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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was a fun novella. The ending was great and tied everything together perfectly. I can't pinpoint it, but something felt off/missing about the story. Overall, this novella is everything it is trying to be, and isn't meant to be a revolutionary story. 3.5 rounded up
Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for eARC!

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First off, I have to say that I love P. Djèlí Clark. The Black God's Drums was excellent and I really enjoyed everything from the Dead Djinn universe. And The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is another fantastic entry into his impressive body of work. Eveen is an undead assassin who signed a hundred-year contract with a deity to be reborn after her death and fulfill "just" contracts in Tal Abisi. The world building was so wonderful and the story was definitely fast-paced. I loved all of the characters which is an important reader pathway for me. If I can't connect to the characters I will usually have a difficult time caring about anything happening in the story.

There was a great sense of humor that I really dug and I loved the steampunk vibes. I'm an on again, off again steampunk fan, but I think this story used really fun elements of steampunk in its world-building. I'm also learning more and more about myself that I love novellas. A really great novella, where the author can get the reader invested in the characters and world so quickly, blows me away. I was moved by the story and truly loved the ending. While I would love more stories within this world, this tale was wonderful with a satisfying ending.

My favorite quote: "“Every story carries its own truths,” he said, in a very Fennis-like way."

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for a free copy of this eARC in return for an honest review.

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Loved, loved, loved this book. The World building was lavish, detailed - I feel this is something the author does really well based on the other books I've read. And of course, I expect a book with an assassin as the main character ... an undead assassin at that ... to be action packed - and we got that in spades! And we got unique characters to booth. Obviously Eveen the undead assassin, but I also liked Fennis, her sort of handler, too. I do wish I had listened to the audiobook as I would have loved to hear the bit at the end, with the gods. Overall - definitely recommend.

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Eevee is dead, or to be more clear she is undead. She has no memory as to who she was in life, all she knows is she signed her soul away to the goddess of assassins and is bound to serve in death. Supernaturally powerful and agile she moves through the city at night fulfilling assassination contracts for her guild. Then one day the impossible happens, she is about to strike a killing blow when she has a memory involving the person she is about to kill. Having a memory of your previous life breaks all of the rules and protocols, it shouldn't even be possible. So instead of killing her mark she drags her along with her leaving shocking repercussions in her wake. But she has breached one of the unbreakable rules in not carrying out her contract, and the consequences will be earth shattering if she does not resolve this. Now being pursued doggedly by her own comrades, she must find a path between ruining her own life and godly vengeance being brought down on her guild for an unfulfilled contract. The longer she resists fulfilling this contract the worse things get, but she has to solve the mystery. This is a fun action-packed adventure that's fast paced with interesting characters, witty banter and diverse world building. The author explores some classic fantasy themes with time travel, sorcery and a touch of steampunk but keeps it highly readable with great writing.

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Clark gives a new novella in a new fantasy world filled with gods and assassins, his trademark wit, fascinating characters and a well-crafted conundrum when Eveen the Eviserator is sent on a mission… to kill a younger version of herself?

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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins was a quick-moving novella filled with clever, fleshed-out characters set in a captivating fantastical world.

Eveen is a resurrected assassin - one of the best in Tal Abisi - and serves her guild with skill, discretion, and a bit of humor. Like everyone else brought back from the dead to serve the Matron of Assassins, she has no memory of her past life and has sworn to follow three unbreakable vows.

She’s never had any trouble carrying out her contracts … until her latest mark sparks a memory. Eveen can either do her job or start to untangle the threads of her past, with the risk of losing everything.

Tal Abisi came to life on these pages. It’s a mix of humans, magic, and gods, and I felt incredibly grounded in its streets. The story takes place during a festival weekend, and we get to weave through celebrations and costumes and luxury, but also see what lurks in the corners and undergrounds. There’s both otherworldly magical legends and class structures that feel very close to home. It’s so very lush for just 200 or so pages.

The characters were all great fun. This book is action-packed and often dark, but Eveen’s narration brings a charming levity to the story. She’s funny, a bit immature at times, and is super easy to root for. The secondary characters - fellow assassins, gods, and magicians alike - were all compelling, too.

Through magic and mayhem (and immersive descriptions of food and clothing), Clark tackled some darker and larger themes involving power structures and abuse of marginalized bodies. But he entwines these with playfulness and good ole revenge that keeps it from tipping too far into grimness and despair.

Sometimes the pace did drag a bit awkwardly and the writing was occasionally repetitive, but overall it was wonderful.

CW: murder, death (child), gore, blood, violence, torture, kidnapping

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I'd like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a copy of this novel for an honest review. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins follows Eveen, an undead assassin under the patronage of the Matron of Assassins, signed to a century long contract. There are three unbreakable rules in the assassin's guild, but after seeing the face of her latest contract, Eveen breaks rule #3 which is the most unbreakable of the rules. Eveen discovers a conspiracy that would not only destroy her undead life, but also her entire guild. She has until dawn to figure out who's behind the contract and stop their powerful unknown enemy.

This book was hilarious! If you love banter and witty repartee, you'll love this book. Eveen was a wisecracking irreverent character and I love those. It was exciting and fast paced. The side characters were funny, and the author managed to surprise me in the end (Not an easy feat). I highly recommend this book and would love this to be a series, please! please! please!

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"'may the gods favor you this night, dead thing'"

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange of my honest review!

I've learned it's best to go for the ride and see where the story takes you because Clark writes some of the most unique ones I've ever heard with some of the most impeccable fighting scenes. In this one, however, I couldn't connect to the characters at all, which are a big part of the story, so I didn't feel any of the tension or big emotions I was supposed to throughout, and the ending itself was pretty anti-climatic after knowing what Clark is capable of. I still did read this in just 2 sittings, though, but not his strongest work.

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Clark's new novel is a thrilling urban fantasy set during a carnival about an undead assassin who is assigned a target that appears to be a younger version of herself. Having no memory of her past, the assassin and her target must work together to find out who ordered the contract as well as how and why. Meanwhile the rest of the assassins guild to out to fulfill the contract and save them all from disaster. Clark creates an intriguing world. I hope we get to visit again.

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This novella is a nonstop thrill ride featuring assassins, magic, a unique and intricate world building and characters full of snark. This would be a great pick for readers who are looking for an entry point into fantasy and reluctant readers. It totally delivered on the Kill Bill and John Wick vibes. Loved it!

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This was a fun, quick read that left me wanting so much more. It felt like a taster and now I need the full course!

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I absolutely loved this dark and twisty tale undead assassins. No cats were killed in the telling of this book, but there is plenty of mischief and mayhem. I loved the wryness of the main character and found the completely new world Clark created to be compelling and adequately described to live in my mind. Five fun and dark stars, very much a great late summer or fall read for this year or anytime! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for this unbiased review.

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I don't read enough fantasy, and every time I drip back in I am rewarded. This was a great read. The world was rich and the characters complex. I loved every minute of this read. The action was nonstop, and the ending was totally fulfilling. Really, really enjoyed!

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A great "takes place in one crazy night" story. Filled with fun city lore, varied assassins and interesting mysteries. Would love to see more of this world and characters (especially the side ones).

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I want to preface this by saying that I've thoroughly enjoyed Clark's other works, but for some reason I could just not get into this one. Which isn't to say that it's not well-written - it is - and that the world-building isn't strong - it is - there was just something about it that felt a little lackluster. I'd still recommend his books to anyone, though.

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A fast-paced novella about an undead assassin who accepts an unbreakable contract only to discover its target is a past version of herself, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins strikes a fun balance of humor, action, and mystery as the main character tries to reason and stab her way out of the contract, with some fun twists and an interesting world as backdrop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark is a fantasy novella about a group of undead assassins. And no, they aren’t cats. And no tails, either! The premise? In exchange for your memories and servitude (as an assassin), you can live (as a zombie) forever.

This is a quick read. While I wanted to love it, I just didn’t. I found it a bit boring and lackluster. The ideas are great, but the execution is missing something.

⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.

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I enjoyed reading this for the most part. The concepts were amazing, and the world the author built up was fascinating, but I can't help but be disappointed when I find myself being bored whilst reading a novella.

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An exciting and well crafted tale of an assain in death.
This was a beautifully crafted story dropping lore and world building in way that sucks you into the events happening.
The assassins of the Dead Cat Tail Assassins are all dead, oh and not cats. Choosing to serve the Matron of assasins in life means that in death you're brought back with no memories of your life before and have 3 unbreakable views to follow.

Eveen has been one of the best since she started working for her guild. Never missing her mark and making quiet a name for herself, but during a festival things don't go right and Eveen has to solve a bit of a mystery.

This story has great action and cool characters, with a fantastic and thrilling end. A bit of magic, lots of fighting, and some sassy deities.

A perfect book for a quick weekend read.

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This was so incredibly fun! This was my first P. Djeli Clark book and I don't think I've ever read anything like it. Fast paced and full of (zombie?) adventure and mystery. The world building was done extremely well, the characters were engaging with a great sense of humor. Dare I say this felt too short of a read for such an expansive world? I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and will absolutely be buying myself a copy on release day!

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