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rachelhelps's review against another edition
4.0
Hiram, a practicing Mormon in the 1930s also practices folk magic on the side, but strives to hide it from his adopted Indian/indigenous son. On a trip to give food to miners working in a closed mine, Hiram investigates the reason for the mine's closure and yes, of course there are other people using folk magic and demons. I haven't read many books set in the 1930s and I enjoyed that. I also enjoyed learning about how Mormon folk magic could have ended up if people still practiced it. Hiram uses a dowsing rod, a peep stone, lamens, and other magical artifacts. He also uses scripture verses as charms, and his "personal worthiness" affects the efficacy of his magic. Except he doesn't like calling it magic and prefers to be called a "cunning man."
There were a lot of things going on--different factions with their own motivations and reasons for their involvement with the dark power in the mine (come on, you know if it's a book about folk magic there's going to be a ghost or zombie or something in the mine). I think my main complaint is that there were a few times where I understood that a character was doing something for plot reasons, but I didn't understand their narrative reasons for doing so. For instance, at one point Hiram takes a break outside and happens to meet someone who was lost. It feels like the only reason he took a break was to meet this person by happenstance. I guess you could argue that the charms he used made it so he was in the right place at the right time for certain things... but I would have liked that to be clearer if that was the case. There were also a few times when I guessed what was happening before the protagonist, which made me think the protagonist was stupid, when it was more of an issue of too strong of foreshadowing. I was also surprised when people started dying, because for some reason I thought the book would be more of a "weird mystery" than a horror-type book.
That said, I enjoyed the characterization and the conversations. Michael, Hiram's adopted teenage son, seemed to serve as an anti-trope to common Native American tropes. Instead of being a strong, silent man of the woods, Michael is a mouthy, sarcastic teenager with aspirations to be a scientist. Sometimes he seemed a little extreme (not even my biology-enthusiast brother calls houseflies by their scientific names), but most of the time he provided necessary comic relief. Other characters were not as well-developed and the depth of their involvement was on a higher level. I was surprised at the end to find out the motivation for one of the characters... and that I won't spoil. Recommended if you enjoy urban fantasy and/or horror.
There were a lot of things going on--different factions with their own motivations and reasons for their involvement with the dark power in the mine (come on, you know if it's a book about folk magic there's going to be a ghost or zombie or something in the mine). I think my main complaint is that there were a few times where I understood that a character was doing something for plot reasons, but I didn't understand their narrative reasons for doing so. For instance, at one point Hiram takes a break outside and happens to meet someone who was lost. It feels like the only reason he took a break was to meet this person by happenstance. I guess you could argue that the charms he used made it so he was in the right place at the right time for certain things... but I would have liked that to be clearer if that was the case. There were also a few times when I guessed what was happening before the protagonist, which made me think the protagonist was stupid, when it was more of an issue of too strong of foreshadowing. I was also surprised when people started dying, because for some reason I thought the book would be more of a "weird mystery" than a horror-type book.
That said, I enjoyed the characterization and the conversations. Michael, Hiram's adopted teenage son, seemed to serve as an anti-trope to common Native American tropes. Instead of being a strong, silent man of the woods, Michael is a mouthy, sarcastic teenager with aspirations to be a scientist. Sometimes he seemed a little extreme (not even my biology-enthusiast brother calls houseflies by their scientific names), but most of the time he provided necessary comic relief. Other characters were not as well-developed and the depth of their involvement was on a higher level. I was surprised at the end to find out the motivation for one of the characters... and that I won't spoil. Recommended if you enjoy urban fantasy and/or horror.
andrewhall's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this fantasy mystery, it was right up my alley. Set in Utah in the 1930s, Hiram Wooley, a beet farmer, is cunning man, conversant with practical folk magic, which is becoming increasingly forgotten in the modernizing world. Hiram is a do-gooder, sent on missions of aid by the Presiding Bishopric, and going far beyond his calling in ministering to those he meets. I love how Butler creates a magic world out of odds and ends of Mormon beliefs (Hiram's positive magic is tied to his worthiness) and European folk magic traditions.
Hiram and his son Michael are fantastic characters. My only complaint is that the other characters are drawn somewhat one-dimensionally.
Hiram and his son Michael are fantastic characters. My only complaint is that the other characters are drawn somewhat one-dimensionally.
danielmbensen's review against another edition
4.0
A fun and thoughtful dive into 1930s Utah (plus witchcraft). Hiram Woolley is a middle aged, fatherly witch (that is, a "cunning man"), burdened by the need to always do good. He manages, but man oh man. The other characters are all delightfully gray and human in their own moralities (except the demon, who is inhuman and definitely evil). I dug the practical folk magic, too.
lizbusby's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, this book was quite a trip. It takes the folk magic practiced by Joseph Smith and turns it into a full blown magic system, set in Utah. It was fascinating to see bits of my own culture twisted into a fantasy setting. This book is fair and accurate about the bits it uses from Mormon lore.
However, I feel the discussions I had read of the book exaggerate the Mormon content. While the main character is sent on his quest by the Presiding Bishopric of the church, they disappear for the rest of the novel and don't appear again until the epilogue. The remainder of the characters in the book are largely non-Mormon residents of Utah: miners, a union organizer, the protagonist's adopted Native American son. There is an element of seer stones and familiar spirits, but the rest of the plot felt like a generic fantasy mystery plot, searching for clues, coming across red herrings, reinterpreting other clues, and finally a big twist reveal.
Given the rave reviews about how Mormon this fantasy novel was, I was a bit disappointed. Still, given that a sequel is coming out soon, I'm hopeful that the next plot might be a little more Mormon-feeling to me.
However, I feel the discussions I had read of the book exaggerate the Mormon content. While the main character is sent on his quest by the Presiding Bishopric of the church, they disappear for the rest of the novel and don't appear again until the epilogue. The remainder of the characters in the book are largely non-Mormon residents of Utah: miners, a union organizer, the protagonist's adopted Native American son. There is an element of seer stones and familiar spirits, but the rest of the plot felt like a generic fantasy mystery plot, searching for clues, coming across red herrings, reinterpreting other clues, and finally a big twist reveal.
Given the rave reviews about how Mormon this fantasy novel was, I was a bit disappointed. Still, given that a sequel is coming out soon, I'm hopeful that the next plot might be a little more Mormon-feeling to me.
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