Dead Cat Tail Assassins

P. Djèlí Clark is an absolute master at his craft, and exemplifies that once again in this outrageously fun stand-alone novel.
He starts drops you right into the action, but knows exactly when and how to drop nuggets of world-building and lore so that you feel neither overwhelmed nor confused about what’s going on. Everything you learn feels so natural and well integrated.

The tension never really drops, which makes sense for a book that takes places over just a few hours - there’s no downtime for them, so there’s none for you. That said, it never feels overwhelming. When the first big “plot twist” hits it’s surprising, but leaves so much more to be explored. And explore it he does! While there may be aspects you predict about the plot as you go, nothing will ever quite go as you think.

I love that this book doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fun, it’s goofy, and it has so much heart. I love so many of these characters even though we only spent a small amount of time with them. Such an absolutely fun ride!

Thanks to TOR for sharing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to keep this review spoiler free since release day is a few months out.

There are many things to like about The Dead Cat Tail Assassins. The central conceit of a guild of undead contract killers is an incredibly interesting, exciting idea. The world building is vivid and draws on Steampunk tropes without falling back on some of the sillier tenets of the subgenre. Unique action sequences are peppered throughout and are thrilling every single time. The port city of Tal Abisi and the stories within are also evocative of the Dishonored series of video games (a personal favorite of mine.)

Clark’s sense of humor simply does not work for me. Each joke landed like a lead balloon every single time, and throwing in anachronistic terms like “mansplaining” ellicited full body cringe. Despite this, most of the tone was great - it felt like a lighthearted, swashbuckling tale that counterbalanced lots of grimdark subject matter deftly.

Another point of contention, similar to Clark’s The Black God’s Drums, is the brevity of the story. Usually I appreciate economical storytelling that trims away fat. But in Clark’s case, he creates these amazing worlds that could be so much richer if he took the time to flesh them out further. The resolution also felt truncated and rushed, and the grotesque subject matter was treated in a cartoonish manner that didn’t match the tone of the rest of the novel. Overall if the story had been expanded, I think it would have been one of the best novels of the year.

Despite my nitpicking, I wholeheartedly recommend Dead Cat Tail Assassins, and Clark’s work in general. I hope to see more of Eveen’s story in the future.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a fantastic upcoming novella from one of my favorite working fantasy authors, P. Djèlí Clark! He builds immersive worlds that I want to explore, to dig into every nook and cranny, to uncover the magic system (or just let it all wash over me). 
Eveen the Eviscerator is a Dead Cat Tail Assassin in the service of the goddess Aeril, “Matron of Assassins, The Silent Blade, the Lady of Knives, Snatcher of Souls—and, sometimes, the Crafter of Delectable Culinary Delights.” Aeril resurrects people (wiping their memory, but making them nearly invincible) who have pledged themselves to her service, and she has a strict code that her assassins must abide by. That’s how Eveen finds herself in a tough position: she’s sworn to carry out her contract, but can’t, because killing her latest mark might break all the rules, and maybe the world.
Clark’s writing is witty, wry, action-packed, and filled with nuance. I highly recommend this book for fantasy-lovers, for Assassin’s Creed fans, for fans of non-European-set fantasy. Heads up, there’s a lot of swearing, but it’s a lot of fun, regardless.

THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS is equal parts witty, quirky, dynamic, and sarcastic. It’s a deadly and fast-paced novella filled with humourous banter that skews at moments to a dark yet absurd comedic tone and employs smart and efficient world building. For those looking for a quick and fun read.

4.5! This book was so much fun. It truly has a unique premise. Eveen is an assassin in an assassin's guild called The Dead Cat Tails. The twist is, all of the assassins are undead. In their living life, They pledged themselves to the Goddess of assassins and cooks (both users of knives). Eveen is given a contract with a complication and she needs to find a way out. I rated this a 4.5 stars and I will be buying a physical copy when it releases in August 2024. I laughed out loud so many times. There are enjoyable with witty banter, lots of action, and a great mystery to solve. I really enjoy an FMC in her 30s - I appreciate a more mature main character. I tired to find plot holes with this short but complex story, but could not. I really, really hope that Clark decided to write more books in this world because I need to read more adventures of Eveen the Eviscerator. I immediately picked up another P. Djeli Clark book after this because I liked his writing style so much.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Are we supposed to root for the protagonist's actions at the end? Because if so, the author's sense of justice is very different from mine. I found this was the same at the end of his A Master of Djinn. I enjoyed both stories until the resolution, both of which have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Eveen is a colorful character whose unorthodox methods and foul mouth drive the momentum of this story. I laughed and shook my head at her antics many times. I loved her friendship with Fennis and building friendship with Sky.

The worldbuilding is complex, weaving together history, cultural celebrations, and cuisine into a living, breathing world despite the story's short length.

The action is smart, dark, and brutal. Each character brings something new to the table to challenge Eveen, keeping the progression interesting.

Sometimes the balance between silliness and seriousness feels off, with the silliness veering into over-the-top unbelievable territory, especially at the end.

Hopefully by the time the book is published the punctuation misuses (especially the dashes) will be fixed. They added unnecessary pauses that threw off the pacing.

You might like this if you like: The Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard, Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

If this was rated off of world building alone, it would be a 5 star easily. The setting is so intricate it makes it truly feel as though the story is a small piece of a larger narrative- incredibly impressive given the short page count. The pages are just rich with details about food, culture, gods and lore. I want to know more, I’d absolutely read another book set in this world, but sadly this one just didn’t work for me.
The downside: the characters just fall a little flat within their story. The dialogue is quippy and sarcastic (which I normally love), but in this case it makes the stakes of the plot feel really low, almost as if the characters are unbothered by the really important events happening to them. Some dialogue points are also a little too cringey, or have modern language that doesn’t really fit, like the line “Smackety-smack-smack” or calling someone a “neck beard”. I also really struggled to read the goddesses speech at the end- I appreciate the effort at making an accent apparent, but it made it really hard to get through that section and some of the meaning was lost.

I had some hesitations about this book at first. The title had me assuming the book may be a little more corny or childish, but I'm glad I was wrong! I'm just now getting around to writing this review, but this book was a smooth, easy read. Once I picked it up, it was so hard to put down. Filled with page turning excitement and twists to keep me hooked, I was fully inundated in a magical world. I feel I have a pretty robust vocabulary, but I ain't got nothing on this author! Thank goodness for Kindle's highlight & define feature. It's been a while since I've looked up so many words, but that was more of a personal preference. Context clues were enough to understand what was going on, but I wanted to catch up on all the colorful words. Overall, to finish this book, I chose reading over sleep… and I LOVE sleep. It was worth the read. Thank you Tor Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a 3 star book for me. I appreciate how developed this world was for such a short story - it is beautiful and vibrant and contains so much! I also really enjoyed how unique this story felt to the badass women assassin trope. Eveen was a very human character who definitely broke the mold of the stoic, emotionless, badass assassin (don't get me wrong, she's still a badass - she also just has emotions and a personality). Overall, all the characters felt very individualistic (if not entirely original), and I particularly enjoyed the variety of assassins!

Unfortunately the writing was a bit of a drawback for me. I'm not a fan of repurposing modern language into other settings, so the use of terms like "shipping" and "edgelord" (even though their meanings are very different in this novella) pushed me out of the story. It felt like they were supposed to be an inside joke for the reader, but it just fell a little flat. Some of the snark and wit didn't quite hit the mark for me either, often causing me to pause and reread a line, or throwing me out of the story entirely because it didn't make sense. I also very much struggled with the dialogue at the end in which the accent of a character is written out. It took so much effort to understand what I was reading that I ended up skipping that characters part of the conversation and would figure out what was said based on the other parts of the conversation.

While the world was beautifully built, the amount of detail and exposition made the story drag a bit. There was also an issue with the timeline. There was an excessive amount of events that happened in a single night that made it difficult to continue suspending my disbelief. I think there are several bits that could be cut out to make the story's pacing more consistent and easier to stay connected to.

Overall the world was beautiful; the characters were fun; and the story was interesting. But ultimately these things were lost a bit in the excessive exposition, some quirky writing, and the unrealistic timeline.

I was given an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark is a fantasy novella where Eveen, an undead assassin in the service of a goddess, is given a target only to find out the girl she’s supposed to kill has her face.

Everything I have read by Clark I have loved and this was no exception. Eveen is a fun character to experience the plot with and the twists are shocking without feeling like they come out of nowhere. I loved the stuff regarding time travel and souls, it’s right on that cusp of science fantasy, which is one of my favorite subgenres.

How the action is portrayed is a great example of how to depict a fight scene in prose and the use of rules as a theme that reoccurs added to the worldbuilding and Eveen’s character as well as the plot. The only thing I liked more was the dynamic between Eveen and Fennis, two work friends who have one of the funniest dynamics I’ve read in a fantasy in a while.

I would recommend this to fans of fantasy assassins and readers looking for a novella with action and science fantasy elements.

Unfortunately, while the premise and cover of this pulled me in the book itself just didn’t. I think this book would be perfect for someone looking for a fast paced action movie style book heavily laced with sarcasm. But for me, it was reading like a manic pixie dream girl, I just didn’t enjoy the dialogue and didn’t find myself connecting with the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for sending me this ARC!

This was such an incredible story! The only words I can think of to describe it is mind blowing!! The writing and penmanship itself was beautiful. The way everything is explained and the details that are included truly transported me to this world while I was reading.

The plot and storyline are astounding. There were so many twists that kept me on my toes the whole time, the pacing was fast, and there was a lot of action sequences. The story itself is so unique that I was overwhelmed at how well it was captured in such a short amount of time. With each page turned, I was truly reminded of the magic of writing. Anything that seems implausible or impossible can be well within reach in the lines of a page. Clark executed it all perfectly.

Also, with it being a novella, I was equally surprised at how well the character work was in so few pages! Eveen is a kick butt female protagonist that lives in a sort of grey area. However, I was rooting for her the whole time. She had depth. I learned about her internal struggles, external struggles, hobbies, friends, and life in a short time yet in the most palatable way to read.

I will definitely check out more works by this author, because I thought about this story every second I wasn’t reading it.

It comes out August 6, 2024, and not only will I be buying a physical copy, but I will also be recommending to everyone I know in the meantime!

This novella was not what I expected! It’s a very short, punchy read. It is jam packed with action and adventure (and violent limb breaking). The aesthetic is a distinctive Afro-Caribbean flavor of steampunk, which is really cool and fun to experience. While it is a novella, the elements of the magical world are sketched out in vast detail and deeply thought out.

There is a pretty major plot twist that occurs early on in the story, that I completely did not see coming. That twist sets up a little mystery/situation that the characters spend the rest of the story trying to solve. I’ve never read a plot twist like the one in this book, and it really had me on the edge of my seat.

I’m realizing that the structure of novellas may not totally be for me, as I usually prefer a more fleshed out story where I can spend more time with the characters. And while I appreciate good fight scenes, there was a little too much “undead gore” for my particular liking. Otherwise, this is a fantastic book that I know will make a big splash!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

3.75 STARS

In bookish spaces, there's a lot of talk about what makes a book a 5-star read. Sometimes I give a five star rating because I think a book tackled a complicated/emotional/underrepresented topic in a way that moves me. And other times I'm reading the book and going, "WTF is happening? WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN NEXT???" and this is in the latter category.

I've read Clark's work before, but not his Dead Djinn of Cairo series, although it's been on my radar for a while. I guess I need to fix that, because I spent the first half Dead Cat Tail Assassins wondering if it was supposed to be dark, or funny, or what, and... turns out it's all three. I can't talk about the ending without spoiling *something*---a surprising amount of stuff happens in this novella---but I could not possibly have anticipated the utterly bonkers and totally delightful turn the story took. It's so good, you guys. It's outrageous and it's good and now I have to go read all the other works in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC. So many twists. So many turns. I love it.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins from author P. Djèlí Clark!
I am mostly familiar with Clark’s writing from Ring Shout, which I read a few years ago, although he tends to write more in the fantasy and sci-fi genres rather than horror. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is no exception – set in a magical world of gods and killers. While there are no dead cats in this tale (see what I did there?), there are certainly undead contract killers who must carry out every job assigned to them.
This was a short read, clocking in at around 200 pages, and my biggest complaint is the world-building in the book felt large enough for the story to be a fully fleshed out novel. It didn’t feel like there was enough time or space on the page to get to know and appreciate the characters, specifically our protagonist. There is a lot of humor and heart here, however little room for character development. I appreciated the action and tongue-in-cheek dialogue, but it still felt like something was missing.
If you’re a fan of Clark, or a fan of sci-fi/fantasy action, this might be worth checking out. Although I loved Ring Shout, and will actively seek out more of Clark’s writing, this one fell a bit flat. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is set to be published in August of this year.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a fast-paced story that features a strange but colorful world of deities, assassins, and the contracts that bind them together. Featuring an intriguing mystery and solid world building, I felt like I could envision the world as Eveen and Sky ran across the trade city of Tal Abisi, trying to figure out the reason behind their mysterious connection.

I enjoyed the two main characters and the side characters really shined. They were unique, full of life, and I enjoyed getting to know them whenever Eveen and Sky encountered a new one, whether they were a terrifying assassin or a sweet but strong grandmother that could make a mean meat pie. Although I did enjoy this book, there were some things that were missing from this short story. In my opinion, some of the jokes fell flat, and they felt almost sitcom-like, I could easily imagine the jokes being in a Disney or Nickelodeon tv show. There were some moments that felt out of place and awkward. It was a smart choice to make this story a shorter novella style, I felt it was quick and to the point, and yet I still felt that I would have liked to learn a bit more about the side characters. I mean, a powerful female guild boss, a group of sadistic twin sisters, and an assassin man made of bones, what's not to love about that? They were very interesting and each of them had a unique voice but because of the short style of this novel, we only get to see these characters for a moment. Eveen only comes into contact with most of the other characters for a short time, but I felt that going more into depth about their backgrounds and stories would have helped me feel more connected to the characters. Perhaps focusing on a smaller amount of characters and allowing readers to spend more time with them rather than having a large amount side characters and shorter time with them would have helped this story.

In summary, the shorter format strengthened this novel, but it also led to a lack of depth with the side characters. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of this authors work, as Clark certainly knows how to create vibrant, and fantastical worlds within his pages.

When the main character told two goddesses: "Thought you were supposed to be some kind of bad bitches or something. Trifling." it solidified that this was a 5-star read for me.

Going into this novella, I didn't have any expectations. I saw a fun premise (and a stunning cover) and I was sold. Immediately, the story sucks you right into the world of Tal Abisi, following the assassin Eveen.

I really enjoyed this read because it didn't take itself too seriously, but it still proved to be incredible storytelling and so much heart. To see Eveen and Sky interact and get close during this impossibility bringing them together was so much fun, even as their lives were in danger. (Though I'm not sure if that would count for Eveen given her undead status).

Anyway, this was a solid novella! Super fun, dangerous, creative storyline, and the world building felt incredibly immersive without info dumping

I absolutely LOVED the sarcasm and banter between all the characters in this!
My low star rating was due to me being more of a plot-driven girlie. There was just way too much SLOOOOOOWWW plot progression in between massive amounts of dialog.
There were times where the dialog also felt rather choppy and the ending was just weird for me.

I think if you enjoy lots of dialog and banter, you'll for sure enjoy this and rate it higher than me!

Thank you, Netgalley for the advanced copy.

A short but exciting and fast-paced fantasy novella. You don't always need 700 or more pages to tell a good story, with interesting characters, and this proves it. I'll be reading more from this author.

What a fantastic story! A fun, darkly humorous novella with characters who can't help but like. This might be my favorite by P. Djèlí Clark yet! A highly unique and descriptive world, complicated but loveable characters, and a fast-moving plot makes this a book not to be missed. While a short story I have no doubt this will be one of my favorite reads from this year, especially with such a perfect ending. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.