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Sorcerer
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1988
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 14, 2023
Sorcerer started as a pretty engaging horror read, but slowly but surely descended into ridiculous fantasy territory. Our main protagonist, one Michael Dragon, starts the book with him and his young daughter seeking out psychics in legendary Cassadaga, Florida. Why? We never learn. However, the one psychic that agrees to give him a reading dies horribly while doing so. Michael returns to Tampa only to find his wife in the pool with a neighbor; she promptly tells him she is leaving him and he can have the kid and the house.
Manley then takes us on a tour of a few more characters, a heavy metal rock star and a rich, female entrepreneur, both of which are 'tested' in strange and bizarre ways. We quickly find out that Michael and the others are children of a man named Caine, an ancient sorcerer. Sorcerers seem to be masters of illusion and Manley has some fun playing with this concept-- what is really real and so forth. Anyway, all three 'kids' accept one way tickets to London to meet this Caine; their initial contact being a bombshell redhead who presumably works as Caine's personal assistant. Caine tells the three that he is dying and one of them will be his replacement. It seems three master sorcerers have populated Earth for just about forever, maintaining some sort of balance; when the balance fails, we get things like world wars and such. The other two sorcerers are after Caine, and he tells his children they will come for them as well...
So, what starts off with some strange events and such rapidly moves into the territory of epic fantasy where the future of the world is at stake. Overblown and it just gets sillier. Somehow, these neophyte children are going to face ancient sorcerers with decades and centuries of practice honing their 'art'. Toss in an insipid romance between Michael and one of the fledgling psychics from Cassadaga, who falls in love with him at first sight (well, she is blind, but I will let that pass). Will Michael be able to win against all odds and save his little girl (she was kidnapped and brought to London to ensure Michael will come)? Oh, don't forget Merlin of Arthurian legend, as he also plays a role here.
Manley gives us some decent humor along the way, which allowed me to finish it, but still not really sure what he was aiming for here. The last few pages have ads for fantasy novels so I guess that was the audience target. I love fantasy and horror, but this? Bad example of both. 1.5 sorcerous stars!
Manley then takes us on a tour of a few more characters, a heavy metal rock star and a rich, female entrepreneur, both of which are 'tested' in strange and bizarre ways. We quickly find out that Michael and the others are children of a man named Caine, an ancient sorcerer. Sorcerers seem to be masters of illusion and Manley has some fun playing with this concept-- what is really real and so forth. Anyway, all three 'kids' accept one way tickets to London to meet this Caine; their initial contact being a bombshell redhead who presumably works as Caine's personal assistant. Caine tells the three that he is dying and one of them will be his replacement. It seems three master sorcerers have populated Earth for just about forever, maintaining some sort of balance; when the balance fails, we get things like world wars and such. The other two sorcerers are after Caine, and he tells his children they will come for them as well...
So, what starts off with some strange events and such rapidly moves into the territory of epic fantasy where the future of the world is at stake. Overblown and it just gets sillier. Somehow, these neophyte children are going to face ancient sorcerers with decades and centuries of practice honing their 'art'. Toss in an insipid romance between Michael and one of the fledgling psychics from Cassadaga, who falls in love with him at first sight (well, she is blind, but I will let that pass). Will Michael be able to win against all odds and save his little girl (she was kidnapped and brought to London to ensure Michael will come)? Oh, don't forget Merlin of Arthurian legend, as he also plays a role here.
Manley gives us some decent humor along the way, which allowed me to finish it, but still not really sure what he was aiming for here. The last few pages have ads for fantasy novels so I guess that was the audience target. I love fantasy and horror, but this? Bad example of both. 1.5 sorcerous stars!
March 16, 2017
First off this is not a horror novel. It says horror on it's spine. It might start off a bit on the horror side but it charges straight into fantasy/sci-fi real quick.
A man is studying psychics in Florida. Somehow he kills on when she touches him. His wife leaves him. He finds out his father is not his real father. He was sired by a, yep, sorceror. His new father is about to die, so he calls all three of his kids to see which one will take his place. Meanwhile there are two other sorcerers out there trying to take over the world. Someone must stop them. Were told of Merlin's scrolls. Reality is not what it seems over and over. People turn into animals and clone themselves. This is not a bad book, it just moves to far into fantasy realm for my tastes.
A man is studying psychics in Florida. Somehow he kills on when she touches him. His wife leaves him. He finds out his father is not his real father. He was sired by a, yep, sorceror. His new father is about to die, so he calls all three of his kids to see which one will take his place. Meanwhile there are two other sorcerers out there trying to take over the world. Someone must stop them. Were told of Merlin's scrolls. Reality is not what it seems over and over. People turn into animals and clone themselves. This is not a bad book, it just moves to far into fantasy realm for my tastes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews