Djinn city : a novel

Title:

Author:

Hossain, Saad Z., author.

Personal Author:

Hossain, Saad Z., author.

ISBN:

9781944700065

Physical Description:

413 pages ; 23 cm

Abstract:

Indelbed is a lonely kid living in a crumbling mansion in the super dense, super chaotic third world capital Of Bangladesh. His father, Dr. Kaikobad, is the black sheep of their clan, the once illustrious Khan Rahman family. A drunken loutish widower, he refuses to allow Indelbed go to school, and the only thing Indelbed knows about his mother is the official cause of her early demise: "Death by Indelbed." But When Dr. Kaikobad falls into a supernatural coma, Indelbed and his older cousin, the wise-cracking slacker Rais, learn that Indelbed's dad was in fact a magician--and a trusted emissary to the Djinn (or genie) world. And the Djinns, as it turns out, are displeased. A "hunt" has been announced, and ten year-old Indelbed is the prey. Still reeling from the fact that genies actually exist, Indelbed finds himself on the run. Soon, the boys are at the center of a great Diinn controversy, one tied to the continuing fallout from an ancient war, with ramifications for the future of life as we know it.

Subject Term:

Cousins -- Fiction.

Jinn -- Fiction.

Magicians -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Bangladesh -- Fiction.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

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Summary

From the author of the cult classic Escape from Baghdad!, comes one of The Guardian's Best Fantasy Books of the Year
Indelbed is a lonely kid living in a crumbling mansion in the super dense, super chaotic third world capital Of Bangladesh. His father, Dr. Kaikobad, is the black sheep of their clan, the once illustrious Khan Rahman family. A drunken loutish widower, he refuses to allow Indelbed go to school, and the only thing Indelbed knows about his mother is the official cause of her early demise: "Death by Indelbed."

But When Dr. Kaikobad falls into a supernatural coma, Indelbed and his older cousin, the wise-cracking slacker Rais, learn that Indelbed's dad was in fact a magician--and a trusted emissary to the djinn world. And the Djinns, as it turns out, are displeased. A "hunt" has been announced, and ten year-old Indelbed is the prey. Still reeling from the fact that genies actually exist, Indelbed finds himself on the run. Soon, the boys are at the center of a great Diinn controversy, one tied to the continuing fallout from an ancient war, with ramifications for the future of life as we know it.

Saad Z. Hosscin updates the supernatural creatures Of Arabian mythology--a superior but by no means perfect species pushed to the brink by the staggering ineptitude of the human race. Djinn City is a darkly comedic fanlasy adventure, and a stirring follow-up to Hossain's 2015 novel Escape from Baghdad! , which NPR called "a hilarious and searing indictment of the project we euphemistically call 'nation-building.'"

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A boy in Bangladesh with an unusual heritage finds himself enmeshed in a secret society of supernatural creatures.Hossain's debut (Escape from Baghdad!, 2015) was a delicious mashup of pulpy adventure novel and sarcastic war satire, so why not follow it up with a supernatural adventure steeped in Eastern lore? It begins with a boy discovering his true calling. Ten-year-old Indelbed is a smart youngster living under the shadow of his eccentric father, Dr. Kaikobad. Dad keeps his son in the dark about most things, including school and the fate of his mother, whose death certificate says only "Death by Indelbed." But when Dr. Kaikobad falls into an "occultocephalus coma"the beginning of much jargon-laced worldbuildingIndelbed's family is forced to confess that his mother was a djinn, a supernatural creature in Islamic culture anglicized to "genie." His older cousin Rais is not impressed: "And you guys all believe in magic? Like Harry Potter-type magic?" he says to another cousin, the Ambassador, who tells them the news. It turns out Indelbed is a half-breed, now the subject of a hunt by a violent splinter group of djinn. After his father's lawyer, Siyer Dargo Dargoman, sells Indelbed to psychopathic djinn Matteras, he winds up in a "murder pit" with exiled Ifrit Givaras, who has the unenviable task of teaching Indelbed the ways of the djinn and keeping him safe from the carnivorous rock worms that roam the pit. "You came here a frightened little boy," says Givaras. "I have indeed made you a monster. You said you wanted to survive. This is the price. There are no knights in shining armor in this world, boy. When fighting monsters, what else can you do but become one?" What follows is an epic fantasy adventure with spellcasting duels, steampunk-ish vehicles alongside flying carpets, and a battle of wills between virtual gods and a hero with the heart of a dragon.A delightful fantasy adventure with a YA spirit, a PG rating, and a rich introduction to Arabian mythology. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.