Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“That had been a little more than forty years past. Fatma was born into the world al-Jahiz left behind: a world transformed by magic and the supernatural.”

A Dead Djinn in Cairo (Dead Djinn Universe, #0.5) by P. Djèlí Clark

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The highlight of this short story is definitely the world-building. I was immediately intrigued by the way Clark wrote about his alternate-history Cairo in 1912, populated with djinn and angels and steampunk machinery, and refreshingly devoid of colonialism. This takes place in a Cairo about fifty years after a curious man opened up a gateway through which djinn and other supernatural creatures, along with magic, entered the world. Egypt has become a world superpower, as the djinn helped them to kick the British out of […]

Ladies do buddy cop stuff in early 20th century steampunk Egypt

A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark

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To be clear from the get-go, I hope A Master of Djinn is the first of a series. It’s got an interesting world, a twist of the classic steampunk which takes the perspective of the Egyptians not the English with a strong reliance of the local folklore/mythology (as opposed to the European traditions), it’s got some interesting characters, like Agent Fatma a queer lady Agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, Siti her capricious lover, and Agent Hadia rookie partner. Some of […]

Two books I had not intended on reviewing together

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

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The Belles By Dhonielle Clayton   In this world, most people are born unattractive – they have grey skin, red eyes, and straw-like hair. There are a few who are not so, and who look like what we think of as regular people.  These people are called Belles, and they have the power, somehow, of making other people “beautiful.”  They can change someone’s skin color, eye color, hair color and texture and length, and even change bone structure and muscle.  But these changes are like […]

The Justice Bits are the Best

Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger

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The Delightfully Deadly series is basically a companion and continuation to Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series which is a prequel to the Parasol Protectorate (also a series, or rather two). You don’t need to have read the Parasol Protectorate, but it would really help with the Delightfully Deadly series if you have some familiarity with the Finishing School series. All of them are set in a generally steampunk-esque Victorian England that includes some knowledge and existence of werewolves and vampires. Defy or Defend is part […]

So much goodness stuffed into one little novella.

The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

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This was very entertaining, and very refreshing. I just wish it was longer! (That seems to be a common complaint.) This is an alternate history and steampunk fantasy novella set in New Orleans post-Civil War. In this version of history, the Civil War ended with two separate Americas, and New Orleans also seceded into a neutral city-state that is heavily diverse, and populated by many people from the free Caribbean region. Our main character is Creeper (given name Jacquelin, but don’t call her that, she […]

The Girls Get their Turn

Stormsong by C. L. Polk

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Bingo review 4: Violet Stormsong is the second of what is planned to be a trilogy, and the covers are apparently going to reflect the bisexual pride flag; book 1 was blue (Witchmark), book 2 is purple (aka violet), and the to-be-released-Feb ‘21 book 3 (Soulstar) will be pink. Stormsong is the second of what is planned to be a trilogy, and the covers are apparently going to reflect the bisexual flag; book 1 was blue (Witchmark), book 2 is purple (aka violet), and the […]



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