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The Black God’s Drums

The Black God’s Drums is an awesome novella set in a steampunk, alternate history New Orleans. The narrator of the book, Creeper, is a homeless thirteen year old girl who dreams of becoming an airship pilot someday. She is also visited on a regular basis by Oya, the Yoruba goddess of wind and storms. Creeper befriends the captain of a visiting airship, hoping to earn the captain’s trust and secure a place onboard. Oya and Captain Ann-Marie (from Trinidad) end up trying to retrieve a weapon from another ship along with a Haitian scientist.

I adored this book. All the main characters are people of color and almost all of them are women. There are awesome nuns. There’s an emphasis on the importance of education. There’s adventure like mad and mysticism and magic. Not a stereotype to be found. The steampunk elements are largely limited to weapons and airships and work seamlessly within the context of the story. The alternate history is fascinating. The use of language and dialogue is masterful.

The book is novella-length, which is a difficult length to manage. So many novellas seem like dragged out short stories or truncated books. However, this story feels complete – not too rushed, not ending abruptly – just a solid adventure story with a ending that leaves a sequel possible and highly desirable but is also a satisfying ending in its own way.

This is not a romance. However the bonds between women – of business, family of blood, family of choice, war, and friendship – are paramount within the story. Please, please, please let this be the start of a new series!

– Carrie S

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…