Geschlecht: female
Kurzbiographie: Day Al-Mohamed is an author, filmmaker, and disability policy expert with over 15 years of experience. A Senior Policy Advisor with the Federal government, she is a proven leader in organizational transformation, legislation and regulation development/analysis, and innovative program design.

Ms. Al-Mohamed has written two novels, as well as multiple short stories and articles. She is a regular host on Idobi Radio’s Geek Girl Riot with an audience of 80,000+ listeners and a Founding Member of FWD-Doc (Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities). Al-Mohamed lives in Washington DC with her wife, N.R. Brown and guide dog, Gamma.

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Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie… von Danielle Ackley-McPhail

You know the story, don't you, of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves? No, my friends you know only what the bride of a King would briefly say to save her life - you don't know the true story. Just as there are intricate gears and movements that work beneath the face of your clock to tell you the time, so there are facets to the story that remain unknown. In fact there is an entire novel's worth of surprises for you. For this is the story of the student of an inventor called home upon the unfortunate passing of his father to a legacy of both artifice and magic. A story of treacherous assassins, airship rides and marvelous djinn. But do not fret, for most assuredly there is also a miraculous cave of treasure and last but not least a certain cadre of forty unsavory thieves. A cocktail of steampunk and arabic lore to delight from two purveyors of fine tales - Danielle and Day.
… (mehr)

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JefftheYoung | 6 weitere Rezensionen | Jun 30, 2021 |

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk… von Day Al-Mohamed

I received of copy on Netgalley for review.

Oh this book. How I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love a good fairy tale and let me tell you, this is a fine one. It fuses the wonders of a good novel and a good fairy tale into one. Realistic characters and emotions and awesome steampunk with fanciful perfection and happiness.

The main character is really wonderful. He evolves over the book and you can really notice that he's turned from a boy into a man. He's intelligent and wonderful. Earlier in my reading, when I was about half way, I had a qualm and it was that there were no kick-ass female characters. Well, basically, I was later proved wrong (as I had hoped) and everything was wonderful. So if you're worried about that, you might have to wait a bit, but it's definitely worth it.

I really loved the incorporation of the story-style of the fairy tale. The little things that are so interestingly orderly to the point of nonsense. But it didn't detract at all from this book. It was, in fact, part of the immense charm. The title already tells you to expect a fairy tale so it's actually really exciting when you notice the obvious aspects drawn from the style.

A really wonderful book that makes its way to my favourites list. Very happy this exists.… (mehr)

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Isana | 6 weitere Rezensionen | Jul 7, 2020 |

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie… von Danielle Ackley-McPhail

As you should be able to tell from the title, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn is a steampunk retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, with some magic thrown in. From the synopsis: “In England, far from his desert home, Ali bin-Massoud serves as apprentice to the famed Charles Babbage. One night a mysterious box is delivered by a clockwork falcon and Ali’s world is never the same again. Heartache, danger, and thieves mark his journey as Ali is summoned home at the death of his father.”

I’ve read short story retellings of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves before, but this was the first novel length re imagining of the tale that I’ve encountered. I thought it did some things well. I liked the use of mechanisms and magic, for one. The historical settings were well drawn. The characterization of Ali was good. However, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn left me unsatisfied in a lot of ways.

The first was that I felt the book had a very slow start. The first half of the novel is mostly Ali being attacked by random, cardboard cut out bad guys and being saved by a mechanical eagle. Part of this time, he’s traveling from England to Arabia. The book doesn’t really get interesting until half way through when he actually gets back home and discovers the cave with the treasure. I definitely think that some of the beginning sections could have been cut or condensed. Better characterization when it comes to the villains is also needed. They were all utterly disposable and forgettable, and I had a hard time keeping them straight.

I mentioned that I liked the use of magic, but I actually would like to know more about it, especially when it comes to the history of the djinn. I felt like there were a lot of elements that were introduced here that were never fully explored. Additionally, there were some unanswered questions about the clockwork eagle. I’m also not wholly comfortable with the power dynamics of the relationship between Ali and the imprisoned djinn. I think the focus was supposed to be on how he’s setting her free, but he’s still the one with the power to do so in the first place. There’s too much of a master slave dynamic for my liking.

Additionally, there was some strangeness in relation to the ending. It felt a lot like deus ex machina, and I would have liked a better explanation.

Finally, I don’t know if it was just a problem with my ebook format, but the novel didn’t include any spaces or ways to mark POV shifts, even when it was jumping between characters in England and Arabia. It was really disorienting to rind myself in England in one paragraph and someplace completely different the next.

Overall, I’m not sure if I would recommend Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn. If you really like fairy tale retellings or want to read steampunk set outside Europe, I might cautiously recommend it.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.… (mehr)

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pwaites | 6 weitere Rezensionen | Oct 4, 2015 |

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn: A Steampunk Faerie… von Danielle Ackley-McPhail

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

There's a lot to love about this retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but with a steampunk twist. Foremost is the main character, Ali. He's an artificer and a good sort of guy. I really loved that he was a devout Muslim; it's great to see faith handled in a positive way, especially when it's mixed with magic. The very real character if Babbage plays an important part, though I was disappointed by how that was handled. He vanished for much of the book and didn't end up playing as much of a role as I hoped for.

The book begins in England--with Ali very much out of place--and returns to Arabia. While still in England, Ali is gifted with a mysterious puzzle box that was his father's legacy. As he returns to Arabia by his brother's order, he's under constant threat by people who want to take the box. Ali's brother isn't very nuanced, but he fits in well with the fairy tale vibe. The voice of the book is fantastic and makes it a cozy blend of steampunk formality and fairy tale-style casual storytelling.

One thing that threw me out of the book was how the thieves somehow managed to not know where Ali's brother lived. They track Ali to England but don't know where his family resided in the nearest town. That struck me as rather contrived for the sake of stretching the plot.

I would love to read more set in this world. There's so much potential here with the culture, the mechanical camelids, or even the history of the djinn.… (mehr)

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ladycato | 6 weitere Rezensionen | Dec 10, 2014 |

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