Review: Dark Magic by James Swain

Title: Dark Magic
Author: James Swain
Publisher: Tor/Forge
Imprint: Tor Books
Pub Date: May 22, 2012
ISBN: 9780765329943
Genre: Supernatural Thriller
Source: Netgalley

Peter Warlock is a magician with a dark secret. Every night, he amazes audiences at his private theater in New York, where he performs feats that boggle the imagination. But his day job is just a cover for his otherworldly pursuits: Peter is a member of an underground group of psychics who gaze into the future to help prevent crimes.

 

No one, not even his live-in girlfriend, knows the truth about Peter—until the séance when he foresees an unspeakable act of violence that will devastate the city. As Peter and his friends rush to prevent tragedy, Peter discovers that a shadowy cult of evil psychics, the Order of Astrum, know all about his abilities. They are hunting him and his fellow psychics down, one by one, determined to silence them forever.

 

Dark Magic is a genre-bending supernatural thriller from national bestselling novelist and real-life magician James Swain.

REVIEW

Reading this book was kind of like being on a roller coaster ride. It had its ups and it had its downs. There were times when I got bored with the book and just had to stop reading, and then there were times when I couldn't tear my eyes away from my Kindle.

I can't say I connected with any of the characters on an emotional level, and a few of them were quite forgettable, but this didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Peter Warlock's world is filled with secrets, some he hasn't even discovered yet. What I really loved about the MC is how complex he is. He is neither good nor bad, and he constantly struggles to control the darkness within himself. Normally the hero of the story is clean-cut and at times one dimensional, but Peter Warlock, on his own, was a thrilling mystery throughout the novel. We see him go from being a man with psychic abilities, to someone with a deeply rooted, dark attachment to the greatest evil.

Peter's life is pretty routine. Until one fateful night he foresees a devastating attack that will end hundreds of thousands of lives. His vision also shows him a stranger, whom he believes is the person behind the attack. Peter, and his group of psychic friends only have three days to unravel the mystery of the attack, so when the stranger from his vision walks into his life the very next day and tries to kill him, Peter is even more determined to stop his vision from becoming reality. This is where the plot really begins to thicken. Mr. Swain has a brilliant way of leading his reader down one path, only to steer them in a totally different direction, which leads to even more questions. The constant twists and turns were fantastic, and built the suspense to an entire new level.

Although the story centers around the mystery of the attack and who is behind it, there are many smaller mysteries woven into the plot.

This book is filled to the brim with suspense, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thrilling mystery, with a dark supernatural twist.

Dark Magic gets...



 

Thank you to Tor/Forge for giving me the opportunity to read Dark Magic.

For more about James Swain and Dark Magic check out his website or connect with him on twitter