A Master of Djinn

Abigail’s motivation resonates with non-fictional nationalist rhetoric, with her goal of making England “great again” echoing themes of President Trump’s campaign and administrative term, which would have coincided with the period of time Clark wrote the book. As an academic, a Black man, and an author deeply concerned with social justice, Clark would potentially have many reasons to oppose this philosophy and encoding it into his villain’s rhetoric almost certainly serves as a criticism of nationalist politics. The years leading up to the novel’s publication saw large portions of the American populace terrified over the potential outcomes of this style of leadership and would have a strong reaction to seeing Abigail literally attempting to break down the fabric of the world. One of Clark’s academic articles even specifically discusses the historical problems that face Black Americans in the context of Trump’s presidency.

While clockworks still threaten the apocalypse, Fatma pulls out her father’s watch, using it as a tool to center herself. While symbolizing chaos throughout the novel, for the protagonist it means just the opposite. This justifies her role in the novel, as her mastery over time itself imbues her with almost a “chosen one” feel. This foreshadows her mastery over the Seal of Sulayman, and her ability to reverse the chaotic results of the Clock of Worlds.

The typical story beats of detective fiction having concluded, the remainder of the novel dedicates itself to the fantasy genre. Oftentimes, fantasy villains will change form, upgrading to a stronger physical presence. Abigail now pursues her goals unmasked, dropping the illusion spell, indicating an increased confidence; she no longer has a need to hide herself. Furthermore, her friends now surround her, indicating support, and she even rides a mechanical giant—a staple of East Asian fantasy works. Everything about the story indicates it is building up to some type of battle; however, in keeping with the themes of subverting expectations, Fatma will ultimately solve the conflict without violence. Though this is the mindset that Siti starts from, Clark signals his intent for Fatma’s peaceful solution by expressing her disapproval of Siti’s rifle, followed by the bullet itself shattering before impact.

The tone used to describe the djinn also changes drastically here. While each djinn has, until now, received a unique appearance and individual character, they behave now as a zombie hive mind. This shift highlights the drastic effects of enslaving djinn, and by extension the tendency of racial supremacy robbing them of their personality or reducing them to stereotypes. This sets up motivation for their eventual cooperation in rebellion against the Nine Lords.

This chapter unveils the 11th-hour villain, another common fantasy trope, often introduced to elevate the challenge to the hero beyond the primary protagonist, who has now fallen behind in skill and health, or in Abigail’s case both. Her hold over the djinn appears tenuous at best, and she has to pull back that power in order to subjugate the Ifrit King. This is both the first sign of her impending failure and the first indication that the Seal of Sulayman has not chosen her as worthy. Previously, Ifrit have only appeared when under her complete control, and so when they immediately turn on her and begin tearing her creation apart, it indicates that she was destined to fail; successfully harnessing their power for England would have demanded complete control, unbroken, indefinitely. Her precarious mental health helps explain why she summons the Nine Lords, even knowing the frailty of her control over regular djinn.

The Nine Lords present an impossibly difficult battle, a threat that Fatma alone has no chance of overcoming, but Fatma has yet to complete her Hero’s Journey. One difficult step that authors often cheat is the death-and-resurrection, and many characters don’t truly die, but experience a profound defeat, such as Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back, or come very close to death, such as Frodo being incapacitated by spider venom in The Lord of the Rings. Here, this death cheat appears when Fatma resolves to fight Worthington, knowing she has no strength left to win such a battle. Her kiss with Siti offers her a resurrection, and Clark even allows a rebirth moment for Siti when Fatma returns the magical energy, saving her from succumbing to her injuries.