The Black God's Drums

Flauschbuch reviewed The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

Great little story

5 stars

It's truly remarkable how much world building Djèlí Clark was able to fit into this rather short tale without it being in the way of the story. The first person narration by Creeper drew me right in abd the setting is basically everything I could demand (New Orleans, airships, a queer airship captain etc.). I recommend listening to the audiobook as it's narreted in the fitting various patois and thus adds to the atmosphere of the book. I'd love to have a follow-up or another story set in this universe.

Salagubang reviewed The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

Review of 'The Black God’s Drums' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Looking forward to his books in the future.

cpark2005 reviewed The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

Review of 'The Black God’s Drums' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I don’t normally read many novellas, but P. Djèlí Clark has given us quite the fun romp in The Black God’s Drums. This is a wonderful fantasy novella, easily readable in one sitting, that does a tremendous job of plot twists and world building. There’s a lot to like here!

This novella made such a fun morning read on my day off one week. First off, the world building was quite deep for something that took me roughly two hours to read. I loved the world that Clark was able to flesh out. He also has a gift for communicating with brevity but without sacrificing detail. Reading the novella was almost like watching a painter start with a blank canvas, and with each stroke, make a picture come to life. I’d now like an epic fantasy trilogy set in this same world, that’s the level of world building we’re …

I don’t normally read many novellas, but P. Djèlí Clark has given us quite the fun romp in The Black God’s Drums. This is a wonderful fantasy novella, easily readable in one sitting, that does a tremendous job of plot twists and world building. There’s a lot to like here!

This novella made such a fun morning read on my day off one week. First off, the world building was quite deep for something that took me roughly two hours to read. I loved the world that Clark was able to flesh out. He also has a gift for communicating with brevity but without sacrificing detail. Reading the novella was almost like watching a painter start with a blank canvas, and with each stroke, make a picture come to life. I’d now like an epic fantasy trilogy set in this same world, that’s the level of world building we’re talking here. There are also a couple twists that were fun to read and figuring out where things were going or how they’d end up kept things engaging.

There isn’t a ton to criticize in this novella. There were a couple times I felt like things worked out a little too easily for the main character. Actually, it might be better to say that there were a few sort of literal deus ex machina situations that lessened the impact of some moments for me.

If you’re looking for a fun, short read that does some really fun stuff with world building and gets your pulse pounding from scene to scene, then give The Black God’s Drums a read! I’m definitely looking forward to reading some of the other short stories and novella’s that Clark has written.

4/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing