---

I think I was on here somewhat recently (most likely in my review for THE FIREBORNE BLADE) lamenting the relative scarcity of the epic fantasy novella. So honestly, we are so lucky to have Tordotcom Publishing doing what they do! Their list of outstanding fantasy novellas is extensive, and I may have found a new favorite here.

I don’t know that it’s possible to have more fun reading a book than I did with P. Djèlí Clark’s THE DEAD CAT TAIL ASSASSINS. Like, this is just the most pure distillation of everything that’s fucking awesome about reading fantasy. This is only the second of Clark’s books that I’ve read (the other was the excellent RING SHOUT), but I’m more excited than ever to check out more of his work! 

I could be wrong, but I believe this whole book takes place during one night, which again…FUN!!! It really just adds to the propulsive nature of this book, and made it so hard to put down.

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

This is like the motto or creed of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, an assassin’s guild within the city of Tal Abisi.

Or anyway, that’s what it says on their business cards. 

Eveen is one such assassin, and she’s our main character. She is absolutely risen from the dead, but she is NOT a zombie. This is important. 

Eveen has no memories of her life before she died. But becoming an undead assassin is something she signed up for before she died. This is for sure one of the central mysteries in Eveen’s life. Like…why would she choose this for herself? 

There’s a strict (and real) set of rules that Eveen lives by, as well as a seemingly-endless number of “rules” that Eveen relays to the reader on the fly (she’ll just throw out random numbers like “Assassin rule #480….”) The most dire of these rules seems to be that once a contract is accepted, it must be carried out, otherwise the assassin will face their own final death. 

This one wild night is set against a backdrop of a city-wide festival, and Eveen comes face-to-face with someone she simply cannot kill. This is…about as much as I can say without spoiling the whole deal. 

There was so much about this book that I loved. It is legitimately one of the funniest fantasy books I’ve ever read. It’s dark, and dangerous, and kind of weird in places too. But oh my, it’s so goddamn funny. Eveen is just a non-stop source of snark, which can sometimes get a little grating in some books, but Clark balances Eveen’s scathing sarcasm with plenty of heartfelt introspection, too. 

She’s also a huge nerd, which was one of my favorite touches. Clark creates an impressively big world in a small number of pages, and I think one of the ways he’s really successful there is by giving the characters not just culture, but pop culture as well. Eveen is a big reader (relatable af) and is constantly referencing her favorite books & series. Her favorite is a series of pulpy-sounding books called Asheel the Maniac Hunter, and Eveen brings these stories up alllll the time, much to the chagrin of those around her.

There’s just so many cool little touches to the book that make the characters really come to life. That make this city feel tantalizingly real. 

Like how Fennis, who is ostensibly Eveen’s handler, is a big foodie & he’s always searching out the strangest things to try. Or how the undead don’t actually need to blink, so Fennis has to remind Eveen to blink because it’s unsettling otherwise.

This book has banter for days, and can occasionally feel a touch too similar to our own world in terms of its slang/vernacular, but it works. Like I definitely paused at the use of the word “mansplain” in a second-world fantasy book, but Clark is just a phenomenally talented writer & he makes it work. 

I loved this one, cover to cover. One of my favorite reads of the year, and one of the most unabashedly fun fantasy stories I’ve ever read! I can only hope Clark decides to return to this world someday because I loved spending time there!