A Dead Djinn in Cairo
CBR 17 Bingo: Border
This refers to the border between the earthly plane and what lies beyond.
*cracks knuckles* Here we go.
I’ve been procrastinating on writing book reviews because it’s always more appealing to just start a new book than to sit down and summarize the book I either devoured or endured. With the ones I devoured, I doubt whether or not I can be objective since I was so into it when I was reading and still felt the same way when it ended. Same thing with the ones I endured. I am so grateful that it’s over that I don’t want to talk about it anymore without explaining how much it annoyed me.
Luckily, A Dead Djinn in Cairo was the former. It was a fast, fun read, and the world building was superb, even in this short of a story.
Agent Fatma is called to the scene of the murder where an ancient djinn lies dead. His cause of death is unknown, but everyone present wonders how someone, human or otherwise, could have killed such a powerful entity. It is the early twentieth century and djinns and humans live side-by-side in Cairo. Their coexistence is still relatively new, as the blending of their worlds only began forty years prior. In her late twenties, agent Fatma grew up in a world with djinns and other supernatural entities. As one of the stars of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she is both relentless in her investigations and in how she strives to differentiate herself from her fellow agents. She is not from Cairo, and she is constantly proving herself, both as the first female agent admitted to the ministry, and as a star investigator with a reputation to uphold.
I bought “A Master of Djinn,” and this short story was included in the back of the book. It, along with a couple of other short stories, introduced me to Agent Fatma and Agent Hamed.
The world building is the best I’ve read all year. I can’t wait to dive into the full-length novel and follow Agent Fatma as she navigates “modern” Cairo.
The Haunting of Tram Car 015
CBR 17 Bingo: Citizen
The Egyptian women’s suffrage movement one of the primary plot points of this story.
After devouring “A Dead Djinn in Cairo,” I snapped this one up next. While this novella does not feature Agent Fatma, the interactions between seasoned Agent Hamed and novice Agent Onsi were delightful. This story is set in Cairo in 1912. A central part of the story has to do with Egyptian women’s suffrage and the stream of women flowing into Cairo to campaign for the vote.
Agent Hamed and his newly-assigned assistant Onsi are summoned to a local transit official’s office to help with a clandestine situation. An unknown supernatural entity has taken up residence in one of the city tram cars. After failing to identify or engage with the entity, Hamed and Onsi call on help from the followers of Hathor, a group who worships one of the old Egyptian gods. Despite their formal educations, Hamed and Onsi are out of their depth and must rely on the expertise of the women of Hathor. Despite the trope of Hamed being the world-weary senior agent and Onsi being the energetic newbie, I was constantly surprised by how the author made their personalities and reactions surprising despite how easy it would have been to fall into an expected dynamic. Agent Fatma does make a brief appearance, so I’m encouraged that I will get to see these three interact in future stories.
Like the previous novella, this one was utterly delightful. I was immediately immersed in their world. The characters are believable and sympathetic. Even with the strong religious overtones, these stories are not centered around religion. Also, unlike other stories with similar themes, a character is not forced to wrestle with their faith. Different faiths intermingle on a daily basis. While some must hide their true faith, as in the case of worshipping an ancient god, they find creative ways to show their loyalty without overtly putting themselves or their communities in direct danger.