Book Review
Title: The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Fatma el-Sha’arawi Book 0.6) by P. Djèlí Clark
Genre: Historical, Fantasy
Rating: 2 Stars
I recently read A Dead Djinn in Cairo and enjoyed it so I decided to check out The Haunting of Tram Car 015 before A Master of Djinn comes out this year. I was intrigued to learn that we aren’t following the same characters from A Dead Djinn in Cairo as we are following Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi. In the opening section to The Haunting of Tram Car 015 we are introduced to both Hamed and Onsi and it was nice to see Onsi as a rookie and making all the rookie mistakes, however, when they enter the tram car for the first time and Onsi tries to make contact with the spirit they are shoved out of the tram car as it is clear that the spirit doesn’t want them there. Onsi during these scenes was comical and his reaction after they are shoved out actually made me laugh, however, one issue I have with Clark’s short stories and novella is that there are a lot of words on the page but no much really happening and I was hoping for a change of pace here.
As we progress through the first half of this story we follow Onsi and Hamed as they try and figure out what is possessing the tram car and they believe it is a lesser Djinn but the cost to remove the Djinn is too much for the train company to pay. However, due to a change in legislation it falls the Hamed and Onsi’s department to deal with it and foot the bill but doing it they way they planned means they are going to be on desk duty for a long time until their budget is replenished. While trying to come up with a cheaper way to deal with the possessed tram car someone overhears and gives them the idea of seeking out something other than a Djinn to help her with their problem. The pair do just this but the person they end up getting in contact with doesn’t want to help them until Onsi convinces them it is the right thing to do as the tram car itself is partially sentient and it is being enslaved by the lesser Djinn possessing it which prompt them to help the pair of detectives. We are halfway through the story at this point and nothing much has happened and the only exciting part was the first interaction Onsi and Hamed had with the train car.
After trying to perform the ritual to make the Djinn leave, they soon learn that what they are dealing with isn’t a djinn at all but an Armenian being called an al that deliberately targets pregnant women or women with children and this makes sense since the only people the al has attacked have been women. Onsi and Hamed come up with a new plan after visiting a dollmaker who has more information on the alk race that all they need to do is prick it with something iron and it will be under their control. In order to carry out this plan without endangering any pregnant women or children they decide to dress as women and lure the al out themselves and this seems to work but the al catches on to them too quickly for them to be able to control it. The al also has control of the tram and they find themselves trying to keep themselves alive while dealing with the al but when they end up back at the station there are hundreds of women there for the al to target and it immediately zones in on a mother and baby. Onsi and Hamed fight their way through the crowd to deal with the al and they succeed where they also learn that women have been given the vote in Egypt. After the case is wrapped up we do get a scene between Hamed and Fatma from A Dead Djinn in Cairo where they discuss the sealed case involving the angels. While I am excited for A Master of Djinn the writing style is a bit too flowery for my taste with little substance to it as a lot of the actions happens very late in the stories and doesn’t feel long enough or in depth enough to feel satisfying for me. Personally, I did like The Black God’s Drums and Ring Shout more than A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: A Dead Djinn in Cairo
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