Eule Luftschloss's Reviews > The Haunting of Tram Car 015

trigger warning
(view spoiler)[attack on pregnant women, killing of newborns (hide spoiler)]

Kairo, 1912. Agents Hamed and Onsi are called to investigate and clear up the Haunting of Tram Car 015, which at first appears to be a routine case. Until it doesn't.

I knew nothing about this but the title, it having convinced me I wanted to give it a try since I can't resist a story about a haunting and never read about a haunted tram car. I might at some point read the blurp and known it's set in Egypt, but I forgot and was pleasantly surprised.
You see, I study Egyptology, and I've been meaning to pick up some more recent literature set there, and as always, I prefer my reading to be fantasy if possible.
This novella is a pleasant mix of alternate history, steampunk and horror, including Arabic and Eastern folklore and some hints to ancient Egypt mythology.

We have a genderfluid character, a person - a djinn - whom I'd like to know more about, and I am sure I'll look into gender representation and djinns in the future.

Aside from the main plot, there is a secondary plot going on, that the main characters have no influence about but which influences what they do, about women suffrage in Egypt. Another thing I should look up, is this the alternate history part? My grasp on modern history in Egypt is as bad as it is on most other nations in the world.

The characters are three dimensional, the setting is very interesting, atmospheric. I even liked the narrator. Also, for everyone who has, like me, hearing problems: This audiobook is narration only and does not include sound effects.
As fun as those might be, they often make it impossible for me to listen to the story.

I will look up other works by the same author, especially the other story that's set in the same universe.