131 pages
Published 2019
Read September 24
Rating: 4 out of 5
It is 1912 in Cairo. The release of djinn and other spirits, and the harnessing of magic, has made Egypt a world power. Cairo is a vast, modern metropolis, populated with diverse people and “boilerplate eunuchs,” crisscrossed by djinn-made aerial trams. Agent Hamed of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities is accustomed to working alone, but has been assigned a rookie partner, Agent Onsi. They’ve been given a particularly difficult case: the haunting, or possession, of Tram Car 015. Meanwhile, the women of Egypt campaign for the vote, and some machine-people are discovering their own identities.
This is another outstanding, atmospheric outing from the author of Ring Shout. Clark finds new life and fresh energy in his steampunkish world. Haunting itself is brilliantly constructed, laying out the characters, the setting, the situation, and its complications with exemplary and efficient pacing. While many books this length (long novella? short novel?) feel compressed or hurried, Haunting has the rare distinction of feeling like it’s exactly the length it should be. No wasted paragraphs, but also nothing squeezed to fit. The different plot threads all pull together in the end. Wonderful!
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