by P. Djèlí Clark · 2021
Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark goes full-length for the first time in his dazzling debut novel 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 forty 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.…
"This follows on from the short story A Dead Djinn in Cairo . We’re in 1912 Cairo. All the global politics of the real world is underway there, but inconveniently, djinn are real and rampaging around the city. Phatma is part of the government ministry responsible for keeping them under control. She’s sassy, she’s excellent at her job, she gets herself in trouble. It’s a great ride. Djèlí Clark is a historian as well as a writer, and this shows. In an interview for Five Books , he said he wanted to use the full richness of Cairo as a crossroads, as an ancient city, and as a modern seat of great events – ‘I think so many times when people do Egypt’, he told me, ‘they go immediately back to ancient Egypt’. There’s some fun had with the ancient Egyptian gods, but it’s a treat to read a novel taking a broader scope, and using the rich mixing of cultures that Cairo represents. A really enjoyable read."
