Ah the latest P. Djèlí Clark an author that has become a quick favorite. Even though this story I ended up on a 3.75⭐'s I would still recommend. The characters are amazing and its laugh out loud funny. Sure the third act feels like twelve books mashed into one but it's not horrible. Honestly read for the plot stay for the characters. Clark's writing here is mostly spot on especially with the setup. Once everything is in motion there is no stopping.

5⭐!!

Thank you Tor Publishing and Netgalley for this eARC!!

I love, LOVE P. Djèlí Clark's works so much. The way he world builds without giving up character work, and vice versa, really makes his characters feel alive and his worlds lived in.

An enjoyable romp as per usual from P. Djeli Clark! I loved the worldbuilding and the "solve this unsolvable mystery in a night" premise. The dialogue got a bit cheesy for me but it was fun and didn't go too over the top.

Thank you to P. Djèlí Clark, Tor Publishing Group, Tordotcom, and Netgalley for a free advanced reviewer copy of "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" for an honest review. I discovered Clark a few years back among the finalists for the Hugo's and have been falling in love with all their successive works since, and this one was no different. I loved this dark, dizzy romp through the deadly assassin realm of a far-flung future steeped in a completely new culture. I adored the twists and turns with time and deities coming down. I advise this one for all who love these subjects.

"Aeril's fiery, f!cking tendrils!"

Gah! This was so good.

I loved the world-building, with its goddess lore, and the setting of the carnival-celebrating city. The characters were vivid and complex, and the dialogue crisp and quippy.

I appreciated that the violence wasn't super descriptive. I mean, I'm fine that they played Real Life Operation with The Patriarch, but I'm equally fine with not having to hear the squelching in my head, you know?

This was my second from this author - Ring Shout was also excellent - and I'm looking forward to his next offering.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and RB Media for this deadly ARC.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

I really enjoyed the Dead Djinn in Cairo series, and I was excited to be able to meet and get a book signed by P. Djèlí Clark one year at NYCC, so I was really looking forward to reading the Dead Cat Tail Assassins when I got an eARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I had high hopes for it but in the end I liked it “just okay”.

Part of it was the subject matter - I have never found the stories of professional assassins to be my thing. I enjoyed alot of the world building here, and some of the magic was interesting, but I find the trope of skinny characters having to eat massive amounts to be off putting. In fact, I found a lot about the protagonist to be off putting. She callously kills a pigeon-equivalent bird very early on in the story for no good reason and I just lost all possibility of caring for her fate. I didn’t see the twist coming, and I enjoyed the surprise, but the ending felt a little too contrived and jokey to fit into the tone of the rest of the book. I’ll read his next book for sure, because it is well written, but this one wasn’t doing it for me.

I loved this title and this author is a new favorite. Completely original. The ability to build such a rich world with so few pages is incredible. Excellent book and I have been recommending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. This was a fantastic story, set in an interesting world with a strong woman lead and great supporting characters. She was a smart, capable and a hardcore warrior in every iteration and setting. The premise of this book is so original and completely draws you in to the chaotic, dangerous game Eveen is trying to survive. I thought the ending was a little difficult to understand, as were elements of the story that I couldn't quite follow, but overall I really enjoyed this book. I think this might be my favorite of P. Djeli Clark's so far. I plan on rereading this one and will recommend it to people who are smarter than me.

I requested this book from NetGalley because I've read and loved this author in the past and the premise of this one sounded really interesting. A guild of undead assassins who have to complete the job when they've accepted it, otherwise bad things happen (very bad things for everyone in the city, let alone the person who broke the rule). Eveen finds herself in the midst of a strange job which she can't complete and she goes on a quest to find out why it was her put on the job in the first place. This is made a little more difficult considering she is facing the consequences of not completing the job.

I don't to spoil this too much because I went in knowing the plot for the first few pages and that was it, which meant everything unfolding was a delightful surprise. I adored the world-building in this novella, I loved the guild of assassins, the festival night, the lay out of the town and the various assassins and their different skills. They are all dead but they deal with the loss of their memories in different ways and have their own feuds and arguments between the others. Eveen has to figure out the mystery of the job itself and how it came about and I enjoyed how well the world-building was integrated with this plot. I did figure out the twist about Sky fairly early on but I did like how it wasn't so obvious that you felt like the characters were foolish for not getting it right away. I enjoyed the ending and how it was resolved.

The plot and the world-building were on point. I would love to see more novellas set in this world. However, the characters didn't grab me as much. I liked them well enough but I was only wanting Eveen to succeed in unravelling the mystery because I wanted the answer, not because I particularly cared about the characters surviving or getting what they wanted. Possibly because of her memories or maybe because this novella was so action-packed, I didn't really get a feel for Eveen as a character. What did she want before the novella started? Sometimes the book was describing the world-building in a more detached way, great for conveying information about the world but not so much for what Eveen was thinking about it. The revelation about why Eveen in particular was requested for the job came out of pretty much nowhere because until the middle of the novella, it felt like she had no real feelings about the nickname she had or why she earned it or her job in general. Even the side characters felt very one-note, there to do a job and that was it.

I did really enjoy this and I will pick up any books set in this world, but hopefully not with these characters.

4 stars!

It was a little hard to get through at first but then I downloaded the audiobook and enjoyed it much more. I really liked the ending.

“But what about your God?”

“Fuck her and her firey tits!”

The story is interesting and unique. The MC is an undead/good looking zombie hired assassin. She’s given a mark she can’t bring herself to take care off. It’s a relatively short, interesting read. I especially enjoyed the mystery of the plot and the undead aspect of the story.

Thank you NetGalley, P. Djèlí Clark, RB Media, and Tor for ARCs of this book.

The novellas continue to do it for me this year!!! This was an intriguing and fast-paced read that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. Eveen was a wonderful and sometimes funny character to follow. She was extremely likeable, and I really appreciated that she kept her wits about her throughout the story. My favorite part of the story was the goddesses!! It's always a delight when a culture you're familiar with is injected into a story you already love!

Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for providing a copy of this novella.

Clark’s world-building is rich and immersive, drawing readers into a vibrant setting filled with mysterious assassins, talking cats, and fascinating characters. The story is both fast-paced and imaginative, making it a delightful read from start to finish. Fans of magical realism and fantasy will appreciate the inventive plot and witty dialogue. A perfect choice for anyone looking for a unique, quick read with a touch of whimsy!

All I can say is that... Mr. Clark, I need MORE.

This book just draws you into the premise and wanting for more, and I know with his book, A Master of Djinn, the initial story was a novella before we got that full blown novel, and I'm hoping to see the same treatment of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. It was a great story, action-packed, fast-paced, the twists were interesting, the world-building was an absolute tease. I hope one day we get another fleshed out story in this world with more insight into the other assassins.

Thank you to Netgalley for this book to review!

Thrilling and dark, this fantasy novella will definitely be popular with our readers. Will be ordering for my library.

The world of this book is fully crafted, the story is surprising and connected to the mythic legends of this magical world. Although the story is captivating, surprising and full of ups and downs,

I found this story to be really entertaining and complex and highly recommend it!

A fun book filled with gore, adventure, and a special kind of dark humor. Though I enjoyed the concept of this book, I wasn't as captured by the characters and lore as I expected.

Thanks to Tor and netgalley for an eARC of this book. I've loved everything P Djeli Clark has written so far and this proves true. This follows Eveen the Eviscerator, a dead assassin belonging to the Dead Cat Tail Assasins guild. However, she's given a contract and discovers that she has been contracted to kill herself, in a past form. This spins her down a path to figure out how and why this contract was made and if she can wiggle her way out of it. Throroughly entertaining story and world building.

Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom for the e-arc!
I love a good fantasy novella especially when it's by an author that I read and loved their previous works. P. Djèlí Clark is such an amazingly talented author and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was no exception. The premise follows assassins with no memory who are bound by three absolute rules and failure is not an option. Short books like these really show an author's ability to write complex and thought-provoking worlds without all the extra length and detail that you can get with longer stories. I was blown away by how rich the world and characters felt. Every twist intern had me hanging on and craving to know what happens next.

P. Djèlí Clark tells of the The Dead Cat Tail Assassins(hard from Tordotcom), who, without cat tails, have to follow rules when accepting an assassination. Eveen the Eviscerator breaks one of these rules when she could not kill her target because the target is a younger, and alive, version of herself. With other assassins on her tail, she has to discover how and why the impossible happened and get herself back to her past. I had a grin the whole time. Recommended.