Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did.

A reinvention of Aladdin? Sign me up! And it's sci-fi? Heck yeah!

The setting of Shanti-port was well-realized and intriguing. It was a bit of a mess on its planet, neglected by the wider galactic community, and ripe for social and political change. The best parts of this book talked about places within the city and small points of interest.

The largest problem I ran into with this book was the narrator, Moku: a story-bot who is clearly something more, who is supposed to remain objective and detached but obviously does not.

Moku spends so much of the book telling us stuff. It's not shown. The prose felt dry and detached even as Moku became less detached. There are long passages of conversation conveyed to us from Moku, and huge infodumps of the setting and political climate. It felt like when a friend tells you at length about their dreams that you aren't really that interested in because it's one of those things you just had to be there for.

On top of this, many of the main characters keep their motives unknown (for good reason) or change them haphazardly. It felt impossible to connect with anyone but Moku because of this! Similarly, a lot of political action/dastardly planning happens off-screen, which is normally something I might enjoy but instead just left me with whiplash.

Spoilers for the ending: I am so disappointed that Tanai lets Bador realize his space hero dreams after all Bador's growth and investment in his home and bot rights! It was such a letdown, and it was coupled with the hasty admission of love that, while I saw it coming, fell flat when done so quickly and overshadowed by the other thing happening. On top of that, Lina's final dump of "this is how I really feel about all the stuff I've had to do" was also flat - we didn't get enough glimpses of the real Lina prior. AND we didn't get to find out what Moku or Tanai's deal was??? I did not enjoy this enough to read a sequel just for those answers.

All in all, the setting was great but the characters and prose were detached. Finished it, albeit slowly, and don't regret reading it, but wouldn't read again.

The world building is really lush and exciting in this book, but the plot and characters fall a bit flat for me. The pacing feels muddled and neither Bador nor Lina feel interesting or deep as characters.

This book was a lot fun, I can't go into too many details because of spoilers, but class system, injustice, among other themes relevant to our world

The characters were well realized, as was the world building

The prose was a bit lacking, but not bad. More middle of the road.

Overall, a fun read. 3.5/5

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, and Tor Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

With a city at stake, bot fights and revolutionaries worth cheering for, this gender bent Aladdin retelling was a feast for the sci-fi nerd in the back of my brain! Kaiju fans will enjoy the mech fights peppered throughout the first half and tech magic fans will enjoy some interesting bot concepts. While the pacing sometimes made it difficult to follow the multiple plotlines, the worldbuilding and political intrigue kept me speeding to the end.

However, as a reader who gets (maybe too) invested in the emotional arcs, this story fell a little flat for me. [ Instead of a new investment in his city, continuing the fight for bot rights, or exploring a new-found connection to his family, Bador gets his dream-one even he admits is juvenile! In addition, by following this dream, he splits up a found-family connection, losing the emotional stakes that could have created a heart wrenching moment (hide spoiler)]. There also seemed to be inconsistencies in the powers and abilities of several characters.

Overall, while the inconsistencies in the characters and lack of character growth from Lina, Bador, and Moku made for some frustration, I found the concept engaging and the worldbuilding excellent!

Pretty dam awesome other than some deus ex moments where circumstances easily fall into place to drive the story line. The characters were crafted quite well even though they did not mature with movement. This lack of depth did not in any way detract from the story line.

What I liked a lot was the constant turns during the reveal. Every opening is surprising in content and execution. Outcomes rarely meet expectations and dialogue can be abrupt as it is lengthy. The characters are pretty thick in the head as in once they are told something pivotal to their quest, they ignore or gloss over its significance.

The eutopian society that Lina speaks of in fervent gasps, may reflect the authors diminished perspectives. UBI, socialist democracies are used to paint a fix on an endemically rotten world. Problem is, all the fixes presented have a history of failure, coupled with misery.

An entertaining ride for sure.

I was hoping this novel would be a mix of exciting plot *and* interesting character development, but sadly I feel like it was more of the former at the expense of the latter. I am always hesitant with fantasy novels because I feel like sometimes plot can overtake the characters and their development, which is what I felt happened here. I am, first and foremost, a character-focused reader, so it was hard for me to stay engaged in this novel when a lot of it focused on the plot and its various machinations. I wouldn't not recommend this, exactly, but I would just recommend it for the kind of reader who doesn't mind a novel where there is more dedicated to the plot than the characters.

Thanks as always to Tor for providing me with an eARC of this!

Thank you NETGALLEY for the arc of this book!

Lets be honest, a space opera romp exploring colonialism and social commentaries while deriving so much of itself in east asian culture...thats kinda rare right? thats all right here....

This was a wild ride of a book. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport introduces us to a city that is collapsing in on itself and it was a balanced tale of poignant takes about environmental collapse and mecha fights. The book is hilarious and one that I know I'll need a moment to mull over more especially as I think about different ways to connect it to different ideas. The fact that it really delves into characters being concerned with their city falling apart really speaks to the present and anything that tackles environmental collapse is an interest of mine. Also, robots. Love robots.

This had an interesting start. Lots of world building, which I think was done well. I think, in the end, this just wasn't for me. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this.

Finally, a novel where the characters are concerned with the fact that their city is falling apart and becoming ruled by a bunch of random criminals, as opposed to just living in that society and loving it. Especially because these characters did like their city a lot as well. This book also includes the trope of human with robot parts/augmentations and the bots that have flesh parts as well, which is something I personally really love. The narration however, felt a bit too much like exposition at times, making it a bit difficult to truly be invested

Eastern fantasy is an often underdeveloped field. This adds a blend of sci-fi to create a truly unique book. Humor is subjective, but the inventiveness of the author is evident throughout.

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu is a thrilling sci-fi/fantasy adventure that blends elements of Aladdin and Murderbot with stunning results. Set in the city of Shantiport, a gateway to the stars that is sinking due to the negligence of its colonist rulers, the story follows Lina, a daughter of failed revolutionaries who is determined to save her city and its people. Along with her small monkey bot brother Bador, Lina becomes embroiled in a dangerous mission to retrieve a powerful artifact that has the ability to reshape reality. But when they encounter a sentient off-world tech with the power to grant three wishes, they must navigate a chaotic and dangerous world filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Basu's writing is a joy to read, filled with humor, heart, and plenty of action. The characters are well-developed and memorable, with Lina and Bador in particular standing out as complex and engaging protagonists. The world-building is top-notch, with the city of Shantiport coming to life in vivid detail, and the plot is fast-paced and unpredictable, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.

Overall, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport is an excellent read for fans of sci-fi and fantasy, with plenty of humor, heart, and excitement to keep readers engaged from start to finish. Highly recommended.