What do you think?
Rate this book
Vodou #2
Sleight
“There’s a fierce new Dark Dreamer lurking on the horizon, and his name is Brandon Scott.”
Stanley Wiater Zadok Mitchem is hailed as the world’s greatest sleight of hand artist and a showman supreme around the globe, until an “accident” takes him away from the bright lights forever. Amid despair, he watches as his universe crumbles, pushing away everyone who’s ever loved him, until the title: Zadok the Great and Powerful, has become a distant fragment of a past life. Yet, when a mysterious offer grants him his place back on the stages of the world, Zadok enters a whole new life of power and fame.
Who are the two men that enter his dreams, offering redemption as the Dead march past? Who is the hooded woman who leads him through the Ghost Zone against his will?
In the land of Vodou, all gifts come with a high price. Will Zadok regain his place on the main stage, captivating the masses into stunned silence? Or will the King of Sleight lose everything for all eternity?
Stanley Wiater Zadok Mitchem is hailed as the world’s greatest sleight of hand artist and a showman supreme around the globe, until an “accident” takes him away from the bright lights forever. Amid despair, he watches as his universe crumbles, pushing away everyone who’s ever loved him, until the title: Zadok the Great and Powerful, has become a distant fragment of a past life. Yet, when a mysterious offer grants him his place back on the stages of the world, Zadok enters a whole new life of power and fame.
Who are the two men that enter his dreams, offering redemption as the Dead march past? Who is the hooded woman who leads him through the Ghost Zone against his will?
In the land of Vodou, all gifts come with a high price. Will Zadok regain his place on the main stage, captivating the masses into stunned silence? Or will the King of Sleight lose everything for all eternity?
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 8, 2020
7 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2020
Sleight had me hooked from the outset. It opens with a young boy who gets chosen to go on stage and help out his hero: a top-class magician. From that day on, the boy’s life is changed, his raison d'être established.
This novel is so pacey, it keeps you whizzing through the pages right to the end. Occult horror, yes, but there is no gratuitous violence or gore. Instead, the horror element comes from the main character’s (Zadok) situation. Even though there are times when Zadok is arrogant and foolhardy I found myself rooting for him all the way. He is his own worst enemy, and yet I couldn’t help but like him. There was a soft side to his personality, too.
The novel is well written, the dialogue flows naturally, and what I enjoyed most of all was the way in which the supernatural vodou elements of magic blended seamlessly with illusion, escapology, and manipulation. This, along with the variety of settings, was what made the story particularly entertaining. I think I said this about Brandon Scott’s first novel, Vodou, but this one definitely has cinematic qualities. It would make a great movie!
All in all, a highly recommended read.
This novel is so pacey, it keeps you whizzing through the pages right to the end. Occult horror, yes, but there is no gratuitous violence or gore. Instead, the horror element comes from the main character’s (Zadok) situation. Even though there are times when Zadok is arrogant and foolhardy I found myself rooting for him all the way. He is his own worst enemy, and yet I couldn’t help but like him. There was a soft side to his personality, too.
The novel is well written, the dialogue flows naturally, and what I enjoyed most of all was the way in which the supernatural vodou elements of magic blended seamlessly with illusion, escapology, and manipulation. This, along with the variety of settings, was what made the story particularly entertaining. I think I said this about Brandon Scott’s first novel, Vodou, but this one definitely has cinematic qualities. It would make a great movie!
All in all, a highly recommended read.
August 30, 2021
********MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*********
The world of Vodou was still rather mysterious to us at the end of Brandon Scott's first novel, but with this eye-popping sequel, he gives us an up-close, in-the-flesh, no-holds-barred peek into what it's all about. As with the first in the series, this book reeks of originality (in a good way). Aspiring horror writers ought to be envious of Scott's creativity. SLEIGHT breaks all the rules and pushes every boundary that gets in its way. Look out, ladies and gentlemen.
The story kicks off with one of the coolest opening scenes in the history of storytelling. We meet young Zadok Mitchem, who will be the one we follow along the story's dark, twisting roads. Things progress at a nice slow burn pace (something I personally don't mind, but each to his own). We get a feel for our characters as Scott peels away their outer layers to reveal the kind of people they are, and the people who they are to become as time passes (Zadok changes the most, as you will see if you decide to read this wonderful tale).
Speaking of time, there is a lot of jumping around throughout the story. We go from Zadok as a bachelor to Zadok as a man engaged to be married to Zadok as a husband. I won't spoil anything past that. Usually I don't like stories that skip around to different points in time, but Brandon Scott does it so effortlessly and with such grace that it didn't bother me one bit. Instead of being ragged or awkward, it was natural, if not seamless.
Oh, and by the way, the scenes where Zadok is on stage performing his magic are some of the most brilliantly written snippets of literature you'll ever read. The mastery tucked within Scott's descriptions and narrative flow in such moments will amaze you. Just . . . WOW! All right? WOW.
I guess I should mention that the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but I don't hold that against Scott or anyone else because I know it was necessary in order for book 3 to be born. Keep that in mind when you're reading Sleight.
You are going to read it, aren't you? You'd be a fool if you didn't at least give it a try, because it's amazing.
The world of Vodou was still rather mysterious to us at the end of Brandon Scott's first novel, but with this eye-popping sequel, he gives us an up-close, in-the-flesh, no-holds-barred peek into what it's all about. As with the first in the series, this book reeks of originality (in a good way). Aspiring horror writers ought to be envious of Scott's creativity. SLEIGHT breaks all the rules and pushes every boundary that gets in its way. Look out, ladies and gentlemen.
The story kicks off with one of the coolest opening scenes in the history of storytelling. We meet young Zadok Mitchem, who will be the one we follow along the story's dark, twisting roads. Things progress at a nice slow burn pace (something I personally don't mind, but each to his own). We get a feel for our characters as Scott peels away their outer layers to reveal the kind of people they are, and the people who they are to become as time passes (Zadok changes the most, as you will see if you decide to read this wonderful tale).
Speaking of time, there is a lot of jumping around throughout the story. We go from Zadok as a bachelor to Zadok as a man engaged to be married to Zadok as a husband. I won't spoil anything past that. Usually I don't like stories that skip around to different points in time, but Brandon Scott does it so effortlessly and with such grace that it didn't bother me one bit. Instead of being ragged or awkward, it was natural, if not seamless.
Oh, and by the way, the scenes where Zadok is on stage performing his magic are some of the most brilliantly written snippets of literature you'll ever read. The mastery tucked within Scott's descriptions and narrative flow in such moments will amaze you. Just . . . WOW! All right? WOW.
I guess I should mention that the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but I don't hold that against Scott or anyone else because I know it was necessary in order for book 3 to be born. Keep that in mind when you're reading Sleight.
You are going to read it, aren't you? You'd be a fool if you didn't at least give it a try, because it's amazing.
October 6, 2020
So much fun! Can't wait to see how it comes together in book 3!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews