Book Review
Title: The Black God’s Drums
Author: P. Djèlí Clark
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: ****
Review: This isn’t something that would normally be on my radar but it was the group book for the Witchathon, so I had to pick it up. I didn’t know much about this book but from the synopsis I gather that it is set in an alternate New Orleans during the American Civil War, with a sci-fi spin as it involve sea pirate. It follows a young girl named Creeper who dreams about getting aboard the airship Midnight Robber. While it didn’t sound like my cup of tea it sounded interesting enough. The opening of The Black God’s Drums was interesting, Creeper is a thief who dreams of getting onto one of the airships away from New Orleans and due to the circumstances of her birth she hears Oya’s voice in her head. Oya is the African orisha of the wind and storms and she communicates with Creeper in a variety of ways including visions but Creeper can’t really make sense of them. One day she gets a vision which causes her to lose a mark but then she overhears a conversation between a group of men involve a Haitian scientists and a weapon called the Black God’s Drums, Creeper knows this information is worth money as she knows when and where he is going to arrive and tries to figure out who it is best to sell the information to.
On her way to a meeting to sell the information Creeper comes across man wearing a painted skull mask like the one she saw in her vision from Oya and Oya warns her not to touch the man, but Creeper still has no idea what these warnings mean. Creeper decides to trade her information for a place aboard the Midnight Robber airship which is captained by Ann-Marie, who used to enjoy the company of her mother, Rose when she was alive. Ann-Marie also contains the goddess Oshun, the sister of Oya so both feel drawn to each other. However, Ann-Marie isn’t willing to give Creeper a place on her ship until she has proven that the information is good, which it is. When they set out after the scientist the deal has already been done and the man taking the Black God’s Drums is the same man Creeper saw with the painted skeleton mask. The group are quickly ambushed by more men who shoot everyone except the scientist, but Ann-Marie and Creeper hid so they aren’t involved. In the aftermath, Creeper knows she must visit her sources who happen to be nuns in a local convent. They learn from the nuns that these men are part of a group called the Jeannots or Johnny Boys, they used to be part of the Confederate but were unhappy with the treaty they signed and idolised the old New Orleans and they live by one ethic; take back the city or destroy it and that is possibly what they are going to use the Black God’s Drums to do, destroy the city.
This book is only just over 100 pages long so I don’t want to talk about the second half of the story as it gives a lot away but I will say this book definitely has the potential to be a full length fantasy/sci-fi series that could rival Children of Blood and Bone. If you like that then definitely pick up the Black God’s Drums, it is short, wonderfully written and definitely worth the read. The only criticism I have is the dialogue as the writing is accented to read like you were actually speaking to someone from that particular region and if you aren’t familiar with the way that accent sounds reading the dialogue can be a little off-putting but overall I really enjoyed it.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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