Author: John Levitt
Publisher: Ace
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: November 2008
Cover Design: Don Sipley
Some books you wait and wait for…they finally come in and you can only hope they are going to be as good as the first in a series. New Tricks by John Levitt came through in a huge way. I liked it even better than the first, Dog Days. I loved meeting up with the characters again; they were as unique and cool as I remembered. The plot was just as good if not better, the story was tight and fast, a one-sitting read.
Mason, the main character, is a musician and also a “practitioner.” Practitioners have the ability to do some magic. Mason isn’t all that interested in applying himself. He does work occasionally for Victor, the San Francisco enforcer—a guy that tries to make sure practitioners aren’t going around manipulating events just to get rich or killing off normals just for the fun of it. Mason would prefer to make his money playing jazz, but jazz doesn’t always pay the bills. This time he gets involved in a local problem because someone he knows disappears. Mason is able to track her using Lou—his dog, who happens to be an Ifrit.
Without giving away too much of the plot, Mason and Lou get tangled up in an investigation that involves other practitioners that have been disappearing or dying. He meets up with an old friend that is also trying to solve the case, he gets a new girlfriend, he makes new enemies. The story, like the character, involves improvisation. Sometimes the events seemed to get a little too far out of the ordinary, but the author always had a reason and tied things back in a sensible way.
This story, like the first, has a great thread that involves Ifrits. Not every practitioner is lucky enough to attract one, but every practitioner would like one. No one knows why some practitioners are “chosen” and others aren’t, but Mason finds himself spending a lot of time thinking about it. How did he get so lucky as to attract Lou? This thread is woven cleverly with clues to the Ifrits peppered here and there. It’s interesting enough to stand on its own, but it’s also an important part of the story.
Towards the end, it becomes pretty obvious who is guilty. It heightens the tension because you know Mason is in more danger. This doesn’t go on so long that you’re left feeling Mason is ignoring obvious clues.
The ending was not quite what I expected. There’s a battle, but instead of it being just a bunch of overwhelming fighting—it’s sadder than that, almost poignant. Very satisfying.
One other thing that makes these books stand out: the ugly creatures that drop into the story are not automatically bad—be they trolls, gremlins etc. The author doesn’t rely on stereotypes, and the surprises are excellent. You never know if something is going to attack, deliver a message or is just a curiosity. It was a great exploration of some very interesting characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like urban fantasy, this is urban fantasy at its best.
New Tricks will be released November 25, 2008
