Fantasma

by Thomas F. Monteleone

Family against family — to the death!

The blood feud between the Manzaras and the Candelottos began when the first Mazara strega cursed the family's hated rivals for Mafia power. Now the younger generation does battle with guns and explosives, abandoning the old ways, the old magic.

They are about to discover the depth of that mistake.

Vincent Manzara, sent to Italy to escape the latest bloodbath, has found a new strega — a compelling woman powerful enough to conjure the dreaded fantasma. This nightmarish demon will be the instrument of Vincent's revenge on the Candelottos … a revenge most dark and dreadful.

Guns and explosives are no defense against magic. Only death can sate the fantasma. Only innocence can banish it.

Genres: Horror

277 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

If "The Godfather meets Lovecraftian monsters in 1980s Brooklyn" doesn't immediately sell you on this, I don't know what will. Monteleone surmises that for centuries, Sicilian land barons and mafiosi have been using the power of stregas, aka witches, as a means to gain power. This custom has mostly died out, at least in the states, but it's about to come back in a big way.

The first 3/5ths or so of the novel is pretty much a straight crime story, with rival NY gangs at each others throats and one poor jazz musician (who wants nothing to do with the mob life) caught in the middle after his father is killed in the turf war, but it's punctuated here and there with brief bursts of supernatural intrusions. In typical Monteleone fashion, however, we do eventually get to the fireworks factory. And it doesn't disappoint. Gigantic conjured demons soon lay waste to mobsters -- with lots of collateral damage-- making the journey to get there more than worth it.

The cover always made me think it was some sort of "killer cat" novel, but I was very, very wrong. Monteleone pulls out all the stops with his creatures here, and anyone in the mood to see how Henry Hill or the Corleones would have fared with giant monsters after them need look no further. Montelone delivers the goods (eventually).

4.0 Stars.

[Lizz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t write reviews.

This was an odd story. It’s about Sicilian mafia in Italy and New York, with a twist: they use the powers of another dimension to enforce their control. The characters, while not deeply explored, kept the reader involved. It felt like reading a popcorn movie. A fun weekend book.

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the mafia vs. Lovecraft monsters in a book that's basically the literary equivalent of an early 90's direct-to-video movie. The calories are empty, but boy are they fun to eat.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, liked this one much more than I expected to. This was my first Thomas F. Monteleone book and I now understand why many of my favorite authors cite him as an influence. Sure, some bits of this book are somewhat dated but it was very well written. Great pacing and prose with just the right amount of atmosphere and action. Now I gotta track down more Monteleone books. Great read, recommended to fans of vintage 80's horror.

[Brent Winslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ultimate horror version of The Godfather? In Fantasma, Monteleone mixes Sicilian mythology with an American Mafia rags to riches story told both in the 1930s and present day to explain the successes of the New York families, through the use of witches (or Strega) who summon demons to kill enemies. Ultimately the Fantasma was disappointing, but at least I finally learned the meaning of the word that Michael Corleone uses in his final talk with his father: "pezzonovante" - a Sicilian slang term for anyone acting like a boss, but really powerless.