The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí ClarkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
While P. Djeli Clark writes fantasy, the other books of his I've read have all integrated fantasy into our world, sometimes with an alt-history angle (as in A Master of Djinn ). This is one of his first books to take place in a secondary fantasy world.
Hopefully, he will do this more often, as this setting--the port and trade city of Tal Abisi, as fully fleshed out as any of the human characters--is fascinating. The author is a historian in his day job, and that background shines through here. Tal Abisi has a rich history that plays an important part in the plot, specifically an event three hundred years ago when the Clockwork King tried to rescue a lover kidnapped by the Pirate Princess and cast an entire city district under a magical pall known as the Shimmer (definitely shades of Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation ).
Our protagonist is Eveen, a not-quite-vampire and not-quite-zombie hired killer working for the Dead Cat Tail Assassins, one of several assassins' guilds in Tal Abisi. In this universe, an undead assassin has all their memories blanked upon signing the assassin contract, and they have no idea where they came from or who they were previously. As the story opens, she has just been hired to perform a "shipping" (her word for killing). She dutifully goes to her mark, only to discover a young woman named Sky who is apparently Eveen herself, at a younger age and (or so she thinks) pulled forward through time. Eveen is so stunned by this she does not carry out her contract, which is a huge no-no. This breach makes her a wanted woman, with both her fellow assassins and potentially the goddess and matron of assassins, Aeril, after her.
Our story, with Eveen's attempts to solve the mystery of who Sky really is and who hired Eveen to essentially kill herself, takes place over the course of one night (which is why it is perfect for the novella length). Along the way, Eveen discovers both secrets about herself and her world. Again, the depth of worldbuilding here is very good, particularly with the way oral histories of this world play into the plot. In fact, the difference between a story Sky tells and a story Eveen has always heard about the Clockwork King is crucial to unlocking the heart of the mystery.
(I would love to read a novel-length version of the tale of the Pirate Princess and the Clockwork King, however. If the author ever returns to this world, I hope that's the story we get.)
This story is a bit gory in parts, including the ending. Eveen is an assassin, unapologetically so, and takes pride in her work. The ending has more than a bit of a karma-comes-back-to-bite-you about it, but if you can't handle the mindset of someone who has no regrets about killing for a living, then this isn't the book for you. I thought the depth and breadth of the worldbuilding was enough to overcome that aspect. At any rate, this is a fascinating little book that I quite enjoyed.
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