The Djinn Falls in Love & Other Stories

This collection of short stories is one of the strongest I’ve seen in a while; definitely the strongest I’ve yet read in 2017.

This collection takes stories by twenty-two authors from all over the world, all dealing in some form with the djinn – the fantastical beings of smoke and fire. I picked up this collection due to some authors who’s work I was already familiar with – Neil Gaiman, Claire North, Amal El-Mohtar, Helene Wecker, and Nnedi Okorafor. Turns out, most of my favorite stories were by authors who were new to me. Oh, and the Neil Gaiman story was an excerpt from American Gods, so don’t pick this collection up based on him.

Some of my favorite stories were those that added djinns to futuristic, science fiction show more settings. In “The Jinn Hunger’s Apprentice” by E.J. Swift, a spaceship is haunted by jinn. The crew is desperate enough to call in an exorcist, but who is the woman who answers their call? This short story was so much fun and I’d actually love to read more in this universe. The same is true of “Bring Your Own Spoon” by Saad Hossein. In this future, the very air is toxic and the vast majority of the population has never known real food, only artificial stuff that comes out of a processor. But a chef and a djinn begin to change things when they work together to create a restaurant in this delightful tale. There was one other science fiction story, but I found it confusing. “Duende 2077” by Jamal Mahjoub is a murder mystery set in the future. Some of the world building concepts seem interesting, but I still don’t understand who was behind the murder.

Some of the other stories in the collection are confusing as well. “The Sand in the Glass is Right” by James Smythe wins the award in this category. The story’s constantly switching POV characters, and I’d probably need to read it again to figure out what’s going on. Another confusing but ultimately more successful story is “Black Powder” by Maria Dahvana Headley, in which an old rifle is possessed by a djinn. I loved the character of the Huntress, a mysterious woman who lives through centuries and seems to be searching for djinn. I might not have understood everything going on in “Black Powder,” but I still enjoyed the journey.

“Glass Lights” by J.Y. Yang is beautifully written, but it did feel aimless and like it ended suddenly. Still, the writing made me excited to try more J.Y. Yang, particularly those queer fantasy novellas they’ve got coming out in August. “A Tale of Ash in Seven Birds” by Amal El-Mohtar is also a lyrically told story, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have other works by El-Mohtar. Maybe it was too abstract for me.

There were other stories that left me cold. “Queen of Sheba” by Catherine King was a solid but forgettable story of a girl who’s inherited the ability to see spirits. “How We Remember You” by Kuzhali Manickavel falls too close to magical realism for my taste. “Authenticity” by Monica Byrne was so not my sort of story – a college student seeking authentic experiences visits a porn shoot. “History” by Nnedi Okorafor was one I was looking forward to based on the author. However, I never connected with the pop star diva who summons spirits to use in her performances, and I don’t think it will be too long before the story slides from my mind. “The Emperor’s of Jinn” by Usman Malik and “The Righteous Guide of Arabsat” by Sophia Al-Maria fall into this category as well.

Of all the authors I was already familiar with, I enjoyed Claire North and Helene Wecker’s stories the most. Claire North wrote “Hurrem and the Djinn.” The sultan’s favorite concubine is so powerful that it’s obvious that she must be using dark magic! How else could a woman achieve such influence? In “Majnun” by Helene Wecker, a djinn has become an exorcist, even as his ex-lover pleads with him to come back to her.

But as I previously mentioned, most of the stand out stories were by authors whose work I’d never encountered before. “The Congregation” by Kamila Shamsie is a bittersweet story of a boy who encounters a congregation of djinn and a strong connection with one of them. “Message in a Bottle” by K.J. Parker didn’t seem to involve much in the way of djinn at all, but I liked the conundrum of whether a bottle in a medieval city contains the cure for a plague or a more virulent strain that will wipe out humankind. In “The Spite House” by Kirsty Logan, the daughter of a djinn finds herself overcome by a woman’s wishes. This story uses a sense of rising horror quite wonderfully, much like my favorite story of the collection…

“REAP” by Sami Shah was undoubtedly my favorite. First of all, the method of storytelling is brilliant. The protagonist is a member of an American team observing and analyzing the feed of a drone stationed over Iraq. But through their video feed, the team becomes witness to a horrific supernatural tale.

While the stories I picked this collection up for ended up not being as wonderful as I’d liked, it meant that I discovered many new authors whose works I will have to read more of! I would not hesitate to recommend this collection.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC of this collection in exchange for a free and honest review. show less

Well, if I can't obsess over Midnight in Karachi, I will certainly take this collection edited by Murad. I really enjoyed this collection, perhaps unsurprisingly because a) djinn, and b) many of the authors were featured previously on MiK, and I had subsequently sought out their work. The range of stories impressed me the most in this collection--from the Wild West to outer space, Pakistan to New York. Even though there were a few stories that didn't quite do it for me, I still enjoyed reading the different takes on these fabulous fire creatures.

Sami Shah's "Reap" was my favorite favorite story in the collection; his book [b:Fire Boy|29234637|Fire Boy (Djinn-Son Duology, #1)|Sami show more Shah|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1456033400s/29234637.jpg|49475893] I really enjoyed and need to re-read because [b:Earth Boy|33798082|Earth Boy (Djinn-Son Duology, #2)|Sami Shah|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1491010797s/33798082.jpg|54695882] was all sneaky-like and got published without my knowledge. He writes horror so well, which is something I've been craving recently. I read "Reap" on my dinner break at work and was stricken for the rest of the night (it would make a really good movie/mini-series). Other particular favorites include Shamsie's "The Congregation," Yang's "Glass Lights," Wecker's "Majnun," King's "Queen of Sheba," Al-Maria's "The Righteous Guide of Arabsat" (*shiver*), and Hossain's "Bring Your Own Spoon" (holla, [b:Escape from Baghdad!|23013966|Escape from Baghdad!|Saad Hossain|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417045270s/23013966.jpg|42580232]!). The excerpted Gaiman chapter may have finally convinced me to read American Gods, and I loved loved loved revisiting some of my favorite Okorafor imagery in "History."

Great collection all around. I'm looking forward to exploring more authors! show less

I just realized that this book originally came out in 2017, which explains why all the stories are originally published around then -- I'm not sure why I disliked this anthology so much, but it really didn't work for me. The stories veered between dreamy non-linear tales and suddenly explicit moments, with one memorable horror tale. There were a few that I thought were really well done, but on the whole I just found it unappealing and even the big names couldn't rescue it. I think I'm particularly uncomfortable with the unsympathetic portrayal of Islam that resonates throughout.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

There were quite a few stories that captured my interest. I liked that the stories were unique; you had stories that were set in olden times and ones that were more modern. The djinn in these stories were from different nationalities and settings, and it allowed them to be transformed in a way I had never imagined. However, not all of the stories were interesting to me. While there were some that left a lasting impression, quite a few just made me go "meh". Maybe my expectations were too high, but this anthology wasn't as amazing as I had expected. It did expose me to a wider range of authors, some whom I will definitely check out in the future. But other than providing me with a few interesting stories, I was just left feeling a bit show more disappointed.

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

An eclectic set of short stories all concerning djinn, in one way or another. All the stories are well written, a rare event in collections of this nature. If your tastes go to the fantastical, I'd highly recommend this.

With contributors from all around the world, this collection of short stories is as remarkable for its variety as it is for its quality. Editors Murad & Shurin have given their contributors an open brief, and the results are dazzling.

My favourite tale was Reap by Sami Shah - one of the delights (as so often with anthologies) was the opportunity to dip into tales by authors I was unfamiliar with - but there are no bad stories here.

Sheer delight. Hats off to Murad & Shurin for putting together such a wonderful collection.

Full review

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Very uneven. A couple of the stories were quite good. The majority left me a bit cold. They tended toward unnecessarily artistic for artistic's sake or simply lacking meat.