Today it is my turn in TheWriteReads blog tour of White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton to publish my review. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this awesome tour and for making it possible that I received a physical copy of the book. That made the little fluffy octopus (scroll further down for proof) very happy as he has wanted to be on a book-picture for so long and was finally able to fulfil his dream🐙.
Book information:
- Author: David R. Slayton
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Date of publication: 13th October 2020
- Genre: Urban Fantasy
- Pages: 307
- ISBN 978-1-09-406796-4
Book Blurb:
Not all magicians go to schools of magic.
Adam Binder has the Sight. It’s a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adams life, that power has been a curse, hindering friendships, worrying his backwoods family, and fueling his abusive father’s rage.
Years after his brother, Bobby, had him committed to a psych ward, Adam is ready to come to grips with who he is, to live his life on his terms, to find love, and maybe even use his magic to do some good. Hoping to track down his missing father, Adam follows a trail of cursed artifacts to Denver, only to discover that an ancient and horrifying spirit has taken possession of Bobby’s wife.
It isn’t long before Adam becomes the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, save his sister-in-law, and learn the truth about his father, Adam will have to risk bargaining with very dangerous beings including his first love.
Review and Recommendation:
I would like to start this review a bit differently than I normally do, by mentioning the only negative point I could find in the book:
There is no 🐙 in the book, although I expected it to be by looking at the cover. After having read the book I have to be honest and admit that an octopus would not have fit the story anyways. So the „octopus“ on the cover represents the horrifying spirit and shows its tendrils and not octopus arms.
So except for the lack of octopuses the book was an outright delight to read!
I am normally not a huge fan of urban fantasy but White Trash Warlock managed to capture my attention straight from the start. I ascribe that to Adam being such an interesting protagonist with an intriguing backstory. Also that the setting is not the typical magician school or magician being the perfect hero story makes the book quite unique.
Adam somehow is a lost little kid with a horrible family history. But that never works as an excuse for him to misbehave or be lazy or what not. He appears to be quite the opposite. He is polite, friendly and gentle. Maybe I should also mention that he is gay but tbh I personally do not care whether a protagonist fancies males, females, elves, orks or whatsoever as long as it is plausible and nicely written. And here it most definitely is and I greatly enjoy the blossoming love story in this book. Adam’s character development is deeply connected with the character development of his brother and the unravelling of their family history and to be honest I did not see that plot twist coming.
I also liked the magic system and how magic works: Magic is life. For me that was especially nice as I enjoy the notion that there are parallel worlds which somehow are connected. And of course there are elves 🧝♀️ in this book. And they are perfect or maybe not?
All in all I can only recommend reading the book. Especially for people who enjoy fantasy books set in modern times and people who like having an interesting back story that slowly unravels and is connected to the main plot.
I am really looking forward to reading more of Adam Binder as White Trash Warlock is an excellent start to a promising series.
Information on the author can be found on:
www.DavidRSlayton.com
