Profil

I had to force myself somewhat to finish this book, hoping for an ending that would be worth it. There’s little chance I’ll read the rest of the series.

Maia, sudden heir to the throne of the Goblin Empire, doesn't really want to be an emperor, but it's still better than being assassinated, right?

The setting is interesting, it's like the Court of the Goblin Empire plays an active part in the story, a mysterious character with whom our hero Maia has to contend.

Following the return of Djinn and other mythic and magical creatures in the world, Cairo is the center of the world as the 20th centurty is beginning. Fatma el-Sha’arawi is a dapper dresser first and foremost, and works as an agent of the ministry in charge of overviewing alchemy, enchantments and supernatural entities.

I liked this novel. The rythm holds us to the seat of our pants, the characters are well rounded, the main critic I’d have to make is that this books depends too much on the previous novelettes/short stories in the same universe. I liked that the main story revolves around story elements also present in S. A. Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy. The fact that Chakraborty's quote is on A Master of Djinn's cover reinforces the closeness of these two litterary worlds. Old middle-eastern legends come back to life, and it's a perspective that's sorely lacking in western SF/F.

@kopischke@bookwyrm.social ah, yes, the cheese thing. I'm French, that was hard to read 🤪

I like Becky Chambers, and the way she portrays common people, or common aliens as people. Her characters are not defined only by their galactic race. They have their own histories, their own agencies, that may or may not be dictated by the world they come from. One of the most desirable future I've read, without being written as an utopia.