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A review by trike
American Craftsmen by Tom Doyle
4.0
I found this to be thoroughly entertaining. This is everything I had hoped the execrable [b:Control Point|11783484|Control Point (Shadow Ops, #1)|Myke Cole|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309460843s/11783484.jpg|15964749] by Myke Cole would be. Wizards, warlocks, witches and weathermen working as black ops in the military, plenty of action and a cool Secret History angle utilizing magic. All of these magic-users are called "craftsmen" in Doyle's world, hence the title.
In the novel [b:Shoeless Joe|57736|Shoeless Joe|W.P. Kinsella|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348958247s/57736.jpg|977324] by W.P. Kinsella (which was turned into the excellent fantasy movie Field of Dreams), Kinsella seamlessly incorporated J.D. Salinger into the story because Salinger once named a character Kinsella. In the terrific book [b:Maplecroft|20821288|Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1)|Cherie Priest|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394209050s/20821288.jpg|40167149], Cherie Priest delves into the "real" reason why Lizzie Borden killed her parents: they were being possessed by ancient Lovecraftian horrors. Doyle uses Nathaniel Hawthorne in a similar fashion, incorporating his writing into the secret world he's created to parallel our own.
The main character here is Captain Dale Morton, the descendant of a long line of Native American-and-British magic-wielders who primarily specialize in weather control but who have other skills. His rival is Major Michael Endicott, the scion of a Puritan family who likewise serve the country through the military. The Mortons and Endicotts have been rivals since white men first came to the New World. The Mortons believe in nature-based magic while the Endicotts place their faith in God as the source of their abilities. Naturally their families have been enemies for centuries.
Secondary characters have similar ties to history or literature. Morton and Endicott's CO is Colonel Elizabeth Hutchinson, whose ancestor was the model for Hesther Prynne from [b:The Scarlet Letter|12296|The Scarlet Letter|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404810944s/12296.jpg|4925227]. Calvin Attucks is a relative of Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the American Revolution.
By far my favorite parts of the story incorporated real-life events and places with a supernatural half-twist to make them part of the Secret History of the world. The weather clearing over Normandy for the D-Day invasion, the reason why the Pentagon is in the shape of a pentagram, the Salem witch trials, other things major and minor.
One of the things I liked about the book was how Doyle shifted between first-person and third-person. It's an interesting stylistic choice that helps distinguish the infodumps, giving them distinct flavors. There are some passages which are slightly clunky, but it moves on to the next bit quickly enough that they didn't bother me.
Lots of action, a little romance, a deep-seated conspiracy in the US government, ghosts, zombies, and the undying struggle (in some cases literally undying) between the Mortons and Endicotts make for an entertaining adventure.
There's also a nice dollop of humor scattered throughout. Doyle employs the typical Fantasy trope of quotes to kick off sections of the book. Dale Morton and Mike Endicott are soldiers, each in their own way patriots, and they realize they've been used as pawns in a larger, older game and Doyle slyly adds the quote, "There's a craftsman in all of us. -- An advertisement for reliable American tools." I laughed out loud.
Yeah, I'm in for the sequel
In the novel [b:Shoeless Joe|57736|Shoeless Joe|W.P. Kinsella|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348958247s/57736.jpg|977324] by W.P. Kinsella (which was turned into the excellent fantasy movie Field of Dreams), Kinsella seamlessly incorporated J.D. Salinger into the story because Salinger once named a character Kinsella. In the terrific book [b:Maplecroft|20821288|Maplecroft (The Borden Dispatches #1)|Cherie Priest|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394209050s/20821288.jpg|40167149], Cherie Priest delves into the "real" reason why Lizzie Borden killed her parents: they were being possessed by ancient Lovecraftian horrors. Doyle uses Nathaniel Hawthorne in a similar fashion, incorporating his writing into the secret world he's created to parallel our own.
The main character here is Captain Dale Morton, the descendant of a long line of Native American-and-British magic-wielders who primarily specialize in weather control but who have other skills. His rival is Major Michael Endicott, the scion of a Puritan family who likewise serve the country through the military. The Mortons and Endicotts have been rivals since white men first came to the New World. The Mortons believe in nature-based magic while the Endicotts place their faith in God as the source of their abilities. Naturally their families have been enemies for centuries.
Secondary characters have similar ties to history or literature. Morton and Endicott's CO is Colonel Elizabeth Hutchinson, whose ancestor was the model for Hesther Prynne from [b:The Scarlet Letter|12296|The Scarlet Letter|Nathaniel Hawthorne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404810944s/12296.jpg|4925227]. Calvin Attucks is a relative of Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the American Revolution.
By far my favorite parts of the story incorporated real-life events and places with a supernatural half-twist to make them part of the Secret History of the world. The weather clearing over Normandy for the D-Day invasion, the reason why the Pentagon is in the shape of a pentagram, the Salem witch trials, other things major and minor.
One of the things I liked about the book was how Doyle shifted between first-person and third-person. It's an interesting stylistic choice that helps distinguish the infodumps, giving them distinct flavors. There are some passages which are slightly clunky, but it moves on to the next bit quickly enough that they didn't bother me.
Lots of action, a little romance, a deep-seated conspiracy in the US government, ghosts, zombies, and the undying struggle (in some cases literally undying) between the Mortons and Endicotts make for an entertaining adventure.
There's also a nice dollop of humor scattered throughout. Doyle employs the typical Fantasy trope of quotes to kick off sections of the book. Dale Morton and Mike Endicott are soldiers, each in their own way patriots, and they realize they've been used as pawns in a larger, older game and Doyle slyly adds the quote, "There's a craftsman in all of us. -- An advertisement for reliable American tools." I laughed out loud.
Yeah, I'm in for the sequel