For hundreds of years, men have sought their hidden futures in the legendary images of the tarot—but what secrets of the past are harbored by...
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reviews
Sep 09, 2008
Barrett
rated it: 
The first half of this book was fantastic and engaging and mystical. I found myself almost feeling what the characters did. Fast on it's way to becoming one of my favorite books. Then all of a sudden it got really fast-passed and crappy and ruined the whole thing. It's like the author got tired of writing half way through and just wanted to tie up all the loose ends as quickly as possible and did it very badly. What could have been an epic Paulo Coelho type book of the soul and magical myste
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Dec 14, 2009
kingshearte
rated it: 
Years ago, fallen scholar Jeremiah Rosemont left the bitter rivalries of academia behind and now lives a simple nomadic existence in Central America, far from the arguments that once defined his life. But he can't outrun his past... or the dangerous truth that lurks beneath his abandoned studies. Following an enigmatic summons to Rome, Rosemont finds himself at the center of a mystery that dates back to the fall of Troy, the pursuit of a mystical treasure that many are willing to sacrifice fortu
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Jul 01, 2009
Clay
rated it:
Barth Anderson's ‘The Magician and the Fool’ (Bantam, $13, 288 pages) is a decidedly introspective book, though there’s plenty of action to disguise the fact that not much is really going on.
Two protagonists, Jeremiah Rosemont and Boy King, are both caught in a modern world with an occult subculture in which tarot cards have real power and ancient forces are calling the shots. Rosemont and the Boy King each must not only unravel the mystery of why they are chosen by these powers to p More...
Two protagonists, Jeremiah Rosemont and Boy King, are both caught in a modern world with an occult subculture in which tarot cards have real power and ancient forces are calling the shots. Rosemont and the Boy King each must not only unravel the mystery of why they are chosen by these powers to p More...
Jun 14, 2009
Teresa
rated it:
I finished this book more confused than I had been in a long time. I've pondered the plotline for quite some time and still have no idea what the author was trying to say. The book sounded like it could have been interesting but alas. It was easy enough to follow...then the stuff about tyros and Etruscan disciplines started and by the time romulus and remus were thrown in there i was lost. Just LOST.
Also, what use was it to mention that the main character is gay? Did that serve any p More...
Also, what use was it to mention that the main character is gay? Did that serve any p More...
Feb 05, 2011
February
rated it:
I am on page 98 and I think I'm done. This book was a Big Idea post on Scalzi's blog. It sounded so good--tarot history and magic!--but is a huge slog. >_< I'm trying to decide if I should continue the book or if I should abandon it for the three other library books I have remaining. The sin: telling too much, not enough showing. I'm not sure I want to finish this book. I might just return it to the library after reading this much, and just be done with it. It's not making me want
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Jun 01, 2011
Doskoi_panda
rated it: 
I really liked this book - I would cheerfully give it 4 stars from my own perspective, but following it can be a bit tricky. And explanations would be useful - not lots, but some terms and phrases should be in a glossary or footnoted (I had a similar issue with all the Spanish in Patron Saint of Plagues, but tarot/magic knowledge is less widely known.) But then again, it's a book about a magician (of sorts) so go in expecting some tricks and sleight of hand.
Part of the confusion lies in t More...
Part of the confusion lies in t More...
Nov 11, 2010
Beth
rated it:
I think I randomly picked this book up while browsing at the library. I'm not sure what caught my eye about it, but I decided to give it a shot. After a rocky start, the story quickly pulled me in and suddenly was one of those books that I just could not put down . . . until about halfway through. Then the mystery, instead of intriguing me and tantalizing me with little tidbits of revelation, just became confused, a knotted mess. While I loved the final revelation, I'm not sure that it provi
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Feb 23, 2011
Jason (FNORDinc)
rated it: 
The Magician and the Fool.
this book was all over the place. directly following Lamb, it was interesting to read something so off the wall. Half of the book is incoherent. You are reading two different perspectives on opposing sides of the world.
The first is of Jeremiah Rosemont. Rosemont is a art historian who has taken himself out of the world as we know it. he has been disgraced (though you never truly know why). the book opens with him in south America where he is bumming More...
this book was all over the place. directly following Lamb, it was interesting to read something so off the wall. Half of the book is incoherent. You are reading two different perspectives on opposing sides of the world.
The first is of Jeremiah Rosemont. Rosemont is a art historian who has taken himself out of the world as we know it. he has been disgraced (though you never truly know why). the book opens with him in south America where he is bumming More...
Jul 30, 2008
Jennifer
rated it:
My first thought on this book is that it's very Powers-ian. A secret world operating off to the side of this one that most people don't know about. And it all has to do with the Tarot. We learn about this world as Jeremiah Rosemont, once a scholar of the Tarot, learns about the other, secret world that swirls around the cards. A world that's obviously full of magic, that sprung from the fight between Romulus and Remus, that may be infinitely older than that.
Alternately, we learn of t More...
Alternately, we learn of t More...
Jul 05, 2009
Gabrielle
rated it:
The author's writing is fragmented and disjointed, disorganized. It seems to me he was writing while under the influence of something, whether hallucinogen or psychosis. He didn't take the reader into consideration by crafting his work into something digestible, didn't lay it out for the reader in mind. It read like he was simply writing for his own pleasure.
Nov 28, 2010
Trunatrschild
rated it: 
I read this a few years ago, never stopped thinking about it. I need to read it again for a better review, but it was mystical, magical and mysterious and keeps haunting me. It's responsible for my interest in medieval tarot vs modern. I accidentally happened on this book in the bookstore, I bought it on a whim and I am glad that I did.
Aug 31, 2009
JW
rated it:
Important lesson: read the entire review. I normally don't because I find the synopses in most of them to be to spoilery. Oof. I got burned here.
This is not a good book, not a good story, not well-written. It's muddled, hard to follow and ultimately just boring. Which is pretty much what the reviewer wrote, which I saw when I went back full of fury to find out who had recommended this thing to me. Oh. No one.
There's a passive protagonist, an irritating ... something More...
This is not a good book, not a good story, not well-written. It's muddled, hard to follow and ultimately just boring. Which is pretty much what the reviewer wrote, which I saw when I went back full of fury to find out who had recommended this thing to me. Oh. No one.
There's a passive protagonist, an irritating ... something More...
Aug 12, 2009
Beth
rated it:
I got to the middle of the book... I think that this is a type of book that either you love or hate. The style is very imaginative, and different. At times hard to follow. It really wasn't for me.
Mar 20, 2009
Mary
rated it:
Perhaps I just don't have the energy necessary right now to focus, but I found the book difficult to follow. I wasn't up for going back and re-reading portions to try to make sense of it. I thought the first part of the book was engaging, and was disappointed that it seemed to fall apart a bit on me.
Jul 07, 2008
Haddayr
rated it:
Okay, so this is another review of a friend's book.
This book completely blew my mind. AMAZING. I loved it loved it loved it.
It's an alternate history of the tarot, but I know not a damn thing about the tarot, nor do I care, frankly. What it was for me was the story of real people struggling with powers in themselves and in the world they want to deny. It's about friendship and magic and misery and love.
And the ending is an amazing freeform mindblowing chapter More...
This book completely blew my mind. AMAZING. I loved it loved it loved it.
It's an alternate history of the tarot, but I know not a damn thing about the tarot, nor do I care, frankly. What it was for me was the story of real people struggling with powers in themselves and in the world they want to deny. It's about friendship and magic and misery and love.
And the ending is an amazing freeform mindblowing chapter More...
Jul 18, 2008
Mandi
rated it:
I thought this sounded like a great book with an interesting theme: the history of tarot. THe book was very confusing to me, but I kept reading because I thought that at any minute I would make connections between the characters and it would all make sense. In the end, I did make connections between the characters, but it wasn't some amazing revelation, it was more like science fiction/multi-dimensional worlds based on mythology and tarot. It was a little bit"out there" for me perso
May 06, 2008
Misha
rated it:
Loved this book. Although there was a slow bit or two in the middle (and really, just a BIT), most of it kept me very interested. As I nearded the end, I thought I had it figured out. Then I was proven wrong. Then I was proven wrong again. Then I was proven wrong AGAIN!! Wonderful twists. Now I need to get Barth's first book and read that!
Oct 10, 2011
Julie
rated it:
I really loved the structure, and how nicely that made sense at the end...it was a great "a ha" moment. Loved the surreality, and the pounding pace toward the end. I don't know if I necessarily understood everything Anderson was trying to do, but I certainly enjoyed the ride.
Mar 26, 2009
Susannah
rated it:
Just finished this and loved it, from beginning to end. Gorgeous prose, a ripping good story, delicious historical arcana about tarot, ancient Rome, and Etruscan mythology. A wonderful novel, just the right length to while away a couple of weekend nights.
May 13, 2008
Tony
rated it:
Great Premise, interesting characters, but ultimately falls apart after a promising opening, veering wildly in the last third into a metaphysical labyrinth of the author's own creation, for which he sadly left no road map to follow.
Jan 14, 2011
Joanna
rated it:
Really confusing to read. I had noooo idea what was going on most of the time, it was as if I read the sequel to a book instead of the first.
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