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| 3.5 stars out of 5 |
In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in the dark during the course of a fraudulent séance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and revelation as they vie to outwit and expose one another.
Their rivalry will take them to the peaks of their careers, but with terrible consequences. In the course of pursuing each other's ruin, they will deploy all the deception their magicians' craft can command--the highest misdirection and the darkest science.
Blood will be spilled, but it will not be enough. In the end, their legacy will pass on for generations...to descendants who must, for their sanity's sake, untangle the puzzle left to them.
Their rivalry will take them to the peaks of their careers, but with terrible consequences. In the course of pursuing each other's ruin, they will deploy all the deception their magicians' craft can command--the highest misdirection and the darkest science.
Blood will be spilled, but it will not be enough. In the end, their legacy will pass on for generations...to descendants who must, for their sanity's sake, untangle the puzzle left to them.
3.5 stars--better that “I liked it” but less than “I really liked it.” I was engaged while I was reading, but every time I set it down, I had a struggle to pick it back up again. Totally on me, it’s not the book.
If you enjoyed Robertson Davies’ Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders), you will probably enjoy this book too. Unlike Davies, the ending felt rather Frankenstein-like to me. And I have to wonder if Erin Morgenstern read this before she wrote The Night Circus. I also keep thinking about Faust for some reason that I can’t put my finger on.
I’ve run into Nikola Tesla as a character in fiction on a number of occasions now, and here he is again! I can see the appeal--an extremely intelligent and talented man, but eccentric and (at least in younger years) darkly handsome.
If you’re not a fan of the epistolary format, you may want to give this book a miss. But if you love the idea of dueling magicians, this is the book for you.
Book number 350 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy reading project.
If you enjoyed Robertson Davies’ Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business, The Manticore, World of Wonders), you will probably enjoy this book too. Unlike Davies, the ending felt rather Frankenstein-like to me. And I have to wonder if Erin Morgenstern read this before she wrote The Night Circus. I also keep thinking about Faust for some reason that I can’t put my finger on.
I’ve run into Nikola Tesla as a character in fiction on a number of occasions now, and here he is again! I can see the appeal--an extremely intelligent and talented man, but eccentric and (at least in younger years) darkly handsome.
If you’re not a fan of the epistolary format, you may want to give this book a miss. But if you love the idea of dueling magicians, this is the book for you.
Book number 350 in my Science Fiction and Fantasy reading project.
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