Read more
WINNER OF THE NEBULA AWARD FOR BEST NOVELWINNER OF THE LOCUS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVELONE 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.
About the author
Born in New York and raised mostly in Houston, P. Djèlí Clark spent the formative years of his life in the homeland of his parents, Trinidad and Tobago. He is the author of the novellas The Black God's Drums, winner of a 2019 Alex Award from the American Library Association; The Haunting of Tram Car 015; and A Dead Djinn in Cairo. His short story 'The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington' has earned him both a Nebula and Locus award. He is loosely associated with the quarterly FIYAH: A Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction and an infrequent reviewer at Strange Horizons. He currently resides in New England and ruminates on issues of diversity in speculative fiction. He is the winner of the Nebula and Locus awards.
Summary
Set in an alternate Cairo in the early 20th century, this fun, fresh and exciting fantasy novel combines all the tricky twists you want from a police procedural with djinn, magic and a sense of wonder - think Rivers of London meets The City of Brass
Foreword
Set in an alternate Cairo in the early 20th century, this fun, fresh and exciting fantasy novel combines all the tricky twists you want from a police procedural with djinn, magic and a sense of wonder - think Rivers of London meets The City of Brass
Additional text
A tonic of fast moving urban fantasy
