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Member Reviews

A clever, stylish urban fantasy with a crackling magic system and nuanced take on the complicated nature of love, family, and facing difficult self-truths. The protagonist, Sid, is a pessimistic, down-on-his luck Nick Miller type with the ability to harness a magical energy known as "mojo" to travel through mirrors. An enormous tragedy from his past has him in in deep with the magical crime world and clawing his way out of paralyzing depression. Huston does a thoughtful job of portraying the ugly, honest realities of living with the illness without letting it define Sid's character. Sid himself is darkly humorous narrator with a streak of unreliability that drive the compelling mysteries of his own past and parallel his quest to locate a missing teenage girl.

I loved most the small details of the story, especially the side characters: an 80's obsessed crime boss, an evil talent manager on a mission to throw a non-stop party, a doomsday video game creator, a host of glass doppelgänger's pulled from mirrors. With echoes of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, this modern magical thriller is equal parts humor, horror, and heart. It is also a fun homage to Los Angeles and its chaotic clash of glitter and violence, as magical social media influencers clash with old-fashioned suicide cults. My only complaint is I wish the women in the story had been given a little more emotional depth: Circe comes across as an embittered teenager & Abigail serves the classic Dead Wife trope, though this is slightly circumvented at the end she nevertheless remains primarily a catalyst for Sid's own realizations and development.

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