Dark Magic

by Tom Williams

Baby’s blood… Virgin’s tears… Chainsaws… It’s remarkable what some magicians keep back-stage.

Two magic shows: the Maestros of Magic touring the country, playing provincial theatres; the Carnival of Conjurors successful in the West End. When the Maestros learn that the Conjurors are using real magic – Black Magic – to do their tricks they decide that they must use their own, distinctly unmagical, stage skills to stop them. Soon people are dying on stage – but can the Maestros really beat a team that has the devil on their side?

A darkly humorous thriller by a writer who knows the world of magicians and stage magic.

Tom Williams is the author of six previous books, but this is his first novella (33,000 words).

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 31, 2019

About the author

Tom Williams used to write books for business. Now he writes novels set in the 19th century that are generally described as fiction but which are often more honest than the business books. (He writes contemporary fantasy as well, but that's a dark part of his life, so you'll have to explore that on your own - ideally with a friend and a protective amulet.)

His stories about James Burke (based on a real person) are exciting tales of high adventure and low cunning set around the Napoleonic Wars. The stories have given him the excuse to travel to Argentina, Egypt, and Spain and call it research.

Tom lives in London. His main interest is avoiding doing any honest work and this leaves him with time to ski, skate and dance tango, all of which (before covid) he thought he did quite well. In between he reads old books and spends far too much time looking at ancient weaponry.

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of this pretty good, twisty horror story to follow...and here it is: The premise is simple...on the surface.

There are two companies of stage magicians, that is professional illusionists. One is influenced and aided by the forces of darkness. That would be Satan, the devil, Lucifer, the great deceiver, old scratch. This group uses that evil to perform real magic masquerading as illusion.

The other company performs the usual way, illusion pretending to be magic. They are recruited to stop the dark magic and...no spoilers so no more.

I downloaded this very entertaining novella via Kindle Unlimited.

[Anita Dawes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Review

I think a part of me has never grown up, for I love anything magical.

So when I saw the amazing cover for Dark Magic, I knew I had to read it.
The title told me this would not be about the kind of magic that children adore, there would be no fairy-tale animals or rainbows, but my curiosity pulled me into the story anyway.

Tom Williams introduces us to the modern world of magic, and is probably a magician himself, for he seems to know so much about it.
This story is about two rival magic shows, The Maestros of Magic and the Carnival of Conjurors, both touring the UK.

We get to meet all the diverse characters. Beautifully created, real life people from both groups as they compete to be the most successful.
When members of the public begin to die after some of the Conjurors incredible performances, the Maestros want to know why. Some of their rival's acts seem unreal, but they know magic doesn't exist, that everything is just a lot of smoke and mirrors, but it does seem as though the Conjurors have something else up their sleeves.

This story takes you for a funny but often sinister ride into the wonders of the magic world as the Maestros try to find out what is going on, and then as they try to stop it.

I really enjoyed Dark Magic and will be looking out for more from Tom Williams in the future!

[Lynn Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a complete departure for historical novelist Tom Williams. I’ve read and enjoyed his Williamson novels and I was curious to see how he did with a completely different genre. I have to say, that he did extremely well.

Dark Magic is a novella, not a full length novel, and was just what I needed this week. It’s a slightly creepy tale about a very dodgy troupe of stage magicians whose act seems to have become rather to lifelike. With such a short book, I can’t give away much more than that, without spoiling the story.

The book is well written, which I’d expect from this author, and the pace is very fast. There is a fairly large cast of characters for such a short book, and the characterisation is obviously not that in depth, but the author manages to give us a sense of each of the people with a few deft touches. The plot is very entertaining, I’d love to know where he came up with the idea, and has a satisfying ending. Above all, the book is entertaining, with genuinely funny, although fairly dark moments.

I really enjoyed this and I think Tom Williams writes contemporary very well. I’d like to see what he could do with a full length fantasy or horror. This was a fun, quick read and I recommend it.

[Georgia Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Magic is a short book at around 96 pages and has a terrific hook right from the first line.

The Maestros of Magic are rightly envious to see that a rival group of magicians have sold out at a theatre in the West End, for three solid months, and are no longer on the road as a touring group like the Maestros still were. They are also deeply suspicious about their freakily good magic… it’s almost like real magic…

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I liked all the information about the different forms of tricks and loved how slightly sniffy each magician was for other forms of the art.

For me this is a book about consequences. About contracts and deals and what happens when you don’t fulfil them. And there are deep consequences when the Maestros interfere too.

I thought there was an unanswered question that stemmed right from the opening hook but as I rescanned a couple of pages searching for a detail to write this review the answer was right there. Good job.

Well written, this is a terrific story for anyone but if you are interested in magic too then that’s even better.

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about two sets of magicians. The Carnival of Conjurers play to full houses in the West End while the Maestros of Magic tour around the country in the back of a bus. But there is something 'dark' about the magic the Conjurors are performing and the Maestros make it their business to do something about it.
For me, there was a feel of Jonathan Creek about this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to the author for providing a copy in return for an honest review.

[R.J. Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly imaginative and well-crafted dark comedic tale providing a thoroughly modern take on the ancient art of magic through the rivalry between two groups of performers. Original, good characterisation, unusual and well worth reading.

[Caroline Slee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wild ride! This novella was fun to read: the details about magic performances, and the underlying threat of a Faustian bargain drew me into the plot immediately, and I did not put it down until I was done.

[Alan Bardos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Magic sets out an interesting premise: are magicians who use real magic rather than tricks charlatans? The answer from Tom Williams’ very entertaining novella is yes. If something looks too good to be true then it really should be avoided at all costs. Williams takes the listener/reader on a cleverly plotted journey into darkness. With an alchemists deftness of touch, he spins what could be a very disturbing story into a sharply observed dark comedy that exposes the illusion of fame and success with the simple truth that every action has a reaction. When ‘The Carnival of Conjurors’, a group of second rate magicians, starts to use real magic to produce incredible stage shows, the universe starts to rebalance itself and people die. The ‘Maestros of Magic’ a rival group of magicians, spurred on by an agent provocateur, set out to expose them with devastating results. The novel crackles with a dry wit, that is captured superbly by Tom Williams laconic reading in the audiobook.