Thank you, netgalley, for letting me read and review this book. This was my first time reading anything by the author, and I would be looking for more of their books to read in the future. I liked the writing style and the premise of this world. With it being a shorter story, it moves fast, which makes it hard to connect with the characters. I would have really liked it if it was a longer story that took its time so you could learn more about the world and the characters. I would love it if this did become part of a larger book so we could get to see more of this world and how things came to be.

TL;DR

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark is a wonderful, action-packed book. Follow Eveen as she tries to unravel what is happening to her in this engrossing world. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.

Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

When I was in college and didn’t have much money, I used to select fantasy novels based on their page count. I figured that I got more for my money with more pages. But more pages doesn’t mean better quality. The science fiction and fantasy (SFF) genre has generated some large books of late, but Tor.com has also begun bringing back the novella and the novellette. These shorter works may have fewer pages, but they are filled with quality. One good example of their high quality stories is The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark. This short novel features action, wonderful world-building, and characters that are fun, funny, and badass. Clark made sure that the reader gets the most bang for their buck.

Eveen the Eviscerator is dead. She is also a highly skilled assassin. Both of these things happen to be true. Eveen owes a portion of her afterlife to the Goddess of assassins. As such, she belongs to the Dead Cat Tail Assassin guild where she takes contracts with divine rules. If she accepts a contract and fails to carry it out, The retribution shall be at the hands of the Goddess herself and extended to her guild. So, of course, the story begins with Eveen accepting a contract that she can’t fulfill. As a functional zombie, she has no memory of her life. Her existence prior to her death is supposed to be lost to her. So, how come her latest target elicits memories Eveen shouldn’t have? She needs to figure out what’s happening to her before her failure destroys her and every one of her guild-mates.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark is a fast paced, third person adventure. The novel is short and action-packed. It’s in an interesting world of gods, zombies, and magic. Clark has created a world that begs for exploration. Highly recommended.

Eveen

Eveen is wonderful. She fits as an assassin because she’s insubordinate and strong willed. I loved reading about her. Her catchphrase is amazing, and I hope we get to see her again.

She wasn’t what I expected prior to reading, and I’m grateful for that. I was expecting a high fantasy-esque type assassin. She was not that. Her voice was wonderful; it was modern and appropriately full of snide.

The Central Mystery

The reason that Eveen couldn’t continue with the contract was easily discovered if read closely. I knew early on what had happened, and I continued to read for confirmation. Regardless, I liked the mystery, and I found that how Clark wrapped up the novel fit well.

As a reviewer, I go back and forth on the effectiveness of the mystery. On the one hand, it’s just there to move the story along and give a reason for these wonderful characters to act. On the other, it’s one that readers steeped in the SFF genre will pick up on. In the end, I settled on it being effective because this isn’t a mystery story. It’s an adventure story set off by the mystery itself.

World Building

As an SFF fan, I love intriguing worlds. The creativity, the weirdness, the unexpected differences make a for a background that keeps me immersed in a story. Clark has created a world that I want to know more about. The gods, the guilds, all of it. I want to experience more of Eveen’s world because Clark filled it with interesting concepts. The books has a festival with costumes, a university, and a magical ecological disaster. One of my favorite example is that the goddess of assassins is also the goddess of chefs. It’s beautiful.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassin’s guild might be my favorite non-Eveen aspect. It’s leader, Baseema, is a woman with a scary past, and that comes across in the novel. I appreciated her and the Banari man that she was entertaining. Luckily, the reader gets to see more of the guild as Baseema sends assassins after Eveen. Remember, her choice affects the entire guild, and thus they have to protect themselves. With each assassin that Eveen faces off against, readers get to see the diversity of Clark’s imagination. Each assassin felt unique and like level bosses in a video game. It would be neat to see more of them, and it makes me wonder if there are other assassins guilds.

Conclusion

P. Djèlí Clark’s The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a wonderful, fast-paced, short novel that delights. This fascinating world is only surpassed by a main character that is as fun as she is deadly. I don’t know if Clark plans to return to this world or to Eveen, but I sure hope so. In a time of door-stopper series, this slim, action-packed joy is exactly the SFF genre needs.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was an interesting read. I liked the description and the cover. This was my first time reading something by Clark and really enjoyed the writing style. The world building and description was beyond what I anticipated as it was very thorough. The characters were interesting though I wish they had been more developed. I don't have an issue with the pacing of the story, but it does seem as though because of the pace that the MC wasn't able to have the type of growth that makes you connect with the character in some way.


Thank you to P. Djèlí Clark, Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I hate the forgotten identity trope, but there are a few exceptions (i.e. When the Moon Hatched), but this was not it. The writing style really wasn’t for me, and when the little girl was introduced it felt like a hundred movies I’ve watched. There is limited originality in the assassin saving the kid trope, and the combination of two tropes I don’t like, I chose to DNF at the 20% mark. Maybe if I loved the writing style or the main character, I could have pushed through the story, but ultimately this wasn’t the book for me.

Thank you to P. Djèlí Clark and Tor Publishing Group (through Netgalley) for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is a novella overflowing with rich world building, mysterious magic, and assassins.

When Eveen is conscripted for a job it seems straightforward. Find the mark. Kill the mark. But when the mark brings about a memory Eveen isn't supposed to be able to have, her whole world is thrown upside down. Now there's a ticking bomb ready to go off, because Even wants answers, and if the job isn't complete all hell could break loose.

Ah. Thank goodness for P. Djèlí Clark. He always delivers. I have yet to be let down, or have an unenthusiastic response to whatever he's written.

This book was so much fun. From start to finish I was enthralled, and if I wasn't a lowly mortal who needs sleep to function I would have read this all in one sitting. For being 224 pages, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins packs one hell of a punch. I’m always floored by how vibrant and talented this author’s writing is. There are characters all over the spectrum of likeability. A fictional town that I would kill to visit one day. Lore and mysteries to uncover. And Gods with direct control over their followers. Just awesome.

Eveen is an audacious undead assassin with incredible skills. If you like clever FMCs, look no further, P. Djèlí Clark has your back.

Would I recommend this novella? Absolutely.

I was really excited to pick up this new novella from P Djèlí Clark clark (which will be published on August 6, 2024!), but unfortunately, I feel pretty conflicted about it now that I've read it.

There are many positives to this novella, starting with the premise - Eveen, a dead/undead woman, works as an assassin in a magical city that is absolutely bursting at the seams with creative world-building. I love P. Djèlí Clark's writing style - it's descriptive, beautiful, and funny all at once, and I'm very impressed with the amount of world-building that he was able to establish in so few pages. At first, I was also really drawn in by both the premise and the plot. Eveen, our main character, is given an *unusual* assignment that quickly becomes an action-packed, quest-like plot.

The plot, however, brings me to one of the few things I struggled with in this novella. The plot was so action-packed and fast-paced that I felt like we didn't spend a lot of time with the cast of really interesting characters that the author created. This left me, unfortunately, not very emotionally connected to the characters in the end. My second major critique (which is admittedly more of a personal preference) is that despite the many action scenes, I never really felt like anything bad would happen to our protagonist or secondary main character. Because of this, I kind of checked out during the final climax scene and didn't find myself emotionally satisfied by the ending.

On the whole, I'd still recommend this novella and I'm sure that some readers will absolutely love it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Tordotcom, for this ARC!

Once again, I've found myself falling in love with Clark's writing style. The way Clark formulates sentences really hooks my attention. I must also point out that I loved the humour in this book, whether the humour is coming from the character's inner thoughts, behaviours or the spoken conversations between characters.

The concept behind this story was quite interesting and I felt the story expanded on the baseline idea well. I loved the character work and the plot line was well done from beginning to end. The character work was probably my favourite part of this book. Eveen was particularly hilarious. Despite the fact that the "quality"- for lack of a better word - remained the same from beginning to end, I felt my enjoyment fell off at the climax of the book.

I also wasn't sure what accent Clark intended to give the goddesses but I felt it was too much of an amalgamation of different dialects to be pinned down as a specific one and unfortunately, that was a negative element for me in this reading experience.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to continuing to make my way through P. Djeli Clark's backlist.

4.25 ⭐️

This book was a combination of Looper and John Wick, in the absolutely best way. Of course, the badass female POC assassin made it even better. I’m hesitant to share too much or I’ll spoil it, but please know this novella was a romping good time, with a fast paced plot, that also had character development and introspection. P. Djèlí Clark can really do no wrong.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Tor.com Publishing for graciously providing an eARC. All opinions are my own.

- Eveen’s inner thoughts are hilarious
- love the world this is set in
- would read more in this world but it works very well as a standalone
- Twist is nicely done but is smart and makes sense

This is a wonderful, fast-paced, stand alone fantasy novella. It may not have anything to do with cats or their tails but it has plenty to do with dead assassins. The story is full of action with an intriguing mystery and some unexpected twists. This book is only a few hundred pages but I never felt like the world or the characters were underdeveloped. I loved the banter between the characters. This book deals with a deadly assassins guild but the protagonists snarky personality really lends the story a lightness that makes it a fun and funny read.

I think this is a great read for people that like the dark fantasy vibe but are maybe in need of something a little lighter.

This was a delightful short novel with a really unique and interesting world. The magic and deity system was also unique and really interesting. I loved Eveen's character, Sky had some really funny/sassy lines. I did part guess the twist at the end, but definitely couldn't have predicted the entire thing. Loved the full culmination and ending of this novel. It was such a faun, interesting read. The world P. Djèlí Clark created was something fresh and new to read about, while feeling well thought out. I'd love to read more works set in this world and learn more about it.
Really fun and engaging read! I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a quick but well written short novel that has enough world building to make the setting feel flushed out without overdoing it and some characters that go through an emotional arc and journey that only really takes place over a day or so in roughly 200 pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

My only negative comment is I really struggled to understand what a certain two characters were saying near the end. While their (Jamacian-ish based?) sounding accents came across in the bits of dialogue I could understand, there were whole sentences I couldn't make out or understand. Because that exchange is key to the ending, that took away from the other-wise riveting ending.

As a member of the Dead Cat Tail Assassins, Eveen is a skilled, dangerous killer. She's also dead. At some point in her life, she dedicated herself to the Matron of Assassins, guaranteeing herself to be resurrected upon her death, her memories wiped, ready to serve as an elite contract assassins. The guild itself serves the Matron and only has a few, albeit unbreakable, rules. And one of those is that when you take a contract, you finish the job, no matter what. But when an encounter with a target starts to bring back memories that should be lost, Eveen becomes determined to find out the cause. But if one member of the Dead Cat Tail Assassins won't finish the job....the rest of them will.

THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS is a tight, action-packed affair that earns every ounce of the pitch "John Wick meets D&D." Over the course of a night or two, Eveen must fight off assassin after assassin as she tries to untangle the mystery behind her target. Like a John Wick movie, each assassin has its own style of fighting or ambushing. It's a delight discovering what weird twisted technique or magic each assassin favors, and it catapults the adventure from scene to scene as Eveen and her target work to find answers before an assassin can put them both in the ground.

It does take a little bit for the story to get going, especially with some front-loading exposition at the beginning of the book. It's always hard to set up a fantasy world in such a short amount of time, so the occasional clunky line of dialogue is easy to forgive. That's especially true given that once the story takes off, it takes OFF. So if you're wondering where the action is at first - don't worry, it's coming.

THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS is an easy recommend for anyone looking for a quick adventure to devour. It's a fun time teasing out what is going on with Eveen's target, and the resolution of it was highly satisfactory. In short, P. Djèlí Clark has proven once again that he doesn't need a lot of space to create a fantastical, memorable adventure.

I always love Clark's stories, and this is no exception! Eveen is a snarky assassin, and it's a character archtype I'll never tire of. The mystery was fun and engaging, and the fight scenes were written perfectly - I could picture it like a scene from a movie! As with all of his novella's, I just wish it was longer. I'm craving another full length novel by this author!

Started out kind of slow, but I was able to get into it. Not as page-turny as I would've liked, but the ending delivered. The author is a talented writer and showed his adeptness and world building and humor. I loved the goddesses! The "twist" was a little predictable. I would read more from this author, my first time reading him.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was a fun novella. The ending was great and tied everything together perfectly. I can't pinpoint it, but something felt off/missing about the story. Overall, this novella is everything it is trying to be, and isn't meant to be a revolutionary story. 3.5 rounded up
Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for eARC!

First off, I have to say that I love P. Djèlí Clark. The Black God's Drums was excellent and I really enjoyed everything from the Dead Djinn universe. And The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is another fantastic entry into his impressive body of work. Eveen is an undead assassin who signed a hundred-year contract with a deity to be reborn after her death and fulfill "just" contracts in Tal Abisi. The world building was so wonderful and the story was definitely fast-paced. I loved all of the characters which is an important reader pathway for me. If I can't connect to the characters I will usually have a difficult time caring about anything happening in the story.

There was a great sense of humor that I really dug and I loved the steampunk vibes. I'm an on again, off again steampunk fan, but I think this story used really fun elements of steampunk in its world-building. I'm also learning more and more about myself that I love novellas. A really great novella, where the author can get the reader invested in the characters and world so quickly, blows me away. I was moved by the story and truly loved the ending. While I would love more stories within this world, this tale was wonderful with a satisfying ending.

My favorite quote: "“Every story carries its own truths,” he said, in a very Fennis-like way."

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for a free copy of this eARC in return for an honest review.

Loved, loved, loved this book. The World building was lavish, detailed - I feel this is something the author does really well based on the other books I've read. And of course, I expect a book with an assassin as the main character ... an undead assassin at that ... to be action packed - and we got that in spades! And we got unique characters to booth. Obviously Eveen the undead assassin, but I also liked Fennis, her sort of handler, too. I do wish I had listened to the audiobook as I would have loved to hear the bit at the end, with the gods. Overall - definitely recommend.

Based on the title, cover, and description, I expected this to be a fun and extraordinary book. Unfortunately, from the beginning, I found it off-putting. I didn't like the light tone of the narrative. Despite my long-term passion for Fantasy, it seems I'm not the audience for this novel. I didn't care much about the characters and the convoluted plot.
I enjoyed aspects of the world, and the imaginative descriptions, but overall, the book didn't engage me. For more than half of it, I anticipated things that were apparently meant to be surprises. For me, the banter, humor and self-congratulatory 'cleverness' kept the novel at a superficial level and undercut the suspense. The ending felt as flat and unsatisfying as the rest of it.
The lore and stories within stores were intriguing, and the author made good use of details in the settings and objects in the tale.
This is a beloved author who entertains many readers. This novel simply wasn't a fit for me. The most annoying thing: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins had the potential to be a much stronger book.

Eevee is dead, or to be more clear she is undead. She has no memory as to who she was in life, all she knows is she signed her soul away to the goddess of assassins and is bound to serve in death. Supernaturally powerful and agile she moves through the city at night fulfilling assassination contracts for her guild. Then one day the impossible happens, she is about to strike a killing blow when she has a memory involving the person she is about to kill. Having a memory of your previous life breaks all of the rules and protocols, it shouldn't even be possible. So instead of killing her mark she drags her along with her leaving shocking repercussions in her wake. But she has breached one of the unbreakable rules in not carrying out her contract, and the consequences will be earth shattering if she does not resolve this. Now being pursued doggedly by her own comrades, she must find a path between ruining her own life and godly vengeance being brought down on her guild for an unfulfilled contract. The longer she resists fulfilling this contract the worse things get, but she has to solve the mystery. This is a fun action-packed adventure that's fast paced with interesting characters, witty banter and diverse world building. The author explores some classic fantasy themes with time travel, sorcery and a touch of steampunk but keeps it highly readable with great writing.

Clark gives a new novella in a new fantasy world filled with gods and assassins, his trademark wit, fascinating characters and a well-crafted conundrum when Eveen the Eviserator is sent on a mission… to kill a younger version of herself?