The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

Clark is a new-to-me author, and I was impressed by his well-considered, multi-dimensional approach in creating the female characters. They are smart, opinionated, powerful yet self-aware, and in touch with every aspect of their femininity.

The Black God’s Drums is set in an alternate reality post-confederate New Orleans. It follows the adventures of a precocious orphan teenage girl, Jacqueline, a.k.a Creeper, who has been blessed with special abilities.

Recently, Oya, the Orisha of winds and storms, sent Creeper a terrifying vision about the city. But she is too preoccupied with her dream to see the world, to worry about it. Luckily, she stumbles upon valuable information that she hopes to trade for free passage on Captain Ann-Marie pirate airship. As Creeper becomes convinced that Oya has more tricks up her sleeve, what looks like luck begins to look predetermined.

In the highly energetic world of the novella, the streets of New Orleans come alive with its multi-ethnic populace made up of Africans, African-Americans, and Afro-Caribbean people from different countries. Unfortunately, the narrator did not do justice to the voices of the characters of African descent, but every other aspect of the production served to amplify the immersive aura of the narrative.

Clark is a new-to-me author, and I was impressed by his well-considered, multi-dimensional approach in creating the female characters. They are smart, opinionated, powerful yet self-aware, and in touch with every aspect of their femininity. That being said, I believe that there was a lot of untapped potential in the plot and the characters.

Regardless, it was an interesting read. I liked his take on the three Orishas; Sango, Oya, and Oshun whose powers were wielded at various junctures.

A perfect read for fans of fantasy novels with strong female leads like The Poppy War Series and Children of Blood and Bone.