Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Mister Magic

I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if I read it as a physical book. No shade to the narration, I think some of the horror aspects just didn’t do anything to me over audio. Interesting premise, felt like a mystery above all else, I really liked the set up but I feel like the ending didn’t really satisfy me in terms of what the story was seemingly leading to. I am still not fully certain how to feel about the ending.

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graceheartsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.75

I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction lately so I needed something different to shake myself out of a reading slump.

And this book was very much needed. I’ve never read Kiersten White before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I loved the writing. From the moment I opened the book I was spell bound.

I also loved the way this book talked about trauma and religion and grief—it’s all super important and super needed to talk about. But I can also see why some would give it a lower rating (ironically a lower rating made me want to read it lol) as the ending is bittersweet: almost everyone gets out/has a happy ending but there needs to be a sacrifice before that.

My only slight criticism is that there’s a lot of exposition near the end but it’s not terribly egregious.

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kaylokay_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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wowsmeows's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"Growing up isn't inherently loss, it's just change. Maybe she can't taste sparkles anymore, but she has a lifetime of moments that feel like that."

Mister Magic is the story of an old children's TV show that everyone remembers, but there is no evidence it ever actually existed. Thirty years after the show abruptly ended, the last cast members have a reunion and uncover the past.

I'm really not a horror reader (I'm a scaredy cat!) but I saw this book being recommended and the plot really intrigued me so I was willing to give it a go.

However, I do think classing this book as a horror is maybe being kind. It's a bit creepy in places, but at best I'd say it was a thriller or just supernatural fiction. It ends with a bittersweet and perhaps even a somewhat wholesome conclusion, so I don't think it can really be classed as a horror. It's an interesting concept but didn't really deliver with the fear.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the novel, and was ready to delve into the story and uncover the mysteries, but it lost some steam towards the end. As it was drawing to a conclusion I felt maybe it could have benefitted from having been explained a bit better and explored a bit more. I found myself a bit lost with some of the descriptions as I went through the big conclusion, but maybe that was just a me problem.

From the author's note at the end of the novel, it becomes clear that the whole book is basically an allegory for religious trauma, which looking back now is very obvious. I almost wish this had have been explored a bit more as cults are just inherently creepy.

Also,

for a book called Mister Magic, the titular character makes a stunning lack of appearance. I kept waiting for the big bad to appear out of the shadows for a grand finale, but nope.

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