The Magician and the Fool

Bizarre with a CAPITAL B!!! I finished it, but don't really know why. It was a fast read if you skip over the stuff you don't understand (a LOT of tarot terminology). Convoluted for sure!

My first thought on this book is that it's very Powers-ian. A secret world operating off to the side of this one that most people don't know about. And it all has to do with the Tarot. We learn about this world as Jeremiah Rosemont, once a scholar of the Tarot, learns about the other, secret world that swirls around the cards. A world that's obviously full of magic, that sprung from...more

My first thought on this book is that it's very Powers-ian. A secret world operating off to the side of this one that most people don't know about. And it all has to do with the Tarot. We learn about this world as Jeremiah Rosemont, once a scholar of the Tarot, learns about the other, secret world that swirls around the cards. A world that's obviously full of magic, that sprung from the fight between Romulus and Remus, that may be infinitely older than that.Alternately, we learn of the Boy King, a transient who knows to much about this world and tries to keep himself hidden from it.I found this book really intriguing. I'm familiar with the Tarot, and have been for somewhere around twenty or twenty-five years. But these ideas never would have occurred to me (which is why I'm not a writer). I just love reading books that have that anchor in our world and a plausible reason to go off into a dimension just a hair away--the one you see out of the corner of your eye.I really really wanted to know much more about the magic and the world and different types of people involved with the Tarot, but as a publishing professional (and production editor), I realize that it would have just been an info dump--there really wouldn't have been a good graceful way to work it into the story without bogging down the narrative. So I'll just hope that Barth Anderson will set more works in this world.   hide

This book is an exciting mystery/thriller that is filled with lost of Roman mythology. I enjoyed the book but some background knowledge would have helped. Also the author kind of made the book confusing due to lack of explination in certin spots. Not everything is laid out right in front of you. If the book sounds interesting to you read it. If you do not like trying to figure out what the heck...more

This book is an exciting mystery/thriller that is filled with lost of Roman mythology. I enjoyed the book but some background knowledge would have helped. Also the author kind of made the book confusing due to lack of explination in certin spots. Not everything is laid out right in front of you. If the book sounds interesting to you read it. If you do not like trying to figure out what the heck is going on, don't.    hide