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A review by gavgaddis
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
"We have Harry Dresden at home."
A fun enough book full of excellent ideas and flair. Emotions are discussed as colors, giving the impression Adam, or magic users in general have synesthesia.
Right up until it just happens with someone else in their chapter.
White Trash Warlock succeeds in an incredibly tricky area: depicting the spaghetti mess of emotions and reasons behind the interfamily politics of dirt poor folk. Some of the character traits was genuinely familiar to my own poor upbringing. Slayton has that to a T.
Where the book starts to strain a bit is pacing and keeping up with the times. Every woman is either a powerful matriarchal figure, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer archetype, or a wife to be fridged.
The ending happens in an incredibly short span of time, with the last eighth or so of the book feeling more like setup to get you to buy the sequel rather than provide a genuinely satisfying ending to the story.
If Slayton is intending on a Jim Butcher-esque monster-of-the-book situation... The first monster is absolutely short-shifted for all the pages and pages of backstory and cool buildup.
Fun popcorn reading but also very much a first book.
A fun enough book full of excellent ideas and flair. Emotions are discussed as colors, giving the impression Adam, or magic users in general have synesthesia.
Right up until it just happens with someone else in their chapter.
White Trash Warlock succeeds in an incredibly tricky area: depicting the spaghetti mess of emotions and reasons behind the interfamily politics of dirt poor folk. Some of the character traits was genuinely familiar to my own poor upbringing. Slayton has that to a T.
Where the book starts to strain a bit is pacing and keeping up with the times. Every woman is either a powerful matriarchal figure, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer archetype, or a wife to be fridged.
The ending happens in an incredibly short span of time, with the last eighth or so of the book feeling more like setup to get you to buy the sequel rather than provide a genuinely satisfying ending to the story.
If Slayton is intending on a Jim Butcher-esque monster-of-the-book situation... The first monster is absolutely short-shifted for all the pages and pages of backstory and cool buildup.
Fun popcorn reading but also very much a first book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Murder