21st July 2024

Clark’s first novel drops us into a parallel early-20th-century Egypt, several decades after the Djinn and other supernatural beings returned to the world. There we meet Fatma, an agent of the government ministry responsible for the supernatural, as she’s assigned to investigate some mysterious deaths.

It’s a really interesting world filled with new twists on which supernatural beings have what powers, what problems, and look out for which people. And a really solid set of nuanced and interesting characters surviving in a world that both is and isn’t our own.

I understand that while this is the first novel, there are already several shorter works that Clark has set in this universe and with these characters. The novel refers back to these a bit too frequently and relies on devices sourced from these to continue its plot. I found this a bit frustrating having not read those other works, as without all the context these elements felt a bit like cop outs. So I’d recommend making the effort to seek those out before reading this.

Overall though a really nice visit to a book set in a different place, culture, and time, with the added bonus of some fantasy worldbuilding.

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