The year is 1884 and Creeper (given name Jacqueline) is a 13-year-old living on the streets of New Orleans. “Les Grand Murs” (the big walls) made of iron surround the city, built to protect against storms greater than hurricanes that ravage the land each year. Creeper was born during one of these great storms. Her mother claims that she was the child of Oya, the great orisha of storms, who came over from Africa with her great-grandmother. With her mother dead, Creeper lives in Les Grand Murs, a child of the streets who does what she must to survive.
One day Creeper stumbles upon a bit of information about a scientist and the weapon that he developed, known as “The Black God’s Drums.” Although she doesn’t know what this means, she is smart enough to realise that this information just might be her ticket out of the city and into a better life. So, she sets out to find Captain Ann-Marie, who pilots an airship by the name of Midnight Robber, hoping to find an ally who will know what to do with this information. With help and guidance from Ann-Marie as well as Oya, who sends her visions and premonitions, will Creeper be able to use this powerful secret to her advantage? Or will the enemy use it to destroy her city?
In The Black God’s Drums, Clark has done an incredible job of infusing the past with completely unexpected futuristic elements. It is truly amazing how much he packs into just over 100 pages of this alternate history meets sci-fi/fantasy spectacular. A post-Civil War New Orleans, with remnants of the Confederate regimen looking to set things back to “the old ways,” is beautifully juxtaposed against modern zeppelin-style airships and vehicles. From page one the contrast of historical elements with a steampunk feel makes for a truly unique reading experience.
Other striking elements are added to amplify the commentary on slavery in the U.S., such as the use of Drapeto gas by the plantation owners to dull the senses and control those working on their land. Layer this further with the richness of African folklore and Gods, such as Oya and Shango (the god of thunder), as well as the skilled use of regional dialects throughout the text, and Clark has truly created a world with depth.
The characters are equally as well-crafted as the world in which they live. Creeper is a well-developed, fierce protagonist. She is a clever, street-savvy, and strong-willed young woman who makes this a tale equally likely to interest adolescents as adults. By pairing her with Captain Ann-Marie, a slightly older yet equally as striking protagonist, Clark has presented an action-packed story that is carried by strong females.
Congratulations to Clark, who is a 2019 Nebula Award Nominee and Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novella for The Black God’s Drums! He has also won the 2019 Alex Award for this novella. I absolutely recommend it as a wonderful fantasy, science-fiction style read that is perfect for one sitting.
P. Djèlí Clark has had his writing featured in numerous publications and print anthologies including Daily Science Fiction, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Tor.com, Griots I and II, and Steamfunk. In addition to his award nominations for The Black God’s Drums, he is a 2019 Nebula Award Nominee and Hugo Award Nominee for his short story “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington.” He is active on social media and you find him on Instagram and Twitter under the handle @pdjeliclark, as well as on his blog.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Creeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.
But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart–Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie…
