The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Author P. Djeli Clark came onto my radar when I heard some great things about his new novella Ring Shout which releases in October of this year and then when I saw that this novella was nominated for the Nebula award, I knew I had to read this one. I also managed to read the short story A Dead Djinn in Cairo a few days ago and completely fell in love with the setting which is the same in this novella as well. And I'm so happy I got to be back in this wonderful setting mystical Egypt again.

The haunting and the mystery of the supernatural being is still not what impressed me the most here. It's the world which continues to mesmerize me and I was even more impressed this time to see how culturally diverse it is and the technological and magical marvels of this booming metropolis. And added to this beautiful setting is the backdrop of the suffragette movement in Egypt and even though it's shown with more rose tinted glasses than what happened in our real world, I just loved watching a more hopeful and progressive world in this story.

While the previous short story was a murder mystery, this time its a haunting and we are following a different Agent from the Ministry, Hamed and new partner Onsi. Their characters are quite tropey, with one being the slightly experienced grumpy mentor and the other being an overexcited and talkative mentee, but it was a complete delight following them. We also meet other mysterious women who help them in their endeavor to find the supernatural being haunting the Tram car and I was quite enamored by them all and wanted to know more about them. And it made me so so happy to see mention of Fatma as the most famous investigator in the Ministry and now I hope she will be joined by both Hamed and Onsi in the full length novel releasing next year.

In the end, this is one author I'm so happy to have accidentally discovered and now I can't wait to read any remaining backlist of his and all his future works because I'm thoroughly enjoying his world building as well as characters. If you enjoy beautifully written diverse urban fantasy settings and fun mysteries with supernatural entities, then I highly recommend this novella. Also read the short story that I mentioned above and I promise you will fall in love with this magical steampunk Egypt just like I did. Even the audiobooks are narrated excellently, so you could opt for them if it's your preferred format. Now I'm just upset that the wait for the novel is too long but I'm left with no choice but to be patient.

I am on my second P. Djèlí Clark novella, and all I can say is that I want to read everything I can get my hands on written by this guy.

This story takes place in an alternative history of Egypt after the Britsh rule was overthrown in 1879. Now, the year is 1912. Cairo is written as a mix of history, culture, steampunk, and magic. Djinns walk the world freely, ghosts haunt, and magic makes the world flow. This story stars a collection of characters, namely agents Hamed Nasr and Onsi Youssef. They represent the interests of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. They get called in to investigate a tram car, part of the transportation system in Cairo, that seems to be haunted.
Nothing is as it seems, but they are tasked to fix the situation as speedily as possible.

One of the best parts of Clark's writing is the texture and beauty of his descriptions. He builds a fluid, and magical world that is on one hand, believable and on the other completely stretches the imagination. The story is fascinating in its own right, but the backstory and current of political tensions that flow behind the main characters are well done. Political upheaval is everywhere in the form of women's suffrage. Women are close to getting the right to vote, and that plays a massive part in how characters behave and relate to other characters in the story. The political climate is a live wire snapping and sparking.

Hamad, the lead investigator for the story, is a steampunk world-weary sam spade type character. He has seen a lot, experienced a lot, and has developed a certain pragmatism towards cases. At the same time as issues pop up he pragmatically handles them, he is also funny and adds a bit of mischievousness to the story. I enjoyed reading his interactions with various people and entities.

Clark writes a fascinating story, one that doesn't fall short. There are no coy or trumped up false moments. This is just fantastic storytelling, and I hope that he writes a full-length novel so I can read how he develops a story beyond a novella. He has a knack for creation and worldbuilding. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

For a novella, there were too many subplots. I would read it after [b:A Master of Djinn 52504334 A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe, #1) P. Djèlí Clark https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600715136l/52504334.SY75.jpg 78021845] (which I really enjoyed) so that you know more about the world going in.