The Sword and Laser discussion

After 3,955 in 15 polls the winner of our 7th annual March Madness tournament is A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark.

Tournament Finals Breakdown

Let us know what you think about the pick.

I was actually planning to read this anyway even if it had lost in the final as I’ve already read Children of Time. I enjoyed The Haunting of Tram Car 015 which is set in the same steampunk Cairo alternate history.

I’ve picked up the audiobook for when I finish my audio Holmes-fest.

For completists, the first work in the series, the novella A Dead Djinn in Cairo, is available to read on the Tor.com website, along with another short story set in the same world.

Just finished reading the short story on Tor (www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead-djinn-i...)

I am not generally a lover of short stories but it was okay and I liked Fatma. I’d probably enjoy the short story better later, when I know the characters more. The setting/world is fun so I’m intrigued to read more. Looking forward to reading this one.

Edit: so Ruth and I post at the same time, because we are secretly twins.

Ruth wrote: "I was actually planning to read this anyway even if it had lost in the final as I’ve already read Children of Time. I enjoyed The Haunting of Tram Car 015 which is s..."

Same here. I concur, doctor.

This book is well outside my usual wheelhouse but hey, that's what book clubs are for. Anyhoo, the wait list is crazy at LA Public Library but decent at County of LA. As I put it on hold it came with four recommendations for immediate read, two of which were Gail Carriger books. That's quite a recommendation! If it's anything close I'll be pleased to read it.

What's great is I had not read (or completed) any of the books in the tournament, so it did not really matter which won. This sounds a bit like the book Throne of the Crescent Moon in a Victorian setting. I really enjoyed that book, though it was more sword and sorcery.

I had hoped for Project Hail Mary, as I got halfway through before having to read as much as I could before the Hugos, regular sword & laser reads, being in a beta reading, and then having to read a massive brick of a book (I'm still only 60% of the way through Pandora's Star) I can't seem to get the time to go back and finish.

This was one year where I was interested in both finalists so I'm happy!

Some of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy reads over time have been Middle Eastern in theme, so I'm looking forward to how this author approaches the topic. I've only read the author's novella Ring Shout but that's set in the south.

This is such a fun book and I hope everyone digs it. The novellas might not be necessary but it's nice to get a bit of setup before this novel.

I didn't care about this book, but finding out it's steampunk has made me interested. Sadly, my hold on Libby for the audio book says 6 weeks. So, I continue to be way behind the club here.

This was my vote so I'm glad it won. After Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, I'm looking forward to a fantasy novel.

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "I didn't care about this book, but finding out it's steampunk has made me interested. Sadly, my hold on Libby for the audio book says 6 weeks. So, I continue to be way behind the club here."

I mean, the book (audio, ebook or physical) isn’t available at all in the three UK library areas I’ve checked (Lancashire, Manchester and Leeds, if you’re curious) so, you know, you just do what you can when you can. I decided to buy it, since the ebook wasn’t too expensive, but there’s nothing wrong with chiming in on book threads LONG after the month for that pick is over. It’s all good.

His two short stories are up on Tor.com to read. Both quite enjoyable.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo as Ruth mentioned above
https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead...

Also The Angel of Khan el-Khalili
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/28/the-an...

I'm reading the 3rd longer novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015 now in preparation :)

Daryl wrote: "His two short stories are up on Tor.com to read. Both quite enjoyable.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo as Ruth mentioned above
https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead...

Also [b..."

Do they need to be read in order for the book?

I got the 1st short story from my library on audio so that will be fast.
I already bookmarked the 2nd one from Tor.
I also got the 3rd from my library on kindle.
I'm next on the my Library's list for the audio of A Master of Djinn

So I am pretty set up for April's read.

Pretty happy this was the pick though of the original 16, it was lower on my list. I took advantage of the daily deal a week or so ago so I’m ready.
Once I finish my current read…

Calvey wrote: "Do they need to be read in order for the book?"

From my understanding, you do not need to read the short stories to fully enjoy the book. The first short does introduce the character and the setting though - I presume that the author reintroduces everything in the book, but I couldn't say for sure :).

No need to read the shorts to enjoy the full-length novel. All the characters are reintroduced with nothing more than a brief mention of previous events. You can read them later of you like the novel.

Dead Djinn... is short, well done and sets this up as I understand this book. Tram Car is set in the same world and thus fleshes it out, but I don't think its characters appear in Master...

Rick wrote: "Tram Car is set in the same world and thus fleshes it out, but I don't think its characters appear in Master..."

I think I recall them in there, but not in important roles. I thought Tram Car was my favorite of all of them, but in terms of understanding Master of Djinn it's the easiest to skip.

I just found out I have the Tram Car ebook, so I wonder if it was once a Tor.com giveaway.

Tina wrote: "I just found out I have the Tram Car ebook, so I wonder if it was once a Tor.com giveaway."

It was back in 2020

the audio book, Dead Djinn in Cairo is also on Hoopla ,too
(Dead Djinn Universe #0.1)
by P. Djèlí Clark 1hr. 42 min.

I picked it up when it was a Kindle deal way back when.

My hold came through today! Excited to be able to read along this month. I lemmed Pandora's Star and wasn't able to get ahold of a couple other recent picks, so it's been awhile.

This is a fun book, I hope there would a TV series adaptation later.

the month has begun. Go forth and discuss!