Thursday, September 28, 2023

2023 read #107: The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark.

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
111 pages
Published 2018
Read from September 27 to September 28
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

It is 1884 in New Orleans, a free and nonaligned city in a land still divided between Union and Confederate. Creeper is a teenage street kid blessed by Oya, goddess of storms, life, and rebirth. She overhears CSA officers plotting to obtain a supernatural weapon that helped free Haiti: the Black God’s Drums, also called Shango’s Thunder. No one in their right mind wants that kind of power in the Rebs’ hands, but Creeper also wants to get something back from exchanging the information. Enter the captain of the airship Midnight Robber. The trade Creeper asks of her: letting Creeper join her crew.

Another solid outing from Clark, who has unmatched skill at spinning vivid, immersive alternate histories. This one mingles airships and divine magic with dangerous repercussions. Echoes of Haiti's use of Shango's Thunder linger as tempêtes noires, which "turn the skies into night for a whole week." The mix is unique and engrossing, as always brought to life by Clark's quick prose.

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