White Trash Warlock - Ida's BookWyrm

Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published Oct. 12, 2020 by Blackstone Publishing.

ISBN:: 978-1-0940-6796-4

(1 review)

Not all magicians go to schools of magic.

Adam Binder has the Sight. It's a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adam's life, that power has been a curse, hindering friendships, worrying his backwoods family, and fueling his abusive father's rage.

Years after his brother, Bobby, had him committed to a psych ward, Adam is ready to come to grips with who he is, to live his life on his terms, to find love, and maybe even use his magic to do some good. Hoping to track down his missing father, Adam follows a trail of cursed artifacts to Denver, only to discover that an ancient and horrifying spirit has taken possession of Bobby's wife.

It isn't long before Adam becomes the spirit's …

Not all magicians go to schools of magic.

Adam Binder has the Sight. It's a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adam's life, that power has been a curse, hindering friendships, worrying his backwoods family, and fueling his abusive father's rage.

Years after his brother, Bobby, had him committed to a psych ward, Adam is ready to come to grips with who he is, to live his life on his terms, to find love, and maybe even use his magic to do some good. Hoping to track down his missing father, Adam follows a trail of cursed artifacts to Denver, only to discover that an ancient and horrifying spirit has taken possession of Bobby's wife.

It isn't long before Adam becomes the spirit's next target. To survive the confrontation, save his sister-in-law, and learn the truth about his father, Adam will have to risk bargaining with very dangerous beings ... including his first love.

3 editions

Llaverac reviewed White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton

Nice Queer Novel

4 stars

A mixed bag, but interesting enough for me to read the second installment.

What I liked:

Adam grew up poor, and it informs what he wears, the car that he drives, what he feels when he eats a cheap meal that he ate for months when he was a child... and how he feels about his brother who gets a better pay and whose life is very different on all these aspects. I don't remember reading an urban fantasy story where poverty colors everything around the main character, and it adds fantastic depth to his behavior and relationships. Which brings me to my second point:
The characters have a way to get on each other's nerves and I am HERE FOR THAT. Not because I like reading about characters who constantly snap at each other (I really don't), but because it makes me feel how much resentment has built up …

A mixed bag, but interesting enough for me to read the second installment.

What I liked:

Adam grew up poor, and it informs what he wears, the car that he drives, what he feels when he eats a cheap meal that he ate for months when he was a child... and how he feels about his brother who gets a better pay and whose life is very different on all these aspects. I don't remember reading an urban fantasy story where poverty colors everything around the main character, and it adds fantastic depth to his behavior and relationships. Which brings me to my second point:
The characters have a way to get on each other's nerves and I am HERE FOR THAT. Not because I like reading about characters who constantly snap at each other (I really don't), but because it makes me feel how much resentment has built up between them. I've read a ton of superhero stuff these last years, where a lot of characters faced abusive parents, rape, witnessed a murder etc. and I really wanted to also read about subtler stuff that can also mess you up. While there is an abusive father in this story, there's also a lot of things left unsaid that festered, for various reasons (for instance: a choice that seemed reasonable but that was actually catastrophic) and it was more relatable to me. But none of it is set in stone since...
Adam finds love, but he also finds warmth and I'm much more interested in that. I loved seeing his relationship with his family gradually improve, and also seeing him realize that other families could have very different (and healthier) dynamics than his own.

What I liked less:

What's the point of the subplot with the warlock that may or not be Adam's father? It's still mentioned in book 2 so there's apparently more to it, but the guy is always described as deadbeat, and I didn't get why Adam thought he might be the mighty warlock he's after.
It's a pet peeve of mine, but I'd like to know what Vic found in Adam (I guess it's supposed to be wish fulfillment when a handsome character falls for the protagonist who has apparently nothing special, but it doesn't work on me, I want to know WHY). There are other books in this series, so I'm sure we'll get to explore their relationship, though.
There's a big reveal near the end that didn't really resonate. Also, SPOILERS:

I would have been more interested in a story where Bobby chose to put Adam in a psych ward and had to live with this decision, than a story where a powerful someone interfered to make it happen. I think the emotional stakes would have been higher.