A Master of Djinn

By: P. Djèlí Clark

Narrated by: Suehyla El-Attar

WINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
WINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S TOP TEN 21ST CENTURY FANTASY NOVELS

'Clever, wickedly fun . . . with an excellent balance of humour and heart. I loved it' S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha'arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she's certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, Al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world fifty years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be Al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and a familiar person from her past, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city - or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems . . .

P. Djèlí Clark is the winner of the Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards and has been shortlisted for the Hugo Award.©2021 P. Djèlí Clark (P)2021 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

Clever, wickedly fun . . . with an excellent balance of humour and heart. I loved it (S. A. Chakraborty, author of CITY OF BRASS)

A magical voice with a brilliantly unique setting, it will keep you completely enthralled (Ben Aaronovitch, author of RIVERS OF LONDON)

A Master of Djinn has all the tricky twists I want in a police procedural and all the djinns, magic and wonder I want from fantasy (Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of THE CALCULATING STARS)

Incredible world building

I would have given the story, characters and writing three stars, but the world building in this book is simply phenomenal. Deserves to be read just for that, though I suggest reading it instead of listening to it.

Egypt comes to life with magical realism

Clark weaves an enthralling tale of Djinn, magic and murder mystery set against the chaos, colour and flavours of 1920s Cairo. Full of nuanced yet powerful, well dressed women with diverse backgrounds, interests and abilities, the slower beginning quickly picks up pace and then accelerates into numerous twists and turns. The narrator’s accent brings each character fully alive, no more so than the main character of Cairo herself.

Glorious

Wonderful tale beautifully told, I loved listening to it and look forward to hearing more soon.

Narrator not for me.

Going to preface my comment by acknowledging how subjective our enjoyment of any narrator is, but I struggled to finish this excellent book. The narration felt terribly overacted to me. It drowned out the story and the writing. I ended up switching to the ebook. YMMV :)

Faminist-woke crap

If I want to be lectured on feminism I just need to tune in to CNN, not buy an audiobook. I stopped listening halfway because the majority has been about feminist ideology. I will no longer purchase Hugo or Nebula award winners. Pweh!!