By A. B. Neilly
It is always fun to read about magic, especially if you are an occultist yourself. Martin Shannon's novel is a fantasy novel that mixes some of the classic themes of magic, such as demons, spells, and sigils, and takes them into a ride with one of the funniest characters I have found lately: Gene Law.
Gene is a middle-aged man, happily married, with two kids. The guy who should be already established in life. He has only a problem; he is a magician, and the New Dead are coming after his family. Even worse, his teenager daughter, who takes off any magic protection his dad creates for her, comes into her own powers and tries all the dangerous magic she can find around.
Gene has to deal with all those threats, including Hell Fleas and other creatures from Hell, all while he tries to maintain a respectable behaviour. Of course, he fails. Respectability and Magick, in Shannon's world, are incompatible.
This is a fast-paced novel, where one disaster piles up over the next one, riding the story to a satisfactory ending that opens up to the next novels in the series.
What I love about this novel is that it is like no other I've found before. It has the flavour of detective stories mixed up with paranormal experiences and a pinch of the Hitchhiker's Guide humour.
A very refreshing read for a day in which you want to laugh at magic.
The best part; the world-building is outstanding and there are many more novels to resolve the mysteries that were hinted in this first one. If you try it, you'll get hooked. No way out.