Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: The Practical Mage’s Guide to Magic and Mayhem
AUTHOR: Dan Ackerman
PUBLISHER: Supposed Crimes
LENGTH: 189 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 1st, 2020
BLURB:
Hiram Reinhart abandoned a life of privilege when he could no longer stomach the ugliness of plantation life. Now he resides in Canada, selling small enchantments to keep his rag-tag family fed and housed, if only barely.
Matthew Blackwell, another mage, seeks out Hiram’s assistance in order to find a demon. Hiram seeks out the demon on his own, concerned for the creature’s well-being. The demon, Phaedrus, turns down Hiram’s offer of aid at first. Soon enough, Hiram and Phaedrus regret not helping each other and not much later, it’s all they can do to stay alive.
Hiram and Phaedrus grow closer as they try to stay one step ahead of Blackwell and his unsavory plans. Along the way, they help each other cope with a world that doesn’t have much room for a man who doesn’t like women and a demon who doesn’t belong on either side of the gender binary.
REVIEW:
Readers of Dan Ackerman’s books will know that the blurb is always just the beginning of what this author dishes up with each new story. While all of their books are set in a world of their own creation, similar to this world we know but with the excitement of magic and paranormal creatures tossed into the mix, the author never fails to add something different. And by different, I mean something that our Western society would consider ‘not-the-norm’; A character who lives with mental health issues, a character who is not white, a character who is a proud sex worker, or in the case of this particular story, a character who is gender non-binary. I’m sure there are plenty of books out there with similar characters, I know that I’ve read others, but what stands out for me, what makes me esteem this author so highly, is the way that they really explore how these ‘differences’ that should be non-issues can instead be traumatic and defining.
For example, in The Practical Mage’s Guide to Magic and Mayhem, Phaedrus is a non-binary person with an androgenous appearance. Throughout the story there are characters, even our other main character occasionally, who wonder if they are “actually male or female”? because yeah, fair enough they’re non-binary but do they have a penis or a vagina? The author allowed Phaedrus to open up during the story, explaining how they no longer trusted people to accept them as neither male nor female, because as soon as a potential lover discovered what was between their legs, they formed expectations. Phaedrus’ trauma over their body came through clearly and painfully. I loved the fact that in this world, Phaedrus was magically able to change their body to attempt to…fit in? Be happier? But it was impossible to do because in the end they were made to feel like they had to choose one gender or the other, it wasn’t their physical body that was the problem, it was society. This book made me take a long hard look at how I perceive non-binary people, because of one very special scene. MC Hiram identifies as a gay man. Obviously this is troublesome to Phaedrus, who isn’t a man, so Hiram amends his identity to – a man who is not attracted to women. And d’you know what, I thought, but what if Phaedrus has a vagina? Now, as soon as I finished the thought I mentally slapped myself upside the head, because wtf, I know better than that. But that’s what Dan Ackerman’s book do for me. They hold a mirror up to society that show us even our most unconscious biases – and we all have them. They’ve been bred into us. I for one am thankful that this author can make me reflect on how I still need to improve, because all the good intentions in the world are useless if we aren’t open to learning from our mistakes.
So, this review ended up slightly off track, as I kinda missed mentioning the whole damn plot! But briefly – Mages, demons, racial segregation, a bit of torture, some road trippin’ 1800s style and of course a happily-ever-after (that really is forever and ever after ‘cause bitches be immortal). And I really really love that cover.
RATING:
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