The Haunting of Tram Car 015
Ratings100
Average rating4
15
Ratings100
Average rating4
In an alternate Cairo, humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Senior Agent Hamed Nasr shows his new partner Agent Onsi Youssef the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.
Featured Series
1 primary book4 released booksDead Djinn Universe is a 4-book series with 1 primary work first released in 2016 with contributions by P. Djèlí Clark.
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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.
Really fun to be back in this world! Clark is for sure a very talented author!
Full review to come!
By now P. Djèlí Clark has definitely become one of my favorite speculative fiction writers. Besides his beautiful and detailed worldbuilding, his characters are just alive and such a pleasure to follow—I didn't think I'd like Hamed and Onsi as much as I like Fatma, but boy was I wrong!
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.
