The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (P. Djeli Clark)

The Haunting of Tram Car 015
The Fatma el-Sha'awari series, Book 2
P. Djeli Clark
Tor.com
Fiction, Fantasy/Historical Fiction
****+ (Good/Great)

DESCRIPTION: 1912 Cairo is a far cry from the days of the pharaohs, but - thanks to the return of the djinn and other magical beings and the innovative constructions they brought - it is still one of the grandest metropolises in the world. Still, even modern cities have their problems, especially ones where the infrastructure relies as much on magic as on technology, which is where the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities comes in.
Agent Hamad Nasr and his eager new assistant, Agent Onsi Youssef (who was educated in distant, backwards Oxford, but still shows some promise), never know what each new day will bring, but even they were surprised to be summoned to a haunted tram car. Car 015 has picked up a malevolent supernatural passenger, one that has entwined itself in the magical “brain” of the autonomous vehicle and refuses to leave... something far more dangerous than a stray djinn or spirit.

REVIEW: I got this as a free ebook download from Tor.com (the source of many quality free ebook downloads), and didn’t realize it was technically the second title written in its setting. In this instance, it doesn’t matter, as it works fine on its own. Clark creates an imaginative, intricate, and fascinating setting in his turn-of-the-century Cairo enhanced by both magic and steampunk elements, the two being deeply intertwined. It’s also a melting pot of human cultures and religions, as well as new ideas like women’s rights and tolerance of worship, a truly cosmopolitan locale that feels both fantastic and real. The characters inhabiting the world likewise are interesting, avoiding flat or obvious stereotypes and becoming rounded individuals with personalities and histories and blind spots. As for the plot, it moves fairly well, and while there’s a somewhat light and humorous overtone, it doesn’t shy away from the more terrifying aspects of hauntings. It reads fairly fast, being a novella, and makes the reader (or at least this reader) eager for more adventures in this alternate world. (And, yes, I'll be adding the first title in this setting to the Kindle queue.)

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