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Trick Molloy #1-7
Tricknomancy
Tricknomancy collects all seven of the Trick Molloy stories into the novel-length story they were always meant to be. This collection includes If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me and The Devil Within which have not been previously released or collected with these other stories. Tricknomancy tells the story of Patrick Molloy, a magick-using ex-cop who was busted off the force on trumped up bribery charges. He works as a bouncer in a Gentlemen's Club, Club Flesh, where all the women use magick to conjure dollars out of the patrons' pockets. His only true friend is the coroner; his family hates him with a passion, and the cop who busted him off the force is just itching to find a way to send him to jail. Trick Molloy's world is one in which magick-users are feared and hated. Televangelists make bank on casting them as the devil's tools. Gangsters often use magick more readily than guns. Respectable magickers use their skills for seduction, robbery and murder. No one in power really cares about what befalls the criminal class, which Trick Molloy as the one man smart enough to discover the truth, and tough enough to administer justice.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 20, 2012
Tricknomancy collects the first (and currently only) seven Trick Molloy stories by Michael Stackpole.
The stories:
1) No Rest for the Wicked
2) If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me*
3) The Devil Within*
4) Such a Nice Girl
5) Little Girl Lost
6) The Witch in Scarlet
7) 'Til Death
*previously unreleased and only available in this collection.
Trick Molloy is a former cop and current bouncer. He was driven from the force on false charges, but even those who believe his guilt have something "worse" to hate him for: Trick is one of the relatively few humans who can not only has Talent, but can use it.
Trick is a strong, if a bit stereotypical, lead: flawed and plagued with personal problems, but fierce, loyal and never quits. What sets Trick and his stories apart is the magick he controls and the limitations placed on it. Only those who have an affinity, have discovered their trigger, and know their channel can perform magick. This gives an easy to understand structure to Trick's world and explains why only a few of the inhabitants can accomplish much with their Talent.
I've read a fair bit by Michael Stackpole and am always impressed by his worldbuilding skills. The environments and "rules" are always depicted fully developed, well formed, and compliment the story being told. Since Trick's world differs only from our own by the existence of magick, it's easy to follow the consequences Trick has to deal with. But the key is that it is still all background and enhancement: the cases and the characters are the heart of the stories, and Stackpole never forgets that.
Each story reads well alone, but contributes to the overall story of events building in Trick's life. A fantastic series and a must read for anyone who'd like a different take on "urban fantasy." I hope we eventually see more from Trick Molloy.
The stories:
1) No Rest for the Wicked
2) If Vanity Doesn't Kill Me*
3) The Devil Within*
4) Such a Nice Girl
5) Little Girl Lost
6) The Witch in Scarlet
7) 'Til Death
*previously unreleased and only available in this collection.
Trick Molloy is a former cop and current bouncer. He was driven from the force on false charges, but even those who believe his guilt have something "worse" to hate him for: Trick is one of the relatively few humans who can not only has Talent, but can use it.
Trick is a strong, if a bit stereotypical, lead: flawed and plagued with personal problems, but fierce, loyal and never quits. What sets Trick and his stories apart is the magick he controls and the limitations placed on it. Only those who have an affinity, have discovered their trigger, and know their channel can perform magick. This gives an easy to understand structure to Trick's world and explains why only a few of the inhabitants can accomplish much with their Talent.
I've read a fair bit by Michael Stackpole and am always impressed by his worldbuilding skills. The environments and "rules" are always depicted fully developed, well formed, and compliment the story being told. Since Trick's world differs only from our own by the existence of magick, it's easy to follow the consequences Trick has to deal with. But the key is that it is still all background and enhancement: the cases and the characters are the heart of the stories, and Stackpole never forgets that.
Each story reads well alone, but contributes to the overall story of events building in Trick's life. A fantastic series and a must read for anyone who'd like a different take on "urban fantasy." I hope we eventually see more from Trick Molloy.
December 30, 2021
I love the character Trick Molloy and I wish there was a whole series of books based on him. I read a short story with him in it in another collection of short stories by various authors, and I enjoyed it so much that I searched for more and found this. The stories are good, but it only makes me wish there were more.
I really like the worldbuilding and how magic is acquired. People who are born with a talent might not even know it. And even if they are born talented, they have to find their "trigger"... what makes their magic strong and powerful. For Trick it's Irish whiskey. The better the booze, the better the power. And those with power have different access to certain elements like fire or water. The tidbits about his background and his family, especially his brother Harry, are so fascinating and they are perfect antagonists. Also love Trick's relationship and banter with his mother, which is snarky and sarcastic and hilarious. He is clearly the black sheep and the child she wishes she could forget.
And Trick's grandmother comes up in some of the stories and is especially interesting in the ways she uses her magic and her love and relationship with Trick. Would love to know more about her background and life... heck, she'd be a thick book on her own I imagine.
And to add to the list of fascinating characters, some of Trick's cousins have stories begging to be told as well, especially his cousin Loki, whose trigger is pain, and who is so powerful that the lust for pain and destruction can take him over in a way that can be extremely dangerous, both to friends and foe, and to his own mind as well. Trick seems one of the very few people who can manage to help him regain his control, but it's clear that it may not always be the case.
So many cool ideas and people and stories still waiting to be told. Like I said... I wish the author would write a series and expand on these short glimpses into the cool dark and gritty world of crime and magic he's created around this charcter.
I really like the worldbuilding and how magic is acquired. People who are born with a talent might not even know it. And even if they are born talented, they have to find their "trigger"... what makes their magic strong and powerful. For Trick it's Irish whiskey. The better the booze, the better the power. And those with power have different access to certain elements like fire or water. The tidbits about his background and his family, especially his brother Harry, are so fascinating and they are perfect antagonists. Also love Trick's relationship and banter with his mother, which is snarky and sarcastic and hilarious. He is clearly the black sheep and the child she wishes she could forget.
And Trick's grandmother comes up in some of the stories and is especially interesting in the ways she uses her magic and her love and relationship with Trick. Would love to know more about her background and life... heck, she'd be a thick book on her own I imagine.
And to add to the list of fascinating characters, some of Trick's cousins have stories begging to be told as well, especially his cousin Loki, whose trigger is pain, and who is so powerful that the lust for pain and destruction can take him over in a way that can be extremely dangerous, both to friends and foe, and to his own mind as well. Trick seems one of the very few people who can manage to help him regain his control, but it's clear that it may not always be the case.
So many cool ideas and people and stories still waiting to be told. Like I said... I wish the author would write a series and expand on these short glimpses into the cool dark and gritty world of crime and magic he's created around this charcter.
October 30, 2014
Trick Molloy is an ex-cop, framed for bribery and tossed off the force. Now he works as a bouncer at Club Flesh, a strip club that employs only talented dances.
The talented are where this book really shines. Talent is the parlance for magic, which is known to exist but is still quite rare. Trick is also talented - strongly so. The mechanics and expression of magic in these stories is refreshing in its uniqueness.
Tricknomancy is a collection of short stories about Molloy. Due to his connections with the police and underworld, and his own strong sense of responsibility to the girls at the club, Trick gets drawn into a lot of situations that wouldn't usually be a bouncer's problem.
All in all, it was a fun book without a lot of big surprises. Worth it for an easy read by fans of urban fantasy or noir.
(I received this book as part of the Story Bundle from Humble Bundle. The version I received has terrible editing problems. Double words, missing words, subject and verb agreement, spelling, etc. I don't know if an unfinished version was accidentally included in the Bundle, or if other versions match it.)
The talented are where this book really shines. Talent is the parlance for magic, which is known to exist but is still quite rare. Trick is also talented - strongly so. The mechanics and expression of magic in these stories is refreshing in its uniqueness.
Tricknomancy is a collection of short stories about Molloy. Due to his connections with the police and underworld, and his own strong sense of responsibility to the girls at the club, Trick gets drawn into a lot of situations that wouldn't usually be a bouncer's problem.
All in all, it was a fun book without a lot of big surprises. Worth it for an easy read by fans of urban fantasy or noir.
(I received this book as part of the Story Bundle from Humble Bundle. The version I received has terrible editing problems. Double words, missing words, subject and verb agreement, spelling, etc. I don't know if an unfinished version was accidentally included in the Bundle, or if other versions match it.)
September 23, 2015
I liked Tricknomancy. The writing is good, and it's solid urban fantasy. The book is a collection of stand-alone short stories featuring Patrick (Trick) Molloy, a former detective who now works as a bouncer in a strip club and who keeps getting cases to work, one way or another. The stories themselves are not entirely predictable, yet do follow a framework that is both familiar and comfortable - detective noir a la Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. I kind of like that Stackpole is writing within a "form" and focuses the creativity on Trick's magic. Props to Stackpole for creating his own magic system - and making Trick's magic consistent with the detective noir mindset.
Although Stackpole is known for science fiction and more traditional fantasy, his "dabbling" in urban fantasy pays off. His writing/storytelling chops fall right between Jim Butcher and Richard Kadrey. I hope we'll see more of this character. I like the format of stand-alone stories with some background characters and activity that create continuity through the book.
Although Stackpole is known for science fiction and more traditional fantasy, his "dabbling" in urban fantasy pays off. His writing/storytelling chops fall right between Jim Butcher and Richard Kadrey. I hope we'll see more of this character. I like the format of stand-alone stories with some background characters and activity that create continuity through the book.
October 28, 2014
Two things made this collection stand out, for me. First, it doesn't shy away from the harsh consequences of the genre and setting. People get hurt, people die, and sometimes there aren't perfect solutions. Second, there's enough continuity to keep me interested. If all the stories were completely stand-alone, I would have gotten bored half-way through. The developing relationships and characters kept me interested.
On the downside, the last few stories set up some overarching plots that are never really explored very much, although this might just be setting up more sequels. Also, since the stories were originally separate, recurring characters and mechanics have to be explained in each one, in pretty much exactly the same way each time. This impairs the general flow when the stories are collected into a single novel. A little editing for these issues and some general grammatical stuff would have helped a lot.
On the downside, the last few stories set up some overarching plots that are never really explored very much, although this might just be setting up more sequels. Also, since the stories were originally separate, recurring characters and mechanics have to be explained in each one, in pretty much exactly the same way each time. This impairs the general flow when the stories are collected into a single novel. A little editing for these issues and some general grammatical stuff would have helped a lot.
January 19, 2015
Tricknomancy is a collection of related short stories telling the tales of Patrick Connolly, a former cop now strip club bouncer, who has magic. The magic system in the world is interesting, and compels a lot of the action. The overall collection builds off of previous stories, but doesn't have any particularly compelling conclusion. But that's its only real weakness. Trick is a fun character to watch, and the situations he gets into (and out of, although not always on his own volition) ratchet up impressively. The sixth story in the collection is my favorite, as a family rivalry leads to art fraud and much darker things. Stackpole writes characters well and action better, and the entire collection was an enjoyable ride on the dark side of an unpleasant world.
July 16, 2015
Great surprise, I wasn't expecting to like it so much. I like this type of books, but short stories don't fill me as much as a full length novel. In this case I really enjoyed the stories, and I'm looking to add more books from this author to my To Be Read pile. I loved Patrick Molloy character, a White Knight with a tough boy attitude and the detective stories with a bit of paranormal where fun. It's a stereotype, nothing new here, but if you like this kind of genre I recommend this book.
November 4, 2014
So overall a good book, it read like a series of shorts which I felt was not good as he reiterated in each chapter what it was to be magic it was pretty redundant.
his take on the magic world was unique and could be a lot of fun to work with.
his take on the magic world was unique and could be a lot of fun to work with.
July 29, 2011
Fun short story collection. I especially liked the take on magic.
February 28, 2013
Loved it. Great blend of Hard Boiled and Fantasy.
November 19, 2014
Great series of short stories. The world developed nicely as the series went on. Really liked the protagonist Trick. Just what I needed from a book at the moment.
June 23, 2015
Really enjoyable collection of short stories of a former cop / magic user solving crime.
October 7, 2015
A decent mix of magic, detectives and action.
The first time in a long while that magic is presented differently and with different uses.
Hope there's more.
The first time in a long while that magic is presented differently and with different uses.
Hope there's more.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews