Reviews

Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson

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vixette's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

Before We Disappear is another tik-tok rave. An LGBTQ+ book whose reviews on Amazon were generally fantastic. So, I took a leap of faith and brought the book. Time will tell if this is money wasted or well-spent.

So, from the start, we have the reason for why our main protagonist may be loyal to another person, potentially the villainess. She took him in when his parents died, so that sense of loyalty and of family keeps us tied to people who aren’t always the best or the type of people we need around us. Family is important but found families are just as fantastic as biological families, perhaps even better as all the people choose to live with one another and accept their differences, whereas biological families are forced to like one another.

Unfortunately, it is revealed that our main character, Jack, indentured to the Enchantress through a debt of gratitude operates not only as an assistant for her magic tricks, but also operates as a thief. Stealing equipment and plans and ideas for new magical tricks to improve the Enchantress’s show and income. And they all know what he is doing as wrong, as the creator of one of those tricks recognises his trick in the Enchantress’s show and begins a ruckus, quite rightly calling her a thief.

To further cement the fact that the Enchantress is a criminal is the fact she has had multiple names. An indication that she has had to slip the radar many a time. The two names we are given are Victoria Harcourt and Evangeline Dubois. And she has the most loyal of assistant’s as Jack tells his current lover, Thierry that he owes her everything. That sort of thinking, of debt, means that sadly, Jack might be willing to do a lot for the Enchantress including perhaps getting himself into some serious trouble.

Thierry tries to tell Jack that the Enchantress does not love him and that she uses him, but I suspect we all know at this point that he considers himself tied to her. He would not walk away so easily as she is his parent in all but blood, and sometimes we deny that something is wrong because letting go of the people we love is a very difficult thing to do, even if it is the right thing to do.

There is the implication that the Enchantress, Evangaline is picking up orphans and using their talents for her own. Either that or she saw Jack on his own on the streets of New York and took advantage. She then ferried him from New York to London. Since than it has been eight years and the story started in France, Paris. But now, they are returning to New York, to Jack’s home. Evangaline Has another child to support her, Lucia who Jackacknowledges as the genius behind the Enchantress’s tricks. But neither say it openly or contradict their mistress and it is implied that there is a consequence to doing so. This is another implication that while Jack is tied to this woman by gratitude, she only sees him as a tool or pet.

Now we meet Wilhelm and here we discover he has a talent to Travel (and it is spelled with a capital T!) Now, my initial thoughts here is that while the Enchantress’s magic is fake, all illusions, Wilhelm has genuine magic. Iron hurts him and he seems capable of picking locks and travelling from one spot to another with this skill. Unfortunately, just like Jack, Wilhelm is trapped in a terrible situation. The implication that the Enchantress’s abuse is subtle, but Teddy is very much physical with Wilhelm grabbing him and holding tight enough to bruise. Not only is he hurt and threatened by Teddy, he is also chained to his bed (a pile of rags) by a manacle. Whereas Jack’s slavery is enforced by his gratitude of the Enchantress saving him from the streets, Wilhelm’s slavery is enforced with punishment and chains. Worse still, iron burns Wilhelm, so the iron manacle chaining him to his bedding is torture.

Wilhelm is expected to take a pill every morning, something pink and sugary. Is it a drug to control Wilhelm’s power or a way to enhance is power, to give Wilhelm more energy to pull of dangerous stunts?
Now, Teddy has this fantastic idea to quit thieving and become a magician. Let’s ignore the fact that the magical person here is Wilhelm and the old coot has been keeping Wilhelm imprisoned and it’s only Wilhelm’s power that got Teddy this far. But I suspect we all know he is going to try and use Wilhelm’s power to make a name for himself at the expense of his victim.

”Do you think they still remember you>” Teddy asked.

I caught Teddy’s eye and held it. “Even if they do,” I said, “you are my family now.” (Page 45).

Was Wilhelm abducted from his family by Teddy?! And then we have the fact that Teddy burnt someone alive for finding out about Wilhelm’s gifts. Wilhelm therefore promises to keep his talent secret from Teddy’s new female assistant.

Ruth was introduced earlier, a young black dancing girl who is running an alcohol smuggling operation as alcohol is banned and she needs money to pay off the owner of the brothel and to start a new life. She agrees to work with Jack as a magician’s crates aren’t searched as it would ruin the trick, so he can sneak the alcohol in with the Enchantress’s supplies. During one of these ventures, he witnesses Laszlos aka Teddy’s shows. He realises Teddy’s tricks are strange and almost impossible. And just like Wilhelm’s attention was drawn to Jack during the Enchantress’s shows, Jack’s attention is drawn to Wilhelm during Laszlo’s show.

Jack is really observant and smart. He recognises that Laszlo was performing impossible tricks. An example is the coin trick, where they let the coin flow from finger to finger before hiding it in the palm of the hand. Jack’s eyes followed the coin, knew which hand it was in and when Laszlo opened his palm, the coin wasn’t there but Jack could see indentations and a slight pink hue that said the coin had been there. Then when he tried to follow them home to break into Laszlo’s home, the pair (Wilhelm and Teddy/Laszlo disappeared and there was absolutely no where they could have gone without Jack seeing.

When he does find Laszlo’s home, he finds Wilhelm chained to the bed and correctly surmises that Wilhelm is a prisoner and something major is going on here. Despite the Enchantress’s manipulations and the implication there is a consequence to defying her, Jack has yet to be physically harmed, so it is clear that Wilhelm is in the most immediate danger. So, is Jack the one to rescue him?

So, Wilhelm was abducted by Teddy when he was four. Perhaps Teddy saw Wilhelm’s talent and wanted it for himself. And since he kept the pair of them travelling, it is likely Wilhelm is classed as a John Doe or a run-away. We later find out that the pink pills Teddy/Laszlo has him take are filled with iron, something that hurts and limits Wilhelm's powers, making it impossible for the boy to escape.

Ruth is a fantastic character here. A young black woman who lives in a time when the colour of her skin meant she had very little rights. Yet, she is full of energy, hopes and dreams. She is a loyal friend who is doing everything she can for Jack while also taking care of herself. She is making herself the best friend Jack never knew he needed and perhaps it is through her that he will realise he needs to cut ties with the Enchantress and make his own way.

In the end it is not Ruth but Lucia who makes Jack realise that he’s already chosen who to follow. When Laszlo’s scheme to steal gold bars is revealed, Jack turns to the only one cunning enough to outdo the evil man. The Enchantress. She’s self-serving and greedy, but I cheered for her then when she worked with Jack and Lucia to humiliate Laszlo at his own show. All the significant characters have a role and in the final confrontation Wilhelm trusts Jack enough to walk away from Laszlo and to his freedom. The Enchantress gets the gold, Laszlo ends up in prison and Jack gets his man.

Ruth is perhaps one of the reasons I love this book so much. A wonderful character who became Jack’s best friend and even feels like the big sister! I loved how the racism she endured didn’t hold her back, it didn’t jade her. She loved a white girl, Jessamy Valentine, had no anger towards the police or anyone else, and worked hard, even if what she was doing wasn’t entirely legal.

Another reason I liked this book is because it pits two villain’s against each other. No-one is a hero here. Evangaline and Laszlo are out for themselves, fortunately, despite my reservations earlier on in the book, Evagaline is not abusive, just manipulative. So really, she is the better person out of the two villains. Jack is a pick pocket and thief, Wilhelm is a thief (though not by choice). Evangaline really earned some admiration here, though, as selfish as her intentions were, she helped Jack and saved a tortured boy from his kidnapper in one elegant performance.

Was this the most fantastic book I’ve read.

No.

But it was definitely a fun and entertaining read. And I was desperately waiting for the chapter when Wilhelm would be saved. The big ending, the characters all coming together to play their parts reminded me of crime dramas like Poirot and Miss Marple. It was a satisfying end to the drama. I would definitely read this again and while it is mainly LGBTQ+ themed, there is little to no mature content, other than a kiss between Jack and Wilhelm, so it is a fantastic read for those who are interested in LGBTQ+ books but want something fun and satisfying to read that isn’t just a mature read.

akal's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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2.0

2.5/5

I had a lot of fun with this book and the characters but I felt like it was missing something overall

pipn_t's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this one.

Content Warnings

flusswaerts's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.0

I loved the main characters, the setting and the premise, but the antagonists were incredibly one dimensional and, to me, felt a little dull.

ceruleanstar's review against another edition

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3.0

3,5*?
I liked the story, characters and setting, but I think that the writing was kind of flat, like it didn't convey the emotions I felt it could have conveyed, you know? Just made me want for a bit more than what I actually got. Overall a good reading.

rainbowbookworm's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book! Although it's set during the Alaska - Yukon - Pacific Exposition (1909) the rivalry between the illusionists gave me circus / carnival vibes. The author takes hefty historical liberties to bring this fantasy to life, but I didn't even mind.

If you want a fast-paced read that contains fantasy, heists, con artists, and a gay love story: Look not further!

danqie's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

mjauvalp's review against another edition

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4.0

idk whos idea it was to write a YA magical realisim romance novel about the alaska yukon pacific exposition but i am not complaining i guess

midnightrox9's review against another edition

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3.0

Some of the writing and dialogue felt quite stiff, and it felt like some parts were skimmed over too quickly, and other sections had too much detail given. But the two main relationships were quite sweet !!

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