Clark, P. Djèlí

This wildly surprising caper fantasy from Clark (A Master of Djinn) will keep readers on the edge of their seats working out who “dunit,” and how and why, as they explore the gritty underbelly of this world of living contracts, dead gods, and legal necromancy, reminiscent of Max Gladstone’s “Craft Sequence” and “Craft Wars” series. This will appeal to all lovers of urban fantasy.

Although the book is marketed as Clark’s debut novel, readers have been following him for several years (Ring Shout is an LJ 2020 Best Book) and this work builds upon his alternate history Cairo, bringing together several enjoyable characters in a richly detailed, action-packed novel.

Not only the perfect choice for fans of Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country or Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom, but also of other dual-threat fun and thought-provoking speculative fiction such as Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth or Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation.