The Haunting of Tram Car 015

God, this was such a fun little romp. It was somehow Alternate History, Science Fiction, Fantasy and a little bit of Horror all at the same time, with an amusing buddy-cop dynamic laid on top of it. All in 130 pages!

Unsurprisingly it was pretty reminiscent of the only other book by this author that I've read, [b:Ring Shout|49247242|Ring Shout|P. Djèlí Clark|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580134382l/49247242.SY75.jpg|74693559]. Completely different setting and era and vibe, but what they had in common was a desire to tell a story quickly, and leave out anything that wasn't necessary. Sure, there was maybe a paragraph or two of exposition here and there to flesh out the worldbuilding (which I was wholly enraptured with by the way; I haven't enjoyed a setting this much since I read [b:Noor|57632292|Noor|Nnedi Okorafor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618407986l/57632292.SY75.jpg|90269668]), but it was never so long as to affect the pace of the story. The personable protagonist, Hamed, plays the experienced agent who's saddled with bringing a starry-eyed new recruit up to speed, and he was a fun foil to a cast of brief but distinct side characters. And I loved the Islamic spin on all of the descriptions and details.

I think a short review is fitting for a short book, but yeah. Really enjoyed this one and I'm interested to see where the rest of this series goes. If you're looking for a quick little adventure, pick this one up.

Another fascinating story set in the same setting (but after the events) of the author's story, "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", this one has two agents of the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities looking into the possible haunting of an aerial tram car. But what starts off as a possible 'simple' possession by a djinn evolves into something much darker, as further investigations start to reveal the true nature of the spirit occupying the tram car.

Woven into the tale is a background of female emancipation with a vote to be taken to give women the vote, which would give the agents more food for thought in the involvement of women in their work in the future. Quite a number of interesting secondary women characters are in the story, providing some humour and alternative viewpoints.

In the end, the agents solve the case, but not without some dramatic crisis points in the story.

I am really starting to like Clark’s writing, at least with each installment of the Dead Djinn Universe that I read. My issue with the first one I read was that it was a tad short and felt it could’ve been further developed; this is exactly what I get in The Haunting of Tram Car 015. We follow two agents this time, Hamed and Onsi, as they work to investigate a rather mundane task (for them): a spirit haunting a tram car. Now, as a person who loves public transit, I found this particularly exciting—I mean, aerial tram cars! How steampunky and cool is that?

With the longer length, Clark also managed to give us more exposition on the characters and the world. As usual, the world is expertly crafted and feels very lived in. Both Hamed and Onsi’s personalities were clear and strong; I especially enjoyed Onsi and his ramblings on philosophy or history. The writing hints at these subtle themes, for example artificial intelligence and the rights of machines, which could be very promising in a full-length work. Clark also deftly ties together vastly different elements of the story—if he mentions something, even offhand, it’s likely that it will be important to the resolution.

Without trying too hard, I didn’t anticipate the ending and was pleased by how the agents solve the mystery of the haunting. Letting Clark’s prose usher you along the narrative is the best way to go with his stories. The worldbuilding of the supernatural and fantasy elements worked really well again, and the characters were interesting and well-written. And I really wouldn’t mind if Clark wrote a whole digression on philosophy or history… in any case, I’m looking forward to reading Clark’s full length work, A Master of Djinn, which only came out a few months ago. It follows Fatma from a previous installment and looks quite promising.

There is nothing more refreshing than a book that is truly completely new. And this is: Clark imagines a Cairo in which the late industrial revolution was marked by the emergence of djinn and magic. And rather than handle this as a fantastical event, the world simply adapts to this as a newfangled technology: you know, kids run off to the continent to take "alchemical classes" and in my day, high-bred kids just took Latin. And by the way, the steampunk aerial trams are also powered by magic.

Mix this with a strong sense of place: Cairo here is presented as a melting pot of Western Asian, Middle East and African cultures. (Me: Is it Afrofuturism if it's set in Egypt? Jon: Is it about either Cairo or Alexandria being the best in Africa at something? Me: Cairo is the hub of the African dirigible system...so...yes). And then add in some bureaucratic procedural elements in the form of a pair of police officers whose job is to take in magical hijinks. Plus a heaping dose of suffragettes (the Egyptian feminist society in this alternate history gaining a much early right to vote) and the result is completely delightful.

This book is SHORT -- most novella's feel short because there isn't enough space to develop an interesting set of characters/plot/setting, but Clark really excels here. Just to illustrate how quickly he sketches the scene for you, three pages in you know that the world has gone through a recent technical revolution, the main character is cynical because hauntings are too mundane and his partner is overly eager. Indeed, this novella feels short because there is so much developed and so many interesting questions like, should tram cars be emancipated? How are djinns similar and different from ethno-specific folklore beings? What rights do non-binary gendered beings have in this world? And while the story comes to a satisfying conclusion, these existential questions are unanswered. I hope Clark continues to write a lot in this setting.