The Black God's Drums

By: P. Djeli Clark

Narrated by: Channie Waites

Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

In an alternate New Orleans caught in the tangle of the American Civil War, the wall-scaling girl named Creeper yearns to escape the streets for the air - in particular, by earning a spot onboard the airship Midnight Robber. Creeper plans to earn Captain Ann-Marie's trust with information she discovers about a Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls "The Black God's Drums".

But Creeper also has a secret herself: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, speaks inside her head and may have her own ulterior motivations. Soon, Creeper, Oya, and the crew of the Midnight Robber are pulled into a perilous mission aimed to stop the Black God's Drums from being unleashed and wiping out the entirety of New Orleans.

©2018 P. Djeli Clark (P)2019 Recorded Books

It was an ok tale.. had it been read better, I might have rated it higher.

The Narrator.. the narration was HORRID. Misplaced inflections, mixing up the character voices so I barely can keep up with who is whom.

Great alt history reimagining

A lot of characters and world building in a short book. I really dig the ideas of this world. Great narration also.

I'm anticipating the movie

I fell in love with the characters. This book has been on my TBR shelf for awhile now and I decided to go ahead and see what all the hype was about.

It probably wasn't the best idea to read it after re-reading a beloved series but it's too late to go back in time. It was initially hard to grasp the worldview after reading worldviews based so closely on colonized societies worldviews. After I was able to let go of my preconceived expectations I fell in love with the MC and her strength. The secondary characters were colorful enough to enhance the story and to suggest ideas for other stories to explore at a later time. I can't wait to learn more about our MC and her future adventures.

Really enjoyed this!

I love this author's imagination. I am hungry for alternative history these days and always love a generous dollap of steampunk with my fantasy. Add in main female characters who are sufficient unto themselves, interesting, intelligent, flawed, and Im a happy reader. finding female characters who aren't actually a prop for males and with whom their author hasn't confused selfish pigheadedness with "spirit" (as so many authors of female main characters seem to do) can be a challenge even in 2021 and I'm delighted with these. the narrator did well enough though I personally couldn't differentiate her accents and suspect that I should have been able to do so. I am glad I gave this a listen!

Encore!

I want to see a full length novel, or better yet a series, following up on these characters. Fantastic world-building, a great cast of characters, and beautiful narration. Don't stop now!

Amazing just Amazing

This book has everything unlikely friendships. Yoruba Goddess and all the beauty in New Orleans.

Good story, capturing perspective

The story is great, a young 13 year old conquering evil alongside adults. She has no parents, so she carries herself well and independently. She has a gift that allows her to have assistance in fighting evil, and she surrounds herself with similar-powered people. Creeper focuses on maintaining the good and to live an unorthodox life of freedom.

There is a weird part at 2:27:16 where there's an overlap in audio for a second so you miss a little, but other than that its perfect!

Not in my recomendation list

I really liked Binti by Djeli Clark. However, this story does not grab me the same. I almost dropped the reading in the initial pages. The story picks up later to an extent and I like the signature writing of Mrs Clark but I find the story somewhat lacking

Great Listen

The actor really brought the story to life, I enjoyed this short story and finished in one sitting.

Exceptional story!

I cannot believe the author was able to tell such a compelling story with such rich characters in such a short story. I find myself desperately wanting to listen to more stories featuring the adventures of Ann Marie and “Creeper” and of course, Oshun and Oya. The narrator adds an element to this book that also makes listening to story in her voice even more immersive. This definitely made me look up more works by this author that I plan to dive into.