A steampunk urban fantasy adventure set in 1912 Cairo, A Master of Djinn is P Djèlí Clark’s full-length début, returning to the setting of 2 of his shorts — an Egypt become Great Power in the few decades since magic was returned to the world, with djinn bringing art, architecture and decolonisation from European powers.

Our POV protagonist is Fatma el‑Sha’arawi, a queer woman widely recognised as being the best agent in the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchant­ments and Supernatural Entities, and the protagonist of Clark’s previous novellas in this world. A Master of Djinn follows Fatma — with Hadia, her rookie partner, and Siti, Fatma’s mysterious kick-arse girl­friend — as they investigate the death of a bunch of rich white Brits, burned to death in the headquarters of their cult to al-Jahiz, the man who tore through the veil between worlds to bring back magic and its creatures.

This all plays out against the backdrop of class tensions in an Egypt where slums are full of people left behind by the rapid industrialisation, and an upcoming peace summit between the European Great Powers. And a black-robed figure riding atop a giant fire ifrit who claims to be al-Jahiz returned. As Alex Brown wrote for Tor.com, “Clark weaves in nuanced discussions of colonialism, the patriarchy, white feminism, sexism, racism, misogynoir, and blackface, among other issues”, also exploring the colourism in Egyptian society that is little different to Western racism, including “African American jazz players who fled Jim Crow for Cairo find it interesting and frustrating that colorism and racism seem to be everywhere, even in Africa, even in the most advanced nation in the world”.

An intelligent read that melds a gripping police-detective procedural with an intriguing supernatural reality and witty dialogue, bringing rich characters who I hope to see a lot more of in future.

CN: death by burning, mind control, racism and colourism, self-harm, discussion of poverty and privilege