She’s a loner, level-headed, and good in a fight. Charactersįatma has several of the tropes detectives have in cop shows. More my own problem than a reflection on the work, actually. So, I bought and read both short stories somewhere at the quarter mark of the book. Neither is a mandatory read, but there are multiple references to those stories, and I always get FOMO if I haven’t read them. If I have one gripe, it’s that the story builds on two previous short stories Clark wrote: a Dead Djinn in Cairo and the Haunting of Tram Car 015. It’s a detective story, with some fantasy twists, much like the Dresden Files and the Rivers of London, only set in pre-World-War-I Egypt. With the help of Hadia, and Fatma’s friend Siti, she tries to uncover the truth, but things quickly start spinning out of control. So, the ministry sends Fatma to investigate, and saddles her with a new partner she does not want: a woman called Hadia. Oh, and the murderer burned them all alive, without scorching their clothes. No, the leader is the man who brokered the peace between the British and Egypt. Then, one night, a man in a golden mask murders an Al-Jahiz cult run by British nationals.
She speaks British and loves to wear British suits. She’s one of the few female agents, but also one of the best there is. Difference is, they don’t operate in secret.įatma handles supernatural cases. The ministry is a kind of early-twentieth-century version of the Men in Black, or the Laundry. Storyįatma el-Sha’arawi is an agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. Also, following the Djinn, angels have appeared, and the old Egyptian gods are stirring in their slumber beneath the sand. It features a flying tram system, marvelous new temples and libraries, and a whole host of supernatural citizens. So, by 1912 Egypt has become a world power, and Cairo is filled with Djinn-built marvels to rival Paris or London. Egypt made a deal with the Djinn, who helped them trounce out the British. In Master of Djinn, a man called Al-Jahiz opened a hole to ‘the Kaf’, which returned Djinn to the world. In the case of Master of Djinn, the question was: what if Djinn returned to the world and prevented the late nineteenth century colonization of Egypt by the British? If you add fantasy to the mix, then you get an alternate history fantasy novel. What if the Nazis had won World War 2 ( The Man in the High Castle)? Or what if real superheroes helped win the Vietnam war? Then, add a ‘what if’ question to make it alternate history. Historical novels are about a specific period in history. Alternate History Fantasy in Cairo?Īlright, let’s start with historical novels.
You might now be wondering what ‘alternate history fantasy’ means. A Master of Djinn is an alternate history fantasy novel set in Cairo by P.
0 kommentar(er)
