Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt

by Matthew Bright (Editor), Gail Carriger (Contributor), Rod Duncan (Contributor)

Clockwork mummies, thieving deities, airship pirates, psychic queens, mechanical scarabs, unrepentant scoundrels, mysterious museums, trickster djinns, suspicious werewolves, abducted scientists, fearless spies, and vengeful gods... All this and more wait inside the pages of Clockwork Cairo. Featuring stories George Mann, Gail Carriger, Nisi Shawl, Tee Morris & Pip Ballantine, David Barnett, Rod Duncan, Tiffany Trent, P. Djeli Clark, Jonathan Green, E. Catherine Tobler, Chaz Brenchley, K. Tempest Bradford, Benjanun Sriduangkaew and others...

Genres: Steampunk, Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Science Fiction, Fiction, Egypt

526 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 14, 2017

Reviews

[Karl]

Contents:

001 - "The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, the Mummy that Was, and the Cat in the Jar" by Gail Carriger (A story in the Parasol Protectorate world)
023 -"The Angel of Khan el-Kalili" by P. Djeli Clark
037 - "Mock the Midnight Bell" by Sarah Caulfield
059 - "Worthless Remains" by Jonathan Green (A Pax Britannia story)
081 - "The Lights of Dendera" - Tiffany Trent
101 - "Ushabti" by Zan Lee
121 - "Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men" by Chaz Brenchley
151 - "Lucky At Cards" by David Barnett (A story in the Gideon Smith world)
169 - "Sun River" by Nisi Shawl (A story in the Everfair world)
189 - "The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold" by Benjanun Sriduankaew
199 - "The Word of Menamhotep" by George Mann (A Newbury and Hobbes story)
223 - "Silver Linings" by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine (A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences story)
243 - "Antonia and Cleopatra" by Matthew Bright
267 - "The Museum of Unlikely Occurrences" by Rod Duncan
279 - "Jabari and the Giant" by Christopher Parvin
303 - "To Kill A God" by M.J. Lyons
333 - "The Infernal" by Anne Jensen
347 - "Imhotep's Dog" by John Moralee
361 - "But For The Pieces He Left Behind" bu E. Catherine Tobler
377 - "The Copper Scarab" by K. Tempest Bradford
392 - About the Contributors

[Linus Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is usual for when I read collections of short stories, I'll do a story-by-story review. Before that, though, I want to commend the editors for putting together such an intriguing and unexpectedly heart-warming collection of stories. Some of them are more clockwork/steampunk than Cairo, some of them are more Cairo than clockwork. But they're all, more or less, good. Without further ado...

1. The curious case of the werewolf that wasn't, the mummy that was, and the cat in the jar by Gail Carriger.
This was an interesting choice to begin the series. It's very much stereotypically steampunky and over-the-top, but it's certainly a fun read. 7/10

2. The angel of khan el-khalili by P. Djeli Clark.
After being introduced to P. Djeli Clark through happenstance (Read The Black God's Drums, if you haven't already, as well as The Haunting of Tram Car 015), and becoming slightly frustrated at his incredible world-building that he only deigns to offer us slivers of, I was extremely happy with this story. It's in the same universe as The Haunting of Tram Car 015, but it's much more of an intimate, personable, examination of the world. It is almost the ideal short story--it opens a brief window into a world, lets you experience it, and hits you hard emotionally at the end. 11/10 and read more of him.

3. Mock the midnight bell by Sarah Caulfield.

This is an odd one. The characters take a little bit of time to come into their own, but they sure do by the end of it. I feel like the author has tried to cram a little bit too much into a little too small of a space, and cuts corners in the world building here and there. But in the end, it hits with that satisfactory punch of a good short story, so I cannot fault it too much. 8/10.

4. Worthless Remains by Jonathan Green
Unfortunately, I had forgotten this story even existed until I was looking back on this book for this review. It's not bad it's just....forgettable. It hits every single steampunk trope on its way through. I do love the sub-chapter titles though. 4/10.

5. The lights of Dendera by Tiffany Trent
You know, I had wondered when Nikola Tesla was going to show up in a collection of stories that advertises itself as "Steampunk Cairo". Well, he finally makes his entrance here and it's quite a good story. I loved the twist at the ending.

6. Ushabti. This is one of those stories that's a lot more Cairo than Clockwork...although it does certainly have clockwork in it. It's an emotional story about the lengths to which a man will go to preserve the life of his child, and a mad king scared of death. I really enjoyed this. 9/10.

7. Thermodynamics; and/or the Remittance Men by Chez Brenchley
And now we go to one that's much more clockwork/victorian than cairo. Cairo here serves as a backdrop, but a good one. The real focus is on the characters--a bunch of British expats, away from home for one reason or another, and the social club that brings them all together. They're superbly well-written and I loved the interplay of the characters. The story's not bad either. 10/10.

8. Lucky at Cards by David Barnett
A clockwork cairo story set in.....texas? And the gold coast? I think the colllection may have wandered a little bit from what it set out to be, but this story is so good I can't fault it too much. Cliffhanger ending, but it's the good kind of cliffhanger. 10/10

9. Sun River by Nisi Shawl
I liked the setup here, but the ending gets convoluted and fumbles a bit. The characters are certainly good enough to carry it through, but the sequence of events is a little unclear and the story loses its focus. 7/10

10. The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold by Benjanun Sriduankaew.

And now we go to Thailand. the characters here were just a little flat, and the story doesn't do enough to revive them. 6/10.

11. The Word of Menamhotep by George Mann.
Egyptology meets murder whodunit. I really enjoyed this one, even if it is out a little outlandish (where does one hide an van-sized mechanical scarab beetle in the center of London anyway?) 8/10

12. Silver Linings by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.
I had to re-read this one, just to catch the main point, and even now I'm not so sure of the sequence of events. Nothing too special, but not bad. 6/10.

13. Antonia and Cleopatra by Matthew Bright
What do you do when the soul of a 4000-year dead pharoah infests the body of a british officer in colonial egypt, and the only people who can help are the madam to cairo's most notorious brother and her relic-thief mother? What a cast of characters. 8/10

14. The museum of unlikely survivors by Rod Duncan.
I really quite liked this one, because it did not go the places I was expecting it to go. Roll some dice and read it. 9/10

15. Jabari and the Giant by Christopher Parvin
Getting dropped into the middle of world without any exposition or backstory always discomfits me, and very few authors can pull it off successfully (See #2 above, and P Djeli Clark in general). Unfortunately, Chrostopher Parvin does not quite pull this trick off. The story has good glimmerings, but it's too convoluted and it doesn't make you care enough to manage the feat. 5/10.

16. To kill a god, by M.J. Lyons.

The whole time I was reading this, I was getting flashbacks to HP Lovecraft stories. The signoff made me audibly snort, and just for that, I appreciate this story. 8/10.

17. The infernal, by Anne Jensen

I've read this story three times and I still don't understand it. Perhaps the author and I are simply not able to approach the same conclusions from what they want. 5/10 but I don't think it's bad.

18. Imotep's Dog by John Moralee.
I liked this one. Hope springs eternal, and so does Pi(e). 9/10.

19. But for the pieces he left behind by E. Catherine Tobler

I wasn't sure about a lot of the narrative here, but I got the main point, and it certainly evokes emotions. 7.5/10

20. The Copper Scarab by K. Tempest Bradford

Even though this was the last story in the collection I forgot about it. It's another one of those not-bad-but-nothing-special stories. 6/10.

Happy New Year! To new books in 2021.

[lady h]

exCUSE me how was i not made aware of this book's existence before now??

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection insofar as I learned I really dig steampunk as a genre (or sub-genre?), and just enjoy story collections like this. I had a great time being immersed in the culture of ancient artifacts, religion, spirituality, discussions of the afterlife, faith, and to read so many stories filled with strong women, queer or sexually-fluid characters, and people of color.

Some of the stories made me laugh, some horrified me, others moved me to tears. They were imaginative and fresh and cooky and fun and lots of things that were partially a result of good writing, partially a result of me reading a genre I was unaccustomed to. But for the most part I enjoyed each one.

A common complaint I had throughout, however, was an over-reliance on plot and action, and as a rule I'm not a fan of reading prolonged action sequences. (I don't love them on screen either. I always get bored). The stories I rated lowest are the ones that culminated in splashy action sequences, partially because as a reader I prefer revelations and character growth to rope swings and fisticuffs. But that's my personal preference. Another minor gripe I have about this publication that doesn't pertain to the quality of the authors' works is the number of typos contained within the ebook. It was glaring and could have been easily avoided if the editor had carefully read the anthology before publishing it!

Below is a rundown of my mini-reviews for each story, which I posted on GR as I completed each story. I should disclose that I am a friend of one of the authors, K Tempest Bradford (The Copper Scarab. It does just so happen that her story was one of my favorites. lol)



The Curious Case of the Werewolf That Wasn’t, The Mummy That Was, and the Cat in the Jar by Gail Carriger:

This was light-hearted and whimsical in a Holmes-sequel way, but had something to say about colonialism and other cultures appropriating Egyptian antiquities for their own fascination and study. I wish the werewolf had seen more action. ***


The Angel of Khan-el-Khalili by P. Djèlí Clark:

A really sublime little story—almost a fable—about a girl who seeks a miracle to save her sister, and must face her innermost shame and secrets to succeed. I found this one to be really magical, especially in its depiction of the angel. What it has to say about living with regret and the irreversible nature of choice really spoke to me. We must live with our pasts! ****


Mock the Midnight Bell by Sarah Caulfield:

I really enjoyed Caulfield’s writing style although I had to work to keep up with her at times. This story was part heist, part love story, part mythology, part tragedy. Lots of ancient prophecy vibes met with something almost crime noir or something. Lots of queer rep and fluidity which I loved. ****


Worthless Remains by Jonathan Green:

This story didn’t thrill me. It was fun and fast-paced, but far too action-oriented for me. It was a definite pastiche of sorts and in that vein I enjoyed it. The talkative evil villain, the relaxed and quip-slinging hero, etc. But it was just ok. **


The Lights of Dendera by Tiffany Trent:

Really enjoyed this one. Magic and ancient gods and reincarnation...and the most steampunk-y of all steampunk characters, Nicola Tesla. This story also had lots to say about race and assimilation, and that element was really beautiful. The writing wasn’t necessarily too memorable, but the story and its sentiments were. ****


Ushabti by Zan Lee:

This story was gorgeous and also super creepy. A temple builder is charged with creating an avatar for the crippled, dying Pharaoh to walk with in the afterlife, and has to come up with a solution or else be entombed with him for all eternity. Also...YIKES this one is rather grotesque. Really lovely story tho despite the ghoulish elements involved. ****


Thermodynamics and/or The Remittance Men by Chaz Brenchley:

This was an adorable story. A group of petty criminal refugees from England in Cairo, who have joined together to solve crime at a members-only club. Basically. That and a mystery of ingenious little scarabs that may or may not be from aliens. Cute and entertaining. ***


Lucky at Cards by David Barnett:

I liked the idea behind this, but something felt lacking in the execution. Action was sometimes hard to follow and didn’t make sense. A would-be, might-be White Savior story just isn’t my cup of tea. And it seems very obvious what the main character is going to do, so the unresolved ending just seems gimmicky. **


Sun River by Nisi Shawl:

A princess with a fascinating special ability, some F/F romance, and memorable characters. I need to re-read this when I’m feeling better because some of the plot elements went over my sleep-deprived brain... ***


The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold by Benjanun Sriduangkaew:

Another sweet F/F love story, which deals with a brilliant woman who is exiled from her home in Cairo after unsuccessfully trying to use her army of automatons to rebel. Felt like an artificially truncated story that abruptly stopped, not like a fully realized story. But I enjoyed it and would happily read an expanded version. ***


The Word of Menamhotep by George Mann:

This was a really fun little crime story couched in the ancient goddess Menamhotep, which was all new information to me. I enjoyed the banter of the two male protagonists, but their female counterpart seemed a bit pointless in the story. ***


Silver Linings by Tee Morris & Pip Ballantine:

I loved this story. A smart ass, brilliant woman and a long-suffering, brilliant man as a team, in Cairo to transport documents but who end up investigating a gruesome incident instead. This gave me some major X-Files vibes, and I loved the ending. ****


Antonia and Cleopatra by Matthew Bright:

Hmmm. A pretty convoluted adventure story with a mother/daughter fighting duo, a bumbling British cop, some Mummy/Zombies, and the re-energized spirit of an ancient Pharaoh. Didn’t love it. **


The Museum of Unlikely Survivors by Rod Duncan:

This was a fun little mystery. Pseudo-science, con artists, and a mummy. Really enjoyed it although it wasn’t too deep. ***


Jabari and the Giant by Christopher Parvin:

This had an interesting premise surrounding a new, transformed Cairo living alongside the recently-returns gods. But it revolves into too much action for me and I started drifting off while reading. I also don’t understand why a major character just disappeared partway through... **


To Kill A God by M.J. Lyons:

I really loved this story, and then it went totally off the rails. I still enjoyed it but I have zero idea what actually happened and will have to re-read it to be certain. It was Weird and surreal, that’s for sure. I found it fascinating overall. ****


The Infernal by Anne Jensen:

Trippy, heady, and weird. A young man finds himself trapped in another world, a parallel world to ours, and it may be that the other world is his inner mind. ****


Imhotep’s Dog by John Moralee:

Somewhat entertaining plot concerning a slave and his escape from a mad scientist of sorts...but this read sort of like a child’s fairy tale. The overall tone was simplistic and childish, and despite everything there were no stakes. **


But For the Pieces He Left Behind by E. Catherine Tobler:

Sweet story about traveling through time to be reunited with your love. I didn’t love how it was all women in search of a man’s work of genius but I suppose that male adoration goes hand in hand with a straight romantic story like this. ***


The Copper Scarab by K. Tempest Bradford:

Amatashteret is a bold, intelligent, fierce woman bent on restoring balance and tradition to the rule of Khemet (Egypt). She accomplishes this by outsmarting and evading the usurper King and striding up to his steps in a steampunk-mobile of badassery. It’s awesome and as a return to the proper ways of yore, it’s a stirring end to this collection. *****

[♥Xeni♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of these stories feel unfinished? Unbegun? Either way, it often feels like I'm dropped into the middle of a chapter of a series I've never heard of. It's fun, but since these are all very short stories also annoying. I wish there was a paragraph at the beginning of each story that would explain this if it was the case.

I picked up this book because I love steampunk stories. I especially adore P Djeli Clark's reimagined Cairo (of which one of his short stories is included in this anthology).

My favorite story was Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men by Chaz Brenchley. It was almost perfectly told. If more short stories were like this I wouldn't mind it at all. There was a mystery, a group decides to investigate. Most of the focus is on the characters of the group and what they're all like, and then there is comeuppance versus a mean rich man. The only drawback was that there were no female characters at all (even though it made sense for the story).

Sadly, most of the other stories were far worse than this, some nigh unreadable.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover a sort of sequel short story to Everfair, which I read this summer for another bingo square. Other than Clark and Shawl, however, I was not familiar with the other authors.

I really liked how each chapter (story) started with a drawing with the title and author. It added a nice element to the book I wasn't anticipating.

I also liked that a lot of the stories feature people with disabilities, especially chronic illnesses or other kinds of limitations on their physical abilities. And there was surprisingly little misogyny for a series of stories meant to be set in a more oppressive land.

Overall, this wasn't a great collection. It wasn't half bad either. I think it helps if you've read all the works by all the authors who have included short stories here, as you'll feel less out of your element. But I am not a fan of being forced to read 50 other books just to enjoy one collection.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven collection, and by the end stories that migth have been good were feeling quite samey. Despite the excellent variety of themes, I started to feel that steampunk Cairo is a bit limiting as a setting.

It's unfair to the authors to publish them in a book so sloppily copy-edited. If it actually WAS copy-edited. At one point I found a major blunder on five consecutive pages.

Carriger and PD Clark were among the strong ones here. And there were quite a few good story ideas.

I had to adjust my mental filter and make allowances for steampunk*, but when I came to one specific scene .... our modestly-sized heroine one-handedly grabs a rope hanging from an airship, and grabs her associate with the other. That's already a stretch (heh), but when a hefty policeman grabs the associate's ankle, Heroine has no difficulty holding all three of them, some 450 pounds, by one hand. That's when the book, ahem, lost its grip on me.

* steampunk is allowed to bend the laws of physics and feasibility QUITE a lot, but there have to be limits. Airship? Sure. One that can go upwind at 60 mph? Maybe. One that can sail between planets with open decks? Feh! [that last one isn't in this book, but it is in another quite successful one]

[caro_cactus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to rate as a whole, although the threads running through the anthology do offset some stories which wouldn't really have merit on their own (that being said, "Lucky at Cards" is still very distateful to me, if the author intended to create a completely unsympathetic MC, he succeeded). Since I already did a LT on Twitter complaining about all the neo-colonial crap, I'll just highlight the stories to which I would give five stars : "Ushabti" by Zan Lee, "Sun River" by Nisi Shawl, "The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold" by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, "The Museum of Unlikely Survivors" by Rod Duncan, "Jabari and the Giant" by Christopher Parvin, "To Kill a God" by M.J. Lyons, "But For the Pieces He Left Behind" by E. Catherine Tobler and "The Copper Scarab" by K. Tempest Bradford.
Side note : no disrespect to Matthew Bright, whose story I enjoyed, but there's a number of typos in the book, including in the Table of Contents, which reflects poorly on the copyediting...

[Trish Graboske · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost gave this book two stars for the sheer, outrageous number of typos, and for the uneven quality of the stories. A lot of them are good, though. I bought it because I have loved everything by P. Djeli Clark that I've read, and his story is great.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2022, I'm trying to read new genres and authors, so this was an interesting experiment. I bought the book for the P. Djele Clark story, and after sampling all these other fantastical universes, I like his the best. Still, some of the stories are worth reading.

"The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, the Mummy that Was, and the Cat in the Jar" by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) - Apparently, this is a short story about side characters in a popular series, but I found it boring and predictable. 2/5

"The Angel of Khan el-Kalili" by P. Djeli Clark (Dead Djinn) - I bought the book for this story since I'm fascinated by Clark's Dead Djinn series and it did not disappoint. It's best to have read "A Dead Djinn in Cairo" first. 5/5

"Mock the Midnight Bell" by Sarah Caulfield - The plot of this story was uneven but Caulfield's beautiful language charmed me when I would have otherwise skimmed ahead. 4/5

"Worthless Remains" by Jonathan Green (Pax Britannia) - A clever idea turned into a quasi-Indiana Jones romp that was mostly irritating. 2/5

"The Lights of Dendera" - Tiffany Trent - Apparently, if it's steam punk, you must have Tesla in your story, but he was really a minor figure here. Thomasina Ames, a mixed race woman passing for white in an opera company performing "Aida," travels to ancient Egypt and enjoys the trip. 4/5

"Ushabti" by Zan Lee - This is a fascinating story about a tomb designer trying to please a dying Pharaoh who wants to live forever. 5/5

"Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men" by Chaz Brenchley - The equivalent of an Early Modern young men's club who mostly spends their time together talking, drinking and smoking but can rise to occasion of saving the world, when properly motivated. 4/5

"Lucky At Cards" by David Barnett (Gideon Smith) - Another irritating side character from an already established universe that is a waste of space and paper. 1/5

"Sun River" by Nisi Shawl (Everfair ) - Apparently, you need to actually have read Everfair to understand what is happening in this story. Since I hadn't, I didn't. 2/5

"The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold" by Benjanun Sriduankaew - 2 designers of automatons meet and begin a romance. It really needed more historical background. 2/5

"The Word of Menamhotep" by George Mann (Newbury and Hobbes) - This story is apparently part of a continuing steam punk mystery series taking place in Victorian London and ends on a cliffhanger but I enjoyed this universe and didn't feel lost even though I hadn't read the previous stories. Very clever. 4/5

"Silver Linings" by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences) - Another snippet from an ongoing series that has a clever twist but is exercised with clunky writing. 3/5

"Antonia and Cleopatra" by Matthew Bright - A series of action pieces strung together so badly, I'm not quite sure how it ended. 1/5

"The Museum of Unlikely Occurrences" by Rod Duncan - This enjoyable story is told from the perspective of the woman who cleaned a singular exhibit and maintained it's lost and found cabinet. 4/5

"Jabari and the Giant" by Christopher Parvin - This story feels like an entry into a new universe that is only presently roughly sketched out, but it's interesting. 3/5

"To Kill A God" by M.J. Lyons - Beautiful prose about the end of the world, present and future, or the story of a madman. Or both. 3/5

"The Infernal" by Anne Jensen - Thoroughly confusing and a little menacing. Beautiful writing, though. 2/5

"Imhotep's Dog" by John Moralee - How to escape slavery from an evil genius with a side dish of the Roman army in airships. Sure. Whatever. 2/5

"But For The Pieces He Left Behind" by E. Catherine Tobler - Time travel in the Egyptian desert? With airships. The action was very hard to follow. 2/5

"The Copper Scarab" by K. Tempest Bradford - Steam punk technology to restore women's rights in ancient Egypt? Interesting universe, though. 3/5

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, the Mummy that Was, and the Cat in the Jar" by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) - 3/5
"The Angel of Khan el-Kalili" by P. Djeli Clark (Dead Djinn) - 3/5
"Mock the Midnight Bell" by Sarah Caulfield - 2/5
"Worthless Remains" by Jonathan Green (Pax Britannia) - 3/5
"The Lights of Dendera" - Tiffany Trent - 3/5
"Ushabti" by Zan Lee - 3/5
"Thermodynamics; and/or The Remittance Men" by Chaz Brenchley - 4/5
"Lucky At Cards" by David Barnett (Gideon Smith) - 2.5/5
"Sun River" by Nisi Shawl (Everfair ) - 2.5/5
"The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold" by Benjanun Sriduankaew - 3/5
"The Word of Menamhotep" by George Mann (Newbury and Hobbes) - 4/5
"Silver Linings" by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences) - 3/5
"Antonia and Cleopatra" by Matthew Bright - 3/5
"The Museum of Unlikely Occurrences" by Rod Duncan - 3/5
"Jabari and the Giant" by Christopher Parvin - 3/5
"To Kill A God" by M.J. Lyons - 2/5
"The Infernal" by Anne Jensen - 2/5
"Imhotep's Dog" by John Moralee - 3/5
"But For The Pieces He Left Behind" bu E. Catherine Tobler - 3/5
"The Copper Scarab" by K. Tempest Bradford - 3/5

[Robbie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best compilations I've encountered. All too often I start a promising collection of short stories (sci fi, steampunk, or fantasy) and put it down before I've read half of them. Not so with this one - I read it cover to cover, and wanted more. I wrote down over half the authors' names to follow up and find more of their work, which is the same process that brought me to this book.

I found this because I was looking for other works by P. Djeli Clark, whom I discovered via B&N promotions of work by diverse authors - I enjoyed his novella The Black God's Drums, and he appears in this compilation. In particular I enjoyed reading stories written from different perspectives than my own, which abound in this book.

I highly recommend this book.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for an anthology with a LOT of variety? This one definitely fits the bill! There’s a lot of really interesting stories in this anthology - I particularly liked the stories by Nisi Shawl, Chaz Brenchley, P. Djeli Clark and K. Tempest Bradford, among others. There were a few missteps, including a story that was more of a vignette with very little connection to the theme, but apart from that, I enjoyed watching authors push the definition of steampunk in some new directions. Lots of queer rep too. I would recommend this one if you’re looking for more steampunk reads that push the boundaries of steampunk fiction.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read the Angel of Khan El-Khalili by P Djeli Clark online previously, and found it a firm favourite, I was very excited to try a book with both steampunk and Egyptian mythological elements: it should have been a match made in heaven. Sadly, hardly a single other story held up for me, and many suffered from the introduction of the westerner to the equation: if you like the first story, you'll enjoy this collection.

Aside from the P Deli Clark story, I enjoyed Ushabti by Zan Lee, though it was soul-destroying, and The Sun Shall Lie Across Us Like Gold by Benjamin Sriduangkaew.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is too uneven. Now I understand what the editors of anthologies like "Best Sci-fi of the year" actually do :-)
If you stick to such a narrow genre as "Egypt steampunk" you can't really select based on quality and have to take whatever relates to the theme. And unfortunately, most of the stories are below "readable" threshold for me. I made it through about the third of the book and gave up.

[Kaity · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liked the art before each story and that was about it. My expectations going into this anthology were steampunk in Cairo. In some stories I got neither. I don’t love short stories but this collection couldn’t even make it over a bar laying on the ground. Quality issues abound, including the anthology editor forgetting his character’s names briefly. But at least there was only one almost white savior story where he learns slavery is wrong…which btw wasn’t set in Egypt :)

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clockwork Cairo was a surprisingly inconsistent and ultimately disappointing collection. While some of the stories were very good to excellent, including those by Gail Carriger, Nisi Shawl, George Mann and E. Catherine Tobler, others were only very loosely aligned with the theme of the collection. For example, the story by Benjanun Sriduangkaew, while yet other stories were reworkings of boilerplate tropes, such as those by John Moralee and M.J. Lyons. All of this combined with some stories only strong when considered within the context of the author's other works meant I left the collection dissatisfied.

[meikoyim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out I don't do well with anthologies. Every time I get invested in the characters the stories are ending. Reading this collection has cost me a fortune in other books, because most stories seem to be of established characters that exist in different universes.

[Lucy]

I attended a book group discussion with the editor and one of the authors so I’m looking forward to this anthology of short stories. I’ve been in a bit of a rut with reading so I’m trying something new to me.
In May 2025 the Chicago steampunk exhibition will be held in Schaumburg, IL

[Ellen Sandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Row 2, 2 down: IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE

[Maria Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of steampunk tales by some brilliant authors. An excellent read.

[Kirk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just could not get into stories

[Pers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent anthology of steampunk tales set in Cairo instead of London (as tends to be the norm).

[Ariane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich han s super gfunde, e Sammlig vo Gschichtene z'ha. Wie so oft sind gwüssi besser, anderi händ mi weniger packt.

[Geof Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than most anthologies like this. More fleshed out stories with a variety of interpretations of Egypt, then and now. Solid 3.75, rounded down.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories averaged out to a 3.5 for me. Of course the ones by Gail Carriger and P. Djeli Clark get 5 million stars, and there were some other good ones too.