You know the story, don't you, of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves? No, my friends you know only what the bride of a King would briefly say to save her life - you don't know the true story. Just as there are intricate gears and movements that work beneath the face of your clock to tell you the time, so there are facets to the story that remain unknown. In fact there is an entire novel's worth of surprises for you. For this is the story of the student of an inventor called home upon the unfortunate passing of his father to a legacy of both artifice and magic. A story of treacherous assassins, airship rides and marvelous djinn. But do not fret, for most assuredly there is also a miraculous cave of treasure and last but not least a certain cadre of forty unsavory thieves. A cocktail of steampunk and arabic lore to delight from two purveyors of fine tales - Danielle and Day.
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I received of copy on Netgalley for review.

Oh this book. How I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love a good fairy tale and let me tell you, this is a fine one. It fuses the wonders of a good novel and a good fairy tale into one. Realistic characters and emotions and awesome steampunk with fanciful perfection and happiness.

The main character is really wonderful. He evolves over the book and you can really notice that he's turned from a boy into a man. He's intelligent and wonderful. Earlier in my reading, when I was about half way, I had a qualm and it was that there were no kick-ass female characters. Well, basically, I was later proved wrong (as I had hoped) and everything was wonderful. So if you're worried about that, you might have to wait a bit, but it's definitely worth it.

I really loved the incorporation of the story-style of the fairy tale. The little things that are so interestingly orderly to the point of nonsense. But it didn't detract at all from this book. It was, in fact, part of the immense charm. The title already tells you to expect a fairy tale so it's actually really exciting when you notice the obvious aspects drawn from the style.

A really wonderful book that makes its way to my favourites list. Very happy this exists. ( )

As you should be able to tell from the title, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn is a steampunk retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, with some magic thrown in. From the synopsis: “In England, far from his desert home, Ali bin-Massoud serves as apprentice to the famed Charles Babbage. One night a mysterious box is delivered by a clockwork falcon and Ali’s world is never the same again. Heartache, danger, and thieves mark his journey as Ali is summoned home at the death of his father.”

I’ve read short story retellings of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves before, but this was the first novel length re imagining of the tale that I’ve encountered. I thought it did some things well. I liked the use of mechanisms and magic, for one. The historical settings were well drawn. The characterization of Ali was good. However, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn left me unsatisfied in a lot of ways.

The first was that I felt the book had a very slow start. The first half of the novel is mostly Ali being attacked by random, cardboard cut out bad guys and being saved by a mechanical eagle. Part of this time, he’s traveling from England to Arabia. The book doesn’t really get interesting until half way through when he actually gets back home and discovers the cave with the treasure. I definitely think that some of the beginning sections could have been cut or condensed. Better characterization when it comes to the villains is also needed. They were all utterly disposable and forgettable, and I had a hard time keeping them straight.

I mentioned that I liked the use of magic, but I actually would like to know more about it, especially when it comes to the history of the djinn. I felt like there were a lot of elements that were introduced here that were never fully explored. Additionally, there were some unanswered questions about the clockwork eagle. I’m also not wholly comfortable with the power dynamics of the relationship between Ali and the imprisoned djinn. I think the focus was supposed to be on how he’s setting her free, but he’s still the one with the power to do so in the first place. There’s too much of a master slave dynamic for my liking.

Additionally, there was some strangeness in relation to the ending. It felt a lot like deus ex machina, and I would have liked a better explanation.

Finally, I don’t know if it was just a problem with my ebook format, but the novel didn’t include any spaces or ways to mark POV shifts, even when it was jumping between characters in England and Arabia. It was really disorienting to rind myself in England in one paragraph and someplace completely different the next.

Overall, I’m not sure if I would recommend Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn. If you really like fairy tale retellings or want to read steampunk set outside Europe, I might cautiously recommend it.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

There's a lot to love about this retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but with a steampunk twist. Foremost is the main character, Ali. He's an artificer and a good sort of guy. I really loved that he was a devout Muslim; it's great to see faith handled in a positive way, especially when it's mixed with magic. The very real character if Babbage plays an important part, though I was disappointed by how that was handled. He vanished for much of the book and didn't end up playing as much of a role as I hoped for.

The book begins in England--with Ali very much out of place--and returns to Arabia. While still in England, Ali is gifted with a mysterious puzzle box that was his father's legacy. As he returns to Arabia by his brother's order, he's under constant threat by people who want to take the box. Ali's brother isn't very nuanced, but he fits in well with the fairy tale vibe. The voice of the book is fantastic and makes it a cozy blend of steampunk formality and fairy tale-style casual storytelling.

One thing that threw me out of the book was how the thieves somehow managed to not know where Ali's brother lived. They track Ali to England but don't know where his family resided in the nearest town. That struck me as rather contrived for the sake of stretching the plot.

I would love to read more set in this world. There's so much potential here with the culture, the mechanical camelids, or even the history of the djinn.

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn caught my eye as a perfect crossover of my fascination with Middle Eastern tales and steampunk. I was surprised and dismayed when I had trouble getting into it, though, the blend of non-Western storytelling with a main character steeped in Islamic tradition making the beginning slow. The reader knows more than the main character practically from the start and Ali lets tradition drive his actions with no real sense of self. He read passive even though I understood and recognized the traditions he drew from. Luckily, I persisted because what follows is a rich and fascinating steampunk retelling of the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

There are interesting happenings, a glimpse into the nature of being an Arab in historical England, and gadgets and gears from the very start. Still, it’s not until Ali’s ticket home comes that the story became dynamic, his duty compelling him to act without denying his history or traditions.

The story is salted (if you’ll excuse the pun) with elements of traditional Middle Eastern folklore from puzzle boxes, the many levels of djinns, and the use of salt itself. I loved how it incorporates both historical and steampunk elements to provide a complicated blend of reality and fantasy in both the people and events. For example, Ali apprentices to none other than Charles Babbage, a connection that results in more than one clash between faith and materialistic perspectives. That there is a lovely dose of philosophy and human weakness thrown in makes it all the stronger.

Between the non-Western storytelling and non-Western values, some aspects of Ali’s character might be difficult for Western readers to grasp at first, but he’s not portrayed as a perfect follower of Islamic traditions either. He might be above the simple weaknesses of lust for gold, but he has his own flaws that carry a risk almost as great.

I did have some difficulty with some of the things he took responsibility for while it seemed few others in the story held to the traditions, but that didn’t weaken the story and added to the sense of frustration for his sake. Besides, we got to meet a wonderful cast of people, had harrowing adventures, and got to see the creation of all manner of wonderful things. Despite the slow beginning, this is very much worth the read, and I say this having consumed who knows how many versions of the Ali Baba tale, up to and including a farcical play called Ali Baba and the Four Tea Thieves. This is not a story for very young children as some of the events depicted are graphic, but older children and adults could definitely enjoy the visit to a non-Western philosophy wrapped in a tale of danger, adventure, and even love.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review. ( )