Final Rating:
Date of Completion: 02/08/2024
Published by: Little, Brown Audio
ISBN: B09BW3CNVD
Similar read: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Cover:
With its vibrant blue and yellow geometric pattern, this cover captures the lighthearted mystery and steampunk aspects of the story. The small illustrations also neatly depict several elements in the story.
Writing:
Vivid descriptions and a witty, descriptive writing style establish the story’s vibrant setting and characters. Besides this, the intricate world is rich with culture, history, magic, advanced technologies and diverse creatures, which made it captivating despite the information dumps.
Justice comes for the wicked in time. The scales of Thoth demand it.
Storyline:
It took me a while to settle into this story due to the heavy world-building at the start. However, once the investigation started, constant bursts of action and rising stakes kept the storyline engaging. Themes such as sexism, colonialism and inequality were also smoothly explored as the story built to an epic climax and a satisfying ending.
Main character(s):
Agent Fatma is introduced in action, nicely revealing her clever and fiercely independent nature. Her fashion sense and confidence in a society that is slowly accepting women in public roles added to her charm. However, while Fatma’s internalised misogyny drives some character development, I needed a stronger arc and more depth to find her character compelling.
Secondary characters:
Several characters are given distinct personality traits and play significant roles that help drive the storyline. However, most seemed one-dimensional and experienced no growth, which made it difficult for me to care about them. Only Hadia really stood out to me with her cute yet tough nature and interesting dynamic with Fatma.
Usually the secrets we keep deep down … we hide away because we’re afraid what other people might think.
Romance:
Fatma’s relationship with her girlfriend, Siti, provided some cute moments but added little to the storyline beyond this. The evolution of their relationship due to a revealed secret was also underwhelming, and I did not feel strongly moved by their connection.
Narration & Audio:
Suehyla El-Attar’s natural inflexions, vocal variety and accents were perfect for the witty narrative and diverse characters.
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