Decent...But No Real Magic

MISTIFICATION by Kaaron Warren (2011 Angry Robot Books / 303 pp / tp and eBook)


Warren's latest novel deals with a young magician named Marvo (a REAL magician, not one of those phoney illusionists) who harbors some amazing powers.  With his parents gone, his grandmother takes care of him, and when a bunch of thugs try to kill him, she takes the boy to a secret room in a huge house where they live for four years(!).  The boy spends his days listening to his grandmother's life stories of magic, and also sneaks out daily to find them food.  If you can get past this whole premise (which I had a hard time doing), you'll probably stick around for the next act, in which Marvo's grandmother dies, forcing Marvo to finally venture out into the world.


Without any formal education, Marvo fends for himself by doing whatever he can, and also by "collecting" stories from the many people he meets (there's quite a few of these stories here, some of which tried my patience to the max).  He winds up in a psychiatric institution where he eventually gets into a relationship with one of the nurses.  They take off and begin performing magic shows together, and as a couple continue to collect stories from everyone they come into contact with (and while some of these stories are interesting, It seems like they're here for filler).


MISTIFICATION had the potential to do alot more than it does.  Marvo's powers are more discussed than actually used, and it seemed as if Warren was holding him back for some mysterious reason.  While there's some fine moments (especially during Marvo's magic act at a young child's birthday party), I kept waiting for more to happen, but it never did.


In the hands of a lesser writer, I don't know if I would've made it through MISTIFICATION; Warren's prose is always smooth and tight, and I liked the whole "real magic" angle at play here, but like her novel SLIGHTS, there's that same THING going on that seems to be keeping her from unleashing that true classic I KNOW she has in her.  A decent read, just don't expect too much magic...