sugarblood

TV static has always been creepy. And we should say it.

Mister Magic has a distinct voice but very little bite. It’s billed as a thriller, but the details that one would find thrilling are a little hard to interpret when put together.

Spoilers ahead for Mister Magic.

This novel is a religious allegory, which I did not see coming. When I pick up a thriller, sometimes they can be religious in nature, but most of the time I’m looking for something a little mysterious. To White’s credit, she did keep it mysterious, but that’s only because I knew nothing about the book going into it. I was waiting for almost the whole story to find out what the thing was. The “Mister Magic” mysterious character that no one would say the name of and the main characters were deeply affected by.

It wasn’t until the end that I started to think… this sounds like Mormonism. The history of men being sent on a quest through Utah and Idaho, being cast out into the desert and forming their own sects, the idea of perfect children, and perfectly behaved women. It started to come together very quickly. And then in the acknowledgments, the author comes right out and “saves you a Google search” by saying yes, she was Mormon.

IT’S A MORMON ALLEGORY.