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The Practical Mage's Guide to Magic and Mayhem
Dan Ackerman received the 2018-2019 Rainbow Award for Gay Contemporary General Fiction. Two titles shared the honor: The Things that Come and That Doesn’t Belong Here. Dan is a dominant, innovative, unique voice in LGBTQ fiction.
Hiram Reinhart abandoned a life of privilege when he could no longer stomach the ugliness of plantation life. Now he resides in Canada, selling small enchantments to keep his rag-tag family fed and housed, if only barely.
Matthew Blackwell, another mage, seeks out Hiram's assistance in order to find a demon. Hiram seeks out the demon on his own, concerned for the creature's well-being. The demon, Phaedrus, turns down Hiram's offer of aid at first. Soon enough, Hiram and Phaedrus regret not helping each other and not much later, it's all they can do to stay alive.
Hiram and Phaedrus grow closer as they try to stay one step ahead of Blackwell and his unsavory plans. Along the way, they help each other cope with a world that doesn't have much room for a man who doesn't like women and a demon who doesn't belong on either side of the gender binary.
Hiram Reinhart abandoned a life of privilege when he could no longer stomach the ugliness of plantation life. Now he resides in Canada, selling small enchantments to keep his rag-tag family fed and housed, if only barely.
Matthew Blackwell, another mage, seeks out Hiram's assistance in order to find a demon. Hiram seeks out the demon on his own, concerned for the creature's well-being. The demon, Phaedrus, turns down Hiram's offer of aid at first. Soon enough, Hiram and Phaedrus regret not helping each other and not much later, it's all they can do to stay alive.
Hiram and Phaedrus grow closer as they try to stay one step ahead of Blackwell and his unsavory plans. Along the way, they help each other cope with a world that doesn't have much room for a man who doesn't like women and a demon who doesn't belong on either side of the gender binary.
- GenresFantasy
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2020
25 people want to read
About the author
Dan Ackerman
14 books37 followersDan is a writer. All their books have typos (like, probably way too many). Unfortunately, there's nothing they're going to do about it until a quality professional editor starts volunteering their time to spooky gay romances. Currently writing just a bit at a time.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2021
This was an interesting paranormal romance with a main character who grew up part of a slave-owning wealthy magic-wielding family in the deep South. Upon the death of his father, Hiram cut ties with the past, freed slaves, gathered in his father's abused slave-mistress, his half-sister and her child and brought them with him to a place of safety but poverty in Canada.
He also brought with him some powerful books of magic, and his personal skills which he's not quite sure how to use to good effect. He's pining after a demon whom his parents kept imprisoned and whom he freed. Demons can move across time, so although the current incarnation of Junius loathes him for his family connections, a future version is willing to help him now and then. But they have only a tepid friendship, no matter how much he longs for more.
When an evil sorcerer tries to get hold of his books and use them to track down a demon, Phaedrus, Hiram feels some responsibility for keeping Phaedrus safe. Getting trapped together heightens his connection to Phaedrus, and the story becomes both an adventure to find the sorcerer and a developing romance between Hiram and the nonbinary demon.
The tone of this book is interesting - some exceedingly traumatic things happen to Hiram, and are described with a rather flat affect. The trauma does catch up to him later, but not to the degree I would have expected. He also makes what feels like a very foolish decision early on, although perhaps in keeping with his nature. One that was clearly going to lead to pain and deaths and disaster, and his inability to see that bigger picture (and Phaedrus's too, who didn't have nearly Hiram's excuse of being near death, or his youth) made me impatient with them. The rest of the book action had the nagging feeling behind it of "you could have prevented this so easily".
But Hiram, despite his excessive passivity, is an interesting character, and I really liked Phaedrus whose gender identity causes him issues in that time and place, but who carries it off with dignity and style. This was different, and as with the previous book of this author's that I read, sucked me in slowly, but enough that I was eventually engaged and very interested in the outcome.
He also brought with him some powerful books of magic, and his personal skills which he's not quite sure how to use to good effect. He's pining after a demon whom his parents kept imprisoned and whom he freed. Demons can move across time, so although the current incarnation of Junius loathes him for his family connections, a future version is willing to help him now and then. But they have only a tepid friendship, no matter how much he longs for more.
When an evil sorcerer tries to get hold of his books and use them to track down a demon, Phaedrus, Hiram feels some responsibility for keeping Phaedrus safe. Getting trapped together heightens his connection to Phaedrus, and the story becomes both an adventure to find the sorcerer and a developing romance between Hiram and the nonbinary demon.
The tone of this book is interesting - some exceedingly traumatic things happen to Hiram, and are described with a rather flat affect. The trauma does catch up to him later, but not to the degree I would have expected. He also makes what feels like a very foolish decision early on, although perhaps in keeping with his nature. One that was clearly going to lead to pain and deaths and disaster, and his inability to see that bigger picture (and Phaedrus's too, who didn't have nearly Hiram's excuse of being near death, or his youth) made me impatient with them. The rest of the book action had the nagging feeling behind it of "you could have prevented this so easily".
But Hiram, despite his excessive passivity, is an interesting character, and I really liked Phaedrus whose gender identity causes him issues in that time and place, but who carries it off with dignity and style. This was different, and as with the previous book of this author's that I read, sucked me in slowly, but enough that I was eventually engaged and very interested in the outcome.
January 12, 2021
Readers of Dan Ackerman’s books will know that the blurb is always just the beginning of what this author dishes up with each new story. While all of their books are set in a world of their own creation, similar to this world we know but with the excitement of magic and paranormal creatures tossed into the mix, the author never fails to add something different. And by different, I mean something that our Western society would consider ‘not-the-norm’; A character who lives with mental health issues, a character who is not white, a character who is a proud sex worker, or in the case of this particular story, a character who is gender non-binary. I’m sure there are plenty of books out there with similar characters, I know that I’ve read others, but what stands out for me, what makes me esteem this author so highly, is the way that they really explore how these ‘differences’ that should be non-issues can instead be traumatic and defining.
For example, in The Practical Mage’s Guide to Magic and Mayhem, Phaedrus is a non-binary person with an androgenous appearance. Throughout the story there are characters, even our other main character occasionally, who wonder if they are “actually male or female”? because yeah, fair enough they’re non-binary but do they have a penis or a vagina? The author allowed Phaedrus to open up during the story, explaining how they no longer trusted people to accept them as neither male nor female, because as soon as a potential lover discovered what was between their legs, they formed expectations. Phaedrus’ trauma over their body came through clearly and painfully. I loved the fact that in this world, Phaedrus was magically able to change their body to attempt to…fit in? Be happier? But it was impossible to do because in the end they were made to feel like they had to choose one gender or the other, it wasn’t their physical body that was the problem, it was society. This book made me take a long hard look at how I perceive non-binary people, because of one very special scene. MC Hiram identifies as a gay man. Obviously this is troublesome to Phaedrus, who isn’t a man, so Hiram amends his identity to – a man who is not attracted to women. And d’you know what, I thought, but what if Phaedrus has a vagina? Now, as soon as I finished the thought I mentally slapped myself upside the head, because wtf, I know better than that. But that’s what Dan Ackerman’s book do for me. They hold a mirror up to society that show us even our most unconscious biases – and we all have them. They’ve been bred into us. I for one am thankful that this author can make me reflect on how I still need to improve, because all the good intentions in the world are useless if we aren’t open to learning from our mistakes.
So, this review ended up slightly off track, as I kinda missed mentioning the whole damn plot! But briefly – Mages, demons, racial segregation, a bit of torture, some road trippin’ 1800s style and of course a happily-ever-after (that really is forever and ever after ‘cause bitches be immortal). And I really really love that cover.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews
https://lovebytesreviews.com/2021/01/...
For example, in The Practical Mage’s Guide to Magic and Mayhem, Phaedrus is a non-binary person with an androgenous appearance. Throughout the story there are characters, even our other main character occasionally, who wonder if they are “actually male or female”? because yeah, fair enough they’re non-binary but do they have a penis or a vagina? The author allowed Phaedrus to open up during the story, explaining how they no longer trusted people to accept them as neither male nor female, because as soon as a potential lover discovered what was between their legs, they formed expectations. Phaedrus’ trauma over their body came through clearly and painfully. I loved the fact that in this world, Phaedrus was magically able to change their body to attempt to…fit in? Be happier? But it was impossible to do because in the end they were made to feel like they had to choose one gender or the other, it wasn’t their physical body that was the problem, it was society. This book made me take a long hard look at how I perceive non-binary people, because of one very special scene. MC Hiram identifies as a gay man. Obviously this is troublesome to Phaedrus, who isn’t a man, so Hiram amends his identity to – a man who is not attracted to women. And d’you know what, I thought, but what if Phaedrus has a vagina? Now, as soon as I finished the thought I mentally slapped myself upside the head, because wtf, I know better than that. But that’s what Dan Ackerman’s book do for me. They hold a mirror up to society that show us even our most unconscious biases – and we all have them. They’ve been bred into us. I for one am thankful that this author can make me reflect on how I still need to improve, because all the good intentions in the world are useless if we aren’t open to learning from our mistakes.
So, this review ended up slightly off track, as I kinda missed mentioning the whole damn plot! But briefly – Mages, demons, racial segregation, a bit of torture, some road trippin’ 1800s style and of course a happily-ever-after (that really is forever and ever after ‘cause bitches be immortal). And I really really love that cover.
Reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews
https://lovebytesreviews.com/2021/01/...
June 7, 2020
Ackerman once again knocks it out of the park. This work is another entry into Ackerman’s wider universe that includes demons, angels, vampires, and other members of the “community”. Ackerman once again creates a deep and rich world, where their characters live, that stands parallel to our own and our history. The historical time and place of this work is incredibly compelling as it takes place in 1830s North America. It is in that back drop that Hiram does his best to make sure that another living being does not come to harm and through which his life becomes intertwined with that of Phaedrus and the community that they occupy. Overall, this is a compelling work where Ackerman once again does an amazing job building their universe while at the same time telling an incredibly compelling story and having characters that are fully realized and who feel like real people. While I would never spoil any part of a story, the things that these two characters need to go through as they are pursued with ill intent will keep people from putting down this book.
December 3, 2020
Review coming soon
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews