fantasy Pick — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

Fantasy Pick -- P. Djèlí ClarkAvailable 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.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

The Black God’s Drums — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

The Black God's Drums -- P. Djèlí ClarkTake 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.

Djèlí’s Page

#fantasy #steampunk #pdjeliclark

Fantasy Magazine — Issue 60

By 5t4n5

Fantasy Magazine -- Issue 60I 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.

Original Short Stories

Black, Their Regalia — Darcie Little Badger
The Rock in the Water — Thoraiya Dyer
The Things My Mother Left Me — P. Djèlí Clark
Red Dirt Witch — N.K. Jemisin

Reprint Fiction

Eyes of Carven Emerald — Shweta Narayan
gezhizhwazh — Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Walkdog — Sofia Samatar
Name Calling — Celeste Rita Baker

Nonfiction

Learning to Dream in Color — Justina Ireland
Give Us Back Our Fucking Gods — Ibi Zoboi
Saving Fantasy — Karen Lord
We Are More Than Our Skin — John Chu
Crying Wolf — Chinelo Onwualu
You Forgot to Invite the Soucouyant — Brandon O’Brien
Still We Write — Erin Roberts

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

A Tale of Woe — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

A Tale of Woe -- P. Djèlí ClarkYou can read this for free or buy the issue over at Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

A wonderful short story following a Sister of the Order of Soothers as she attempts to get to the Grand Benevolence of the Holy City of Aurth.   Fantasy at its best.

And . . .

. . . it’s free to read as well: what more can you ever possibly desire?   Perhaps a super big mug of cocoa while you read it, made the way you really like it?

Next up in my P. Djèlí Clark reading journey is The Black God’s Drums.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

Ghost Marriage — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

Ghost Marriage -- P. Djèlí ClarkYou 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.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

Skin Magic — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

Skin Magic -- P. Djèlí ClarkYou 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.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark

Shattering the Spear — P. Djèlí Clark

By 5t4n5

Shattering the Spear -- P. Djèlí ClarkAvailable 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.

P. Djèlí Clark’s Page

#fantasy #pdjeliclark