Praying The Day's Not Poison: The Redemption of Howard Marsh 4

The Redemption of Howard Marsh #4

by Bob McGough

Things are magically awry in Jubal County once more, and Howard Marsh is on the case. Not willingly mind you, but everyone’s favorite redneck wizard has learned a few new tricks and is anxious to give them a try. And while he’s about as low as he’s ever been, with a little help from his friends he’s ready to battle an array of new and old foes. And who knows, he might actually come out on top for a change!

In ‘Pigskins’ our hero gets drug into that most heated of small town football. Are the Swampcats using magic to win their games? Just who is out there in the woods beyond the end-zone? And will he ever find a suitable hot dog?

In ‘The Swamp King’ Marsh takes a jaunt out to the Camp to try and tie up some loose ends. Who or what is making that strange laughing sound in the surrounding swamps? What is to be found in the ruins of Morgan’s witch house? Has Johnny’s fiddle playing magicked something up?

Jubal County’s most reluctant hero has returned, and chaos is sure to follow!

( This book contains much cursing and foul language, as befits a tale told by a drug addled white trash wizard.)

“Jim Butcher meets Bill Faulkner” – Amazon Reviewer

Genres: Fantasy

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 2022

About the author

Born and raised in South Alabama, Bob is an author, podcaster, tabletop game designer, and all around hot mess. His cause of death will most likely result from one of the hitchhikers with he picks up reckless abandon. A study in contrasts, he once skinny-dipped at a wedding and is also an Eagle Scout. He has two useless college degrees, has roadied for bands, and broke his wrist in a wall of death at a Divine Heresy show. He’s written for video games, designed board games, and owns a disturbing number of roleplaying games. When he was eight he give a camel a coke in Israel and got flashed in Paris. When he grew up he watched a monkey steal a man’s wallet in Costa Rica. He’s made passible podcasts, filmed terrible short horror movies, and been the producer on a trio of albums you've never heard of. Thriving on the groans of those he has punned around he spends far too much time nervously laughing. He once dug up a dead cow in a creek thinking it was a human cadaver and had a cousin that’s a water witch. In college he gave haunted ghost tours (even though he’s pretty sure ghosts aren’t real). He’s been stalked, gave a Prophet a lift, and been stagger drunk in more states than he would care to admit.

More relevant he wrote these books, some other books, and has been published by a number of other folks with questionable judgement. The fictional things he writes sometimes come weirdly true.

He lives in the middle of Alabama with his amazing LadyWife, the Kiddo, and a number of portly cats.

Reviews

[Steve Kimmins]

Fourth in the Howard Marsh series. I really am racing through these books. They’re easy to read and addictive in a good way.
It’s the same old Howard. Struggling with his drug addiction while trying to use his limited magical powers to solve local problems. Surprisingly fun reads even though they frequently describe a guy who finds it hard to avoid hitting rock bottom in his personal life. He seems to be growing as a person through the series, and then the addiction regularly pulls him down again. It certainly isn’t a glowing advert for a chemically stimulated lifestyle.

Maybe some signs that I shouldn’t be reading too many of these in sequence so quickly as I did find myself a little more annoyed with Howard’s life choices than usual. However, I think being annoyed in that way is a sign that the reader is caring about the character, of course. I do also enjoy the author’s descriptions of this rural Deep South region, an area he clearly loves, warts and all.

Two novella length stories as usual in the book. The first of the two tales involves a possibly fixed local league American Football game, a game I struggle to follow though that’s not important to the tale, and touches briefly on racism, something the series has acknowledged can bubble under the surface in the area. I thought that the second of the two tales was, for the first time for me, just a little too light on a plot, with Howard chilling out in a hippie camp in the nearby woods. It did involve a meeting with a previously encountered magical adversary but it seemed to me to be setting itself up for possible future storylines rather than telling me a story.

But I’m nitpicking. That critique would barely knock half a star off the 5* entertainment ratings I feel these stories deserve.

[Jacob Grayson]

✨ 💊 ✨ love these books from start to finish. Unfortunately being visually impaired I have to wait on the narrator to finish up the next book to be able to read on. So Dear John, hurry up please. I've got more meth and magic to consume. ✨ 💊 ✨

[Stijn]

"The stories to come are often filled with sadness. The fairytale ending is not for stories such as these. There is a chance at happiness, but it is a long way away.

Another duology of short stories about our most loved redneck wizard. These stories often act as a palete cleanser for me, being quite short and with relatively low stakes, and I really enjoy seeing magic on a more 'mundane', or less impactful, scale happening. Would recommend, because come on, who hasn't wanted to watch a crack-addicted wizard in rural Alabama navigate life?

[Finished this a while ago, but forgot to update my Goodreads until now].

[Trevor]

I’ve liked all the Marsh books but I think the author really hit his stride here with this installment. Great stories about an interesting dirtbag that for some reason you really root for

[kozo]

Can be summed up as such: He has an existential crisis, bitches about a hot dog (for a very long time), the yeehaw magicians go to a bump and run, puns for days, and he fist fights a swamp a few times.

500/10 all gold stars no notes

[Cara Hollingworth]

Please tell me there’s going to be a 5th installment in the series. You can’t just leave it like that!

[Luciano Carvajal]

i effing love this series

I love everything about the world howard calls home, this magical universe fueled by drugs and psicodelia, set on a beautifull land I know nothing about, allows me to expirience something i didnt know i needed. Greetings from the long and narrow country of Chile

[Katie Norris]

An Awesome Series

I enjoyed all 4 books. I cannot wait to see what this author has up his sleeve next. Just an overall great series.

[Journey Windrow]

Here's Howard Marsh again. He's the anti-hero you love. He's a pain in the butt who has been dragged for years by his family and the community. He's that guy who never had a chance, but is probably smarter than the entire town put together.

Marsh gets himself into more trouble than... well... you can shake a stick at. He's an addict and a drunk. He's a thief and general pain in the neck. But if he commits to dealing with a magical problem with a monster driving it, he manages to carry through, no matter what happens. If you were in a movie, you'd be closing your eyes now and then.

But he's also more help to people in need than anyone wants to admit. Marsh isn't mean. He's just trying to survive. And its not like anyone there is going out of their way to help him.

Those he cares about he cares deeply about. So much so that he's getting to the point he's working himself up to deal with his demons. Anyone who's struggled with addiction understands that uphill slog.

This is as gritty and noir as any urban fantasy. The magic is well thought out. The paranormal adversaries can be terrifying. Although Marsh is always overmatched he always manages to get out by the skin of his teeth.

I love this series! Needs an amazing narrator/audio book. I'd line up to buy them!

[Jilleen]

These books are about a poor redneck, meth addled wizard. Yet, he remains extremely likeable. Why, you may ask? Because although his moral compass doesn't run true north, he has a code and a sincere desire to help people.

Sure, his work ethic is to water witch, find lost items, steal copper, and generally only do enough to buy drugs and pay for his storage unit life, but he'll right a wrong if he sees one.

Each of these books is actually two novellas in the life of Howard Marsh. In this one, he accepts a job to unwhammy a winning football team, and in the other he sets out to help some friends of his get rid of a redcap they don't know has them in their sights.

Is he successful? Most of the time, as long as he doesn't run afoul of stronger creatures or his granny, but he doesn't have a lot of good luck. Luckily he's clever when he's not high.

I really enjoy these books, they are easy reading, unique, have great world building, and they are bit like a lazy summer evening where you sit back, watch the lightning bugs, and drink a cold lemonade on the back porch without a care.

I highly recommend them!

[Kc]

Fun, quick read. Well written!

The characters, dialect, depression and addiction are all conveyed expertly. Mr. McGough knows these things and has crafted a work that shows his ability to tell a story! Howard Marsh, the methmagician, and his merry band of compatriots comes to life!

[Hamp Simmons]

Terrific!

I love Marsh! What a great character he is. I truly wish there were 20 or 30 books in this series. The story telling is first class. The way that m tough portrays the red neck southern culture is mesmerizing. I can't wait for the next book.

[Scott]

More fun with Marsh

The fun just keeps on coming with this amusing series. It's not going to change your life (unless you're also a drug-soaked magician) but it is highly likely it will make you grin,

[D]

Yet another great installment in the Howard Marsh series!

[Dichotomy Girl]

Finally we see Granny!

[Iris Kain]

Bob Never Lets Us Down

Always amusing and endlessly entertaining. Any book in the Howard Marsh series is going to be worth the read. McGough has another winner.

[Bookworm52732]

Uh-oh... Marsh is on somebody's radar now.

[Sabreena Rodgers]

#notthejncojeans