I always love P. Djeli Clark's twist on historical fantasy and The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is no different. It's a quick moving, rolicking adventure that should appeal to fans of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and the author's take on necromantic magic is fascinating.

The only thing that kept this book from being 5 stars for me was the use of the goddess's dialect, which I often struggled to understand and mostly ended up skimming, however, that is just me, and it is a very small portion of the end of the book, so it did not impact my enjoyment of the story itself.

Thank you, Tor.com and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book!

What a fun read!

This had it all, well-likable, snappy dialogue, comedy, random magic!

One thing that this book seriously accomplishes is making fun to read exposition! Which is so hard in a relatively complex fantasy world setup like this one.

Though not without its flaws, though its nitpicking- the random internet terminology throughout??? Had me thoroughly confused.

At first it was a little funny but it became less and less so the more moments with them were added.

This book was new from me from the author and I thought the characters was super funny. The exchanges between each other was relatable to me. I feel like this book could have been longer and a little bit more detail as far as the world building. Maybe a map as well.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)

The concept was interesting but the execution was lacking for me. The characters didn't feel fully developed and the storyline was boring.

P. Djèlí Clark is back with another laugh-out-loud, creative fantasy with intriguing worldbuilding and well-written main characters. This was more of a novella than a novel, and I wanted to know more about the world and the characters. But for anyone who enjoys P Djeli Clark's other books, this is a must read.

My thanks to NetGalletly and Tor Publishing for this uncorrected digital copy of "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" by P. Djèlí Clark.
An action packed fast paced novella with a one of a kind universe and magic.
This author has such a rich immagination and can build such vivid worlds.
There are endless venues to explore in this new universes if P. Djèlí Clark will decide to expand in this new world.
It was a great experience.
And while the last 10% of the plot reduced some of my initial entuziasm, I would still recommend "The Dead Cat Tail Assassins" to Fantasy readers that want unique world building full of legends, a quantum entanglement and steampunk inspired magic system.


Minor spoiler.
One of my biggest dissapointments was that the use of torture is justified as punishment for people who commited atrocities.
While I aggre of them being brought to justice, I don't agree to the perpetual use of the vicious cycle of violence and revenge.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

A nicely written fantasy set in a world where assassin guilds are legal entities. Filled with lots of fun and funny moments and plenty of plot twists to keep you interested. You get magic and zombies and not-quite-zombies and festivals, plus a bit of time travel and legal contracts. My only quibble was with the patois filled conversations in the last scenes that were somewhat difficult for me to translate.

This book is so much fun. I love P. Djèlí Clark's writing, it is fast paced and evocative and shot through with crackling humour. Eveen is an undead assassin, with no memory of who she was before her soul was given over to the goddess of knives, but she ends up face to face with... her own face? on what should have been a routine assignment. This triggers a hair raising time sensitive quest to find out the truth and see if it can be undone, with her fellow assassins on her tail and the city's magic running high.

There is blood, and death, and assassinations, and demon dogs who eat people, but the tone never becomes too grim. It is so well balanced with humor and burgeoning friendships and I highly recommend it. I need to go read the rest of the author's books right now. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review

“Wi a Aeril. Wi word a law. An di law a fi wi power. Buh wi run tings, tings nuh run wi!”

Although this book ends with a satisfying conclusion, my biggest qualm is that it could’ve been longer. If we cannot have a longer book then we should at least get more stories in this universe because this book is something serious. Clark never disappoints. I fell in love with his work because of Ring Shout. That novella got me out of a pretty bad reading slump. His storytelling is immaculate and it is so full of life. We have so much worldbuilding and character work clocking in at 224 pages! This is a testament to his skills as a writer and it further, in my mind, cements him as one of the best fantasy writers that we currently have.

This book manages to be funny, charming but also equal parts dark with all the action that you could possibly want.

I honestly couldn’t pull myself away. I devoured this book. I could honestly read endless stories that take place in this world.

What a treat. I cannot wait for everyone to read this and I’m so grateful to Tor for letting me have access to an advanced readers copy!

I have tried to read a book by this author before, but I just couldn't get into it. However, I was given this ARC, and I'm glad I gave the author another try.

I really enjoyed the characters and world building. In fact, I would love to see more of this world. I feel like the magic system is really cool and could be developed into so much more.

The story itself is complex and intriguing with lots of little twists and turns, keeping the pages turning.

The only thing that kept this book from being 5* for me was the use of modern colloquial sayings, which just didn't seem to fit, and also the use of dialect by the goddesses, which made it difficult to understand. Luckily, it was only a minor part of the book. If it had been throughout, I wouldn't have finished it, as I'm too neurodiverse to be able to understand what was being said when it isn't written clearly.

I had a very enjoyable experience reading this book. The main Character Eveen was likable and a bit of a book nerd. A girl after my own heart. The Dead Cat Tails Assassins takes a look into what choices could make you become the person that you are, and if that is something that you can accept. Eveen is forced to look at herself in multiple ways to determine if it is worth looking back on the past or looking at the future of just accepting the present. The twists and turns were fun to watch play out and several characters drew a laugh from me. I finished the book all in one sitting and did not regret it.

Um, a story that has both "cats" and "assassins" in the title? Sign me up! It also helps that it was written by one of my favorite new authors of last year. We get Clark's dry sense of humor as well as a fast-paced novella that is well organized with interesting characters. Not to mention the world he has built! Pick this up immediately!

Eveen, a dead (or undead?) member of the Dead Cat Tail Assassins, gets sent on a mission to eliminate a well-protected target. The mission goes sideways when Eveen hesitates, thinking the young woman's face is familiar AND that the target is too young to be killed. Sky, the young woman, thinks Eveen has arrived to rescue her but is stunned to learn not only that Eveen meant to kill her but also that the two of them seem to be the same person.

Thus begins another wonderful tale from the fiercely imaginative mind of P. Djeli Clark. This fast-paced novella has Clark's signature dry humor and ability to spin out a plot from seemingly random and twisted threads. Despite the dangerous and morally questionable nature of her work, Eveen is a fascinating character with a sly wit and a blank space where the memory of her past life would be, so it's a treat to watch her try to figure out why she was sent on an impossible mission. As always, Clark really digs into exploring power dynamics and what justice means to different people, leading to a satisfying finish.

P. Djeli Clark has yet to disappoint me. His characters (especially the female characters), his plots, his pacing, his worldbuilding are all amazing. And whoever is responsible for this gorgeous cover deserves a raise. 5 stars, give me more in this universe, please!

Thank you, Tor.com and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

P. Djeli Clark immediately became a must read from the first book of his I read.
Always so blindingly clever.
In this world the Goddess of Death grants a new life to those sign her contract to be reborn after death
and become Her Holy Assassins.
Eveen is one such dead assassin.
Resurrected seven years ago she has become a legend.
But now she has a problem.
Her younger self has been impossibly plucked from the past and is her new target.
A mission she cannot complete, even though she must or risk the anger of The Goddess of Death.
Kick ass action. A new incredible world to explore. And best of all wonderfully complete and compelling characters.