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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Aside from the ridiculously contrived end (reminiscent of Die Hard and every "villan is dead, no he's not, yes he is" climax) this book pulled off exactly what it wanted to do. Totally engrossing, fun histroical fiction. Loved it.
Great book! Excellent historical novel. I found it similar to "Swing". The author captured the spirit of early 20th century America. I enjoyed the character development and interply. He even made pres Harding a sympathetic character!
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Charles Carter is one of my favorite literary heroes, despite the fact that he is based on a real person. My second time reading this and it has not lost any of its magic.
This book makes it official: I am addicted to books involving magic, especially those revolving around dueling magicians, sabotage and counter-sabotage. Allow me to enumerate a few of my faves: Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy, Susanna Clarke's Strange and Norrell, Christopher Priest's The Prestige, and all of the Potter books. I didn't seek this theme out; instead it seems to have found me. No matter. I recommend each of the preceeding whole-heartedly. Now, add Carter Beats the Devil to the list.
Nearly every book I've read is too long and needs editing. The same is true for movies. Carter is no exception, though the sense of epic scale is important as the many strands of the book come together for the final performance / climax. Otherwise, this is an excellent book. The characters are fun, the magic is clever and tinges each storyline with wonder, and the flow is satisfyingly unpredictable from moment to moment while ultimately delivering to readers the he-got-what-he-deserved punch the we deeply desire.
Much of the intrigue in this book is built upon a historical foundation. Carter really was a vaudeville magician; Harding really did die in office under questionable circumstances; and Philo Farnsworth did indeed contribute greatly to the invention of television. Author Glen David Gold brilliantly stirs fantasy and conjecture into the mix and the results are a potion of delights. Please do read this book.
Nearly every book I've read is too long and needs editing. The same is true for movies. Carter is no exception, though the sense of epic scale is important as the many strands of the book come together for the final performance / climax. Otherwise, this is an excellent book. The characters are fun, the magic is clever and tinges each storyline with wonder, and the flow is satisfyingly unpredictable from moment to moment while ultimately delivering to readers the he-got-what-he-deserved punch the we deeply desire.
Much of the intrigue in this book is built upon a historical foundation. Carter really was a vaudeville magician; Harding really did die in office under questionable circumstances; and Philo Farnsworth did indeed contribute greatly to the invention of television. Author Glen David Gold brilliantly stirs fantasy and conjecture into the mix and the results are a potion of delights. Please do read this book.
It was a treat to read a novel set in Oakland and San Francisco -- especially the Oakland parts! I found this to be an engaging novel with an interesting twist on magician life, President Harding, and our not-so-distant past. I'm tempted now to go back and see what is fact and what was Gold's imagination.
Fun to read, a little hard to follow at points but could have been because I was half asleep for the second half of each of my pre-bedtime reading sessions. In the acknowledgments when he thanks his wife it’s super sexy and romantic.
This was a fun one; I also read Sunnyside. Historical novels must be a riot to write. This one takes a somewhat obscure magician (he really lived, but not so much the events described in the book) and surround him with all the really famous magicians, show biz folks, and politicians of the day. Then you just slather in all kinds of historical stuff that was going on. The Marx Brothers make an appearance; Philo Farnsworth features prominently. Houdini shows up. And on the list goes. The story was pretty entertaining, although I never made a really strong connection with Charles Carter as a character. This one was fun for all the ways the author came up with to tell the story with historical footnotes.
This was quite good. I have no idea what the genre really is on here, though. Was it a mystery? Er...maybe? Literary? Well, the style was pretty spiffy but not as thick as it would have been in literary. Historical? Hm...yes, it certainly WAS historical.
The main plot centered around Carter the Magician through his life, although from a historical perspective, it was more about President Harding than anything else.
The main plot centered around Carter the Magician through his life, although from a historical perspective, it was more about President Harding than anything else.
Though this book is by an American author, I actually stumbled on it while browsing in a London bookstore. It was a great find! It kept me up into the wee hours of the night in my little dorm room!