Love the way Hossain just gets straight to the point here, like lean 89 minute action-comedy film, and yet somehow manages to smuggle in some complex ethical situations and moderately deep philosophy. I’m not sure he fully succeeds with the climax, as I had trouble following the geography of the fighting and the outcome feels predictable (it also reminded me a lot of The Magicians’ battle sequences, where one side is often just too overpowered to keep things interesting).

3.5!

Weird, weird story.

A djinn wakes up to find himself in a post-climate apocalypse world, in which people live in strictly-controlled micro-societies headed by benevolent AIs. He sets out to make the new world acknowledge his power, and joins forces with a strange Gurkha man, a member of no society.

Quickly, things spiral rapidly out of control. The strange Gurkha has an agenda, but what is it? Are the AIs so benevolent after all? The djinn just wants to party, but these annoying people and their problems won't let him alone to have fun.

This is a chaotic, original, profane, bizarre and irreverent melding of cyberpunk and fantasy. I was intrigued, but honestly wasn't sure what to think.

Picked up at the Worldcon freebies table this year.

Fun, engaging read.

In this novella, Karma is not a bitch. Funny, gruesome, human.

Please read this, it's amazing. It's a quick and snappy read and a hilarious, irreverent romp that gleefully mashes scifi tech and magic together and stands back to watch the explosion; but it's also quite seriously interested in questions of class, capitalism, and personhood in its *fascinatingly* worldbuilt post-climate-crisis Kathmandu. The writing is as nuanced as it is entertaining--Hussein packs so much into so little space while making you laugh every other page. The main cast are lovable while mostly being a bit horrible (there's a pistachio-loving murderer, a djinn king who wants to rule the world but primarily just for partying purposes, a djinn equivalent of a teenager, an AI that is supposed to be devoted entirely to fairness and not have a personality...) (and a hapless(?) normal(?) human being or two caught in the middle...). I kind of want their road trip book. And the exploration of utopia and AI takes an incisive, potentially unfamiliar, and very satisfying angle. Seriously, read and enjoy.

9/10 stars

Witty and bizarre and genre-bending, this is an incredible book. I feel like anyone who likes P.G.Woodhouse or Douglas Adams would love this book.

It's length made it easy to consume in one sitting but I do think that is potentially why it has gone unnoticed for so long. This book is incredible and I feel that if it had a bit more introspection and was a little bit longer, then it would have won a whole lot more awards. Regardless I loved it and would highly recommend.

4.5 stars rounded up. Tor's novella game is generally great, but they're pretty expensive if you're buying them (I got this one from the library).