The Black God’s Drums
by P. Djèlí Clark
Tor, 2018
Adult Alternate History Fantasy Novella
6 cups of tea out of 11
Summary: In an alternate-timeline New Orleans, Creeper finds out about a very powerful weapon and a kidnapped scientist. They know the information is valuable and they may need the power of the gods to save the city.
Likes: Creeper and the captain are both fabulous characters. The world-building is also interesting because in this timeline there are multiple regions and states with different people in charge. There’s a lot of attention to detail: people speak differently, they were different uniforms, have different gods. It makes everything feel real. And there are airships.
Dislikes: The middle dragged quite a bit and that particularly stands out as a problem in a novella. Also, literally deus ex machina.
Overall this is a creative and compelling novella. The beginning pulled me in and the ending left me screaming. But the slow middle and deus ex machina knock it down a few levels for me.
Content
Language – Medium
Sexual – Medium
Violence – Medium
The Green Tea Librarian 