If you haven’t read P. Djèlí Clark yet, you are denying yourself some of the finest fantasy writing currently available. As he proved in one of my all time favorite novellas, A Dead Djinn in Cairo, he can build a whole world with just a few details. In The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, he has left au earth and has built a whole new world in the port city of Tal Abisi.
I don’t feel like I should tell you much about the plot. The main character, Eveen, is an undead assassin, not a ghoul, not a zombie. During her life she pledged herself to Aeril, the Matron of Assassins (and cooks). Sometime after her death she was resurrected with no memory of her life, but with a lot of knowledge about how to kill. Assassins have 3 rules:
- A contract has to be just.
- You can only kill the contracted.
- Once you take a contract you have to carry it out.
When Eveen sees her next target, everything starts to go wrong. Someone is playing games with Eveen, the Dead Cat Tail Assassins, and the goddess they serve. Eveen has the night to figure out how to fix a problem she can’t explain. All of this is happening on the final night of a carnival. People are out in the streets in costumes, reveling and celebrating.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is magical. It is by turns gripping, creepy, funny, and gut wrenchingly sad. This is a story about undead assassins, so be prepared for some gore. I hope we get more stories from Tal Abisi. And always more stories from P. Djèlí Clark and his magnificent imagination.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Tordotcom and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.