James Guilluamme is a contemporary gothic magician with an esoteric business in the magical arts. He has very few morals but he thinks he’s finally growing up with his own bookstore, a mother in a nursing home and a declining alcohol habit. Then, he’s targeted with violence; somebody threatens his home, his livelihood, his friends, and even a few friendly-enemies and the cops couldn’t care less. A ceiling fan during a power outage demonstrates more energy than the cops who lose complaints, fail to respond to his 911 calls, and demonstrate pointed hostility. When friends start dying, Jamie takes the situation into his corrupt little hands, and chaos ensues.

Jamie is the anti-hero: he’s rude, crude, obnoxious and yet the whole time I was reading this story I was cheering for this guy because for every nasty act he committed, he would demonstrate some kindly deed, sometimes for people he knew well but more often for others he either hardly knew or despised. The story doesn’t end the way you expect, but there is a lot to be learned here from Jamie’s tale: do not conduct ceremonies you don’t understand or make-up, shadows sneaking up on you may not be shadows, and other equally horrific nifty lessons.

The story is set in South Africa by a writer who lives there, so there might be a few words or terms in Afrikaans that might be new to the reader, but Ms. Dorman has done an excellent job of integrating the cultural significance of each in a way that the reader can comprehend. Overall, this novel is a superb light horror.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616501669
• ISBN-13: 978-1616501662

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