in-short: A science fantasy unlike anything I’ve ever read. The plot is fantastic, but this book also stands out because of Jemisin’s ambitious narrative style, which directly transports readers into a dark high-fantasy world on the brink of an infamous “fifth season” – a ‘natural’ disaster with far-reaching consequences. In this world, destroyed by climate and shaped by humans, we follow an interesting set of characters with profound inner lives, many secrets, and complex emotions; all explored in a painfully beautiful way.

in-depth: This book is simply fantastic. The general idea, the complexity and the amount of theorizing Jemisin allows is super engaging and gripping. I loved coming up with theories about the characters, the world and the narration. Regarding the narration: Some parts of the book are written in second-person POV, and in my opinion it’s very well done. It elevated the reading experience for me and made me feel directly involved in the story. It also let the book stand out even more from other science fiction/dystopian novels. The characters, main and side characters alike, were complex and flawed. They feel fleshed out and very human; in their decisions, in their behavior and in their thoughts. The social commentary Jemisin is able to weave in so effortlessly was really the cherry on top of the icing on the cake. It’s never preachy nor too obvious – just enough to make me reflect and pause on my own.

I want to say more but I’m at a loss for words. Read this book.

in-short: An engaging murder-mystery set in an alternate steampunk-esque 1920s Cairo that successfully avoided colonization due to the awakening of powerful Djinn, who are now an integral part to society. The worldbuilding is, I can’t find a more fitting word, fun. It’s vibrant, lively and transports me directly into the world. The plot felt a bit predictable but still interesting to me and sadly, the main character and her arc (which felt flat and underdeveloped to me) just didn’t work for me. BUT! I really enjoyed the two complex and strong side-characters that brought a lot to the story.

⚠️ I would highly recommend reading the novella “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” and maybe even the other short stories set in this universe (“The Angel of Khan el-Khalili” and “The Haunting of Tram Car 015”) before reading this book; the events happening prior to “Master of Djinn” are referenced very often in this book. It’s not necessary to understand the story but I feel like it would elevate the reading experience by a lot.

in-depth: The worldbuilding is exquisite. Through the eyes of Agent Fatma, our main character and an employee for the “Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities”, we get to experience a fantastical and lively Cairo. The vibrant descriptions of architectural styles, delicious sounding food and stunning clothes (especially the clothes!) are so engaging to read. Djèlí Clark did such a great job that I could smell the spices, see the buildings and feel the fabric on my own skin. The steampunk-elements were a fun addition, woven seamlessly into the world.

The mystery in itself was…okay. It’s not overly complex or intriguing and maybe a little far-fetched, but it still worked for me. What didn’t work for me was how Fatma didn’t prove to me that she really graduated as the best of her class from the academy. She is very set in her ways from the beginning but failed to prove to me why she believes what she believes. That disconnect between what I as a reader knew and what Fatma concluded made it hard to follow her and difficult to enjoy seeing the mystery unfold.

Fatma herself is a puzzling character for me. On paper, she sounds amazing: her obsession with suits is cool, her wit and sarcasm should be fun and engaging. And while it did start out like that, I quickly grew tired of her. Not only is her detective work clumsy, as she seems to miss obvious hints, but especially her behavior towards other women was hard to read. I get that characters need flaws to grow from, but Fatma just…didn’t show any will to actually grow? For example, when Fatma is confronted with her poor treatment of a fellow female agent, she reacts dismissive and reminds the woman that she (Fatma) has been here longer. That does not excuse her behavior?? She keeps up with this arrogance through the entire novel, for example dismissing the faith of her girlfriend constantly and judging people who are poor and live in slums.

The worst part for me though were chapter 10 and 11. I wrote a long post about why but in short, I think Djèlí Clark could’ve written it literally any other way. I found Fatma’s behavior dismissive, self-centred and almost villainous. And yes, for me it is that deep. Again, “bad” character traits do not automatically mean that the character is bad, but if she’s supposed to grow from her actions, I would’ve needed a lot more internal reflection. And I don’t believe Djèlí Clark wanted Fatma to be some form of villain-hero (like Snow in “The Hunger Games”, which is famously a horrible person) because I do get the sense that I as a reader am supposed to like her. But I don’t.

Luckily, I did like the side characters, at least the most important two. They bring so much depth and commentary to the story. Every scene with them was enjoyable to read and I rooted much more for them than for Fatma. Besides the two “main” side characters though, the others felt a little…underdeveloped. When I sat down to write this review, I remembered not a single other name. And when I looked up the names, I needed several minutes until I could place each name to a role in the book.

Aside from the characters, something that increasingly bothered me with this book were the constant references to “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” (book number #0.1 in the Dead Djinn-universe). Whenever we get a little exposition, scenes from that novella are referenced. Which would be fine because I haven’t read the book, but instead of feeling taken along by Djèlí Clark, I felt like an outsider to an inside joke. In my opinion, if you write a full book after writing several short stories in a universe, you need to either make it clear that these short stories are integral for understanding the story (numbering them #1 instead of #0.5 for example) or not reference them so frequently/building onto them in that capacity. If the events in that book are so important for your story, why not make that clear from the numbering?

Despite all this, I really liked the premise of this book and enjoyed the worldbuilding. Because of that, I will be checking out “A Dead Djinn in Cairo” and depending on my thoughts might continue this series. Who knows, maybe Fatma will miraculously grow on me – when she starts with reflecting and accepting criticism instead of dismissing it.

A reminder that hope is resistance. ❤️‍🩹

The pressure to be on, to be right, to already be educated, and to fight fight fight, Hayes and Kaba provide inspiration and collective breath for recentering and moving forward with how we radically grow together. A collection of stories, history, and personal experiences, Hayes and Kaba provide insight for how and why movements start, what the actual work looks like—from the big to the small—and shows us the layered value in each fight we take. A book that stands radical itself as a way for old to revisit and new readers to discover these words of wisdom, of guidance, of peace, and of rejuvenation.

Hayes and Kaba remind us that all fights matter. That our activism and organizing is not linear nor identical, and that we cannot collective grow together if we are not sharing the space for all to show up in different ways to resist. Community is not comparison, individually as well as collective, so long as our end goal is each other.