4 stars, 7.71 on CAWPILE

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Another novella that I wish was longer! I LOVED this world. We get so much world building in such a short time. I love the concept of undead assassins. Despite only being 224 pages, I felt like I was able to get to know and care about the characters, which is no easy feat to do in such few pages.
I also need to note that the writing was so enjoyable and humorous! I found myself smirking and chuckling at multiple points throughout this story.

I need more. I sincerely hope that this isn't the last we see of Eveen, Fennis, and Sky!

Highly recommend everyone picking this one up!

P Djeli Clark does it again! The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is an almost genre-hop from one of my favourite authors. Nevertheless it was incredibly exciting to read a full adult high fantasy novel from him, especially one dealing with funky undead assassins, gods, and just really fucked up magic. Clark’s tone and style of writing is incredibly witty, something I haven’t seen them flex before, but is a delight to experience. And hell yes to eating the rich! Literally!

Thanks to Netgalley and Tordotcom for sending me a review copy of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins.

P. Djeli Clark doesn't miss! His world building and character development are unmatched. Such a charming tale of assassins (that really don't do *that* much assassinating here,) parallel lives and universes, evil bureaucrats, and unique worldbuilding that I have come to expect and love when reading all of Clark's books. My only complaint is a similar one I have to most of his other books, though. I would love to spend more time in this world and with these characters. As well as he develops them in a novella format, it makes it really hard to say goodbye by the end. I always seem to be wanting more, but really, in the best way possible.

P. Djeli Clark is an incredibly strong author and this one was a great selection. This world of assassins built by him was simply gorgeous. Thanks for the arc.

This was a fun and fast paced novella. Eveen is an undead assassin who is part of a guild bound to a goddess. She has to complete whatever contract she gets or she breaks one of the three most important rules that could cause her guild to be destroyed. I really enjoyed Ring Shout (the audiobook is sooo good!) by this author so I wanted to try another book of his. I enjoyed the action and the humor that was sprinkled into it. Eveen was a fun character to follow along in this story. I think he set up an excellent setting and enjoyed the mythology he created but I didn’t really understand why he used terms such as edgelord and neck beards, it just seemed a little out of place. The ending was wrapped up nicely but still left me wanting more

Thank you to NetGalley and TOR publishing for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by P Djèlí Clark even though he’s been on my radar for a while now. I didn’t quite know what to expect when starting the book but I soon realized what a master world builder Clark is. For such a small book, the world was fully fleshed out and the reader has an easy time understanding what’s going on in the world.
One of the issues I had with the book was the pacing- the book is fairly short (it’s a novella) but sometimes I felt that the story was dragging a bit. The last 20% was very fast paced and enjoyable but I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to start to really enjoy it. I’ll definitely be checking out other books by Clark in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and TOR for an eARC of this book.

P. Djèlí Clark just never misses for me.

We get this clockwork world of undead assassins and crime deals gone wrong and it's all wrapped up in this sense of adventure and confident wit. I eat it up every time.

If you like the Dead Djinn Universe, you'll love this.

Thank you to the author, publishers, and Netgalley for an advanced e reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for providing me this ARC for review.

Holy oh my, what a wild ride. This story gave me supernatural John Wick vibes in the best way. Once the story took off, it didn't let up. I loved the dynamic between Sky and Eveen (I've never heard the name Eveen before and love it, randomly!) and how they used both brains and brawn to get out of their predicament. There were several amusing quips throughout that book that I also enjoyed in an otherwise fairly dark plot - it gave the read a bit of brevity. The cultural references and slang were also great elements, and I wasn't surprised at how the goddesses spoke - although I'm sure my translations were a bit struggle-like. 😂

The ending did feel a tad rushed and they accomplished a LOT in one night, but that's expected for the length. Overall, I thought this was a unique tale of duality, morality, and standing up to power. This was my first read by Clark, but it will certainly not be my last.

I was definitely excited by the appearance of P. Djèlí Clark’s new book on Netgalley: the summary was tantalising, the cover looks awesome, and I was quickly intrigued by the world once I started reading. I don’t know quite why it didn’t work for me — it may be as simple as it being the wrong time, but somehow I just didn’t get properly sucked in, and the pace didn’t feel quite right.

Objectively, because I feel safest there while I can’t put my finger on what’s up, the world-building is really cool. There’s a whole bustling city of which we see glimpses, rather than a city that comes to life only for the characters to run through it; there are characters busy getting on with their lives in ways that aren’t fully explored and thus leave tantalising things to wonder about; there’s the whole concept of Eveen’s unlife, and how she ended up where she is. The ending isn’t too neat: possibilities remain, and the characters’ lives (or unlives) go on.

The climactic scenes are really cool, and I think I’d like to see more of the world, if Clark writes any other books in this setting. I don’t know why I struggled with this one, why I kept stopping and starting; if the premise entices you, I’d give it a go.

WOW! What a story!! I could not put this down!! 4.5 stars for sure! Thank you NetGalley and TOR publishing for the digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review:

This was such a unique story that was fast paced, action packed, with a badass female main character, and a great concept. Eveen, an undead assassin gets contracted to assassinate…no spoilers 🙈… and ends up going on a journey to solve the mystery of who ordered this and why…and well how. Just wow, I really did not see each plot twist coming. I loved the concept behind this story, it was refreshing to read something new. I enjoyed Clark’s story telling, and the lore of this world.

The only reason this isn’t a five star read for me is because I do wish there was a little more time spent on getting to know all the characters. I didn’t feel awfully connected to any of them except the main character, and even then that falls pretty short. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing though because it’s not the point of this story. It did exactly what I think it wanted to do and that’s okay. This is one of the more plot driven books over character driven where the story will stay with you forever even though the characters might not.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I’m going to start off the cuff that I round up when giving my stars here, but this book is a 4.5 for me because of 2 things. The first is the casual violence towards the two poor stepper birds that did no wrong. The second is the eye dialect (or is it simply a dialect? I’m honestly not sure) in the last two chapters of the book that made those conversations so incredibly difficult to follow.

Depicted violence towards animals is a squick for me, though I can tolerate it if it’s more a statement of fact then actual description. In this, what Eveen does to the birds is a simple one short sentence statement, and while I didn’t like it, it was pretty inline with her character and the universe of this book.

Readers familiar with the Dead Djinn Universe will see similarities, such as clockworks, but this universe is very much its own, with a different set of rules and use of magic. And I really enjoyed it. It was interesting, creative, funny, and Clark provided enough information for worldbuilding while still leaving some mystery if he continues to write in this universe. Which I hope he does.

I saw a couple of reviews that commented on the casual evisceration at the end of the book, which I’m honestly surprised by, because these people are assassins, and Eveen had already eviscerated someone. They were also surprised that Skye joined in, but again, even though we don’t know the exact reason she’ll eventually make the decision to become an undead assassin, the willingness and penchant towards violence is clearly already there and had to have started somewhere.

First Thank you Net Galley and Tor Books,

We follow Eveen who is an assassin but not just any assassin she’s a dead assassin picked by the Goddess of Assassin’s. The most important rule of the Guild of Assassin is to always finish a contract! So what happens when Eveen gets a mission and she finds herself not completing it because she remembers a memory. She’s not suppose to remember her memories and why does her contract look familiar ? Does she complete it or does she try to get to the bottom of what’s really going on even if it’s means suffering the wrath of the
Goddess.

It’s always the shortest books that leave a lasting impression and make u wish the story didn’t end. For a story that’s a little over 200 pages it sure did Pack a punch. The world building, history, magic system, the gods were so cool and interesting. There wasn’t a single character that was boring! It was fast paced, action packed and filled with magic. I seriously hope the author expands more in this word. It felt like a movie unfolding in my head. This is book for the girls that love a woman assassins who are confident bad bitches! This is my first time reading a P. Djeli Clark book and it won’t be my last.

This book is so much fun, and such a thrilling roller coaster ride of magic and action, undead shenanigans, intricate intrigue, and glorious world-building. The characters just pop off the page, the world is vivid and exciting in all its complexity and detail, and the book had me literally laughing out loud several times. Another hugely entertaining book by P. Djèlí Clark.

I received an ARC from NetGalley


I thought the story was pretty interesting... until the last scene. The resolution is kinda goofy and hard to read. And it always takes me out of stories like this when random modern words are thrown in for no reason- like "mansplaining." If it was supposed to be funny, it wasn't. And I also haven't heard someone say "trifling" (as in the slang way, or I assumed so from the context) since what, Destiny's Child in the 90s/2000s?

The world seemed interesting, and there were some good ideas here. The ending just kinda killed it for me.

Absolutely loved this book!
Snarky and complicated heroine. Unaliving. Interesting plot twists.
Fantastic world building with beautifully written prose.
The book was a delightful and amusing read that is in my top three reads for 2023.

I should have loved this book. The world was vibrant and the premise and main character were interesting. I love a brutal assassin with a heart of gold! But the book was too short to dive into what was a really fascinating setting. I wanted more… instead, everything seemed rushed. But despite that, the plot ramped up and we were set up for a great ending that would have made the whole book worth the read.

But just as the book was sucking me in, just as I started turning pages as fast as a could, a character arrived that was so hard to understand it ground the book to a halt.

I understand what the author was trying to do with the goddess. I actually love the choice of accent. But that accent could have been conveyed in a way that was easier to read. Instead, it took a great ending (plot-wise) and turned it into a frustrating slog. I’m so sad because I can see what this book could be with a bit more background and a smoother ending. But in the end, it was just disappointing.

A well written and fun fantasy novel. Just what I wanted to read. I'm excited for this to be published to get another read in physical form.

Dude, seriously I am OBSESSED. I love everything about this story. I mean total chef’s kiss! I love the world building, along with the lore that sets the story. I love how the Festival reminds me of Mardi Gras. The characters were funny and each of them unique in their own way and played a special part in the story. I love this story!

This novella solidifies my conviction that P.Djèlí Clark is a master of short form. (Blows kisses to the Djinn universe short stories, especially the Haunting of the Tram Car 015)

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is not from the Djinn universe, but it's an enjoyable fast-paced novella on its own right. It develops at pace wraps up the adventure it focuses on nicely, without digging too deep into potential implications of complicated magic, in-universe theology or other unlikely events - a perfect bite of entertainment.

It's a bit hard to talk about this one without giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say that while I have some reservations about some of the author’s decisions that came closer to the end of the book (like the moral aspect of the main villains’ eventual fate and the special speak for the special beings), it was great as usual with this author to watch how fleshed out the world was: there are so many neat details that help make it feel real, but it doesn’t reach the levels of information overload that might confuse or discourage the reader. The characters, for all their brief appearance, were entertaining and fun to follow for this short ride, though in a longer story they would definitely require more depth in order to be relatable.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Dot Com for an early copy for the review.

It’s been a while since I read a P. Djèlí Clark novella and I forgot how the author is able to create a unique and vibrant setting in so few pages. The rich worldbuilding, intricate mythologies, and character work always blows me away.

3.85/5