Product Description: An amazing, richly evocative novel of magic and history in the tradition of E. L. Doctorow and Caleb Carr.
America in the 1920s was a nation obsessed with magic. Not just the kind performed in theaters and on stages across the country, but the magic of technology, science, and prosperity. Enter Charles Carter -- a.k.a. Carter the Great -- a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini. Fueled by a passion for magic that grew out of desperation and loneliness, Carter has become a legend in his own time. His thrilling act involves outrageous stunts carried out on elaborate sets before the most demanding audiences. But the most outrageous stunt of all stars none other than President Warren Harding and ends up nearly costing Carter the reputation he worked so hard to create. Filled with historical references that evoke the excesses and enthusiasm of postwar, pre-Depression America, Carter Beats the Devil is the complex and illuminating story of one man's journey through a magical -- and sometimes dangerous -- world, where illusion is everything, and everything is illusory.
Amazon.com Review: In Carter Beats the Devil, Glen David Gold subjects the past to the same wondrous transformations as the rabbit in a skilled illusionist's hat. Gold's debut novel opens with real-life magician Charles Carter executing a particularly grisly trick, using President Warren G. Harding as a volunteer. Shortly afterwards, Harding dies mysteriously in his San Francisco hotel room, and Carter is forced to flee the country. Or does he? It's only the first of many misdirections in a magical performance by Gold. In the course of subsequent pages, Carter finds himself pursued by the most hapless of FBI agents; falls in love with a beautiful, outspoken blind woman; and confronts an old nemesis bent on destroying him. Throw in countless stunning (and historically accurate) illusions, some beautifully rendered period detail, and historical figures like young inventor Philo T. Farnsworth and self-made millionaire Francis "Borax" Smith, and you have old-fashioned entertainment executed with a decidedly modern sensibility.
Gold has written for movies and TV, so it's no surprise that he delivers snappy, fast-paced dialogue and action scenes as expertly scripted as anything that's come out of Hollywood in years. Carter Beats the Devil has a mustachioed villain, chase scenes, a lion, miraculous escapes, even pirates, for God's sake. Yet none of this is as broadly drawn as it might sound: Gold's characters are driven by childhood sorrows and disappointments in love, just like the rest of us, and they're limned in clever, quicksilver prose. By turns suspenseful, moving, and magical, this is the historical novel to give to anyone who complains that contemporary fiction has lost the ability to both move and entertain. --Mary Park
A Fun Read I'm not a historian so please take this with a grain of salt, but while reading "Carter Beats the Devil," the author's prose struck me as well-researched time and again. Things that you recognize from history classes sneak up on you and make the reading experience an almost interactive one.
The pace of the book is fast in the beginning (Carter's childhood/teenage years) and slows down a bit after he grows up, but then the pace picks up again at the end. Most of the time you'll probably be so entertained that you feel like you're actually watching a magic show yourself.
This book is recommended for anyone who likes a bit of magic in their books (obviously), people who like historical fiction from the turn of the century, and readers interested in pre-Depression America.
Magic and Mayhem: Carter Beats the Devil This is one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a while, all the more so because of the historical figures who feature in it, including President Warren G Harding, the legendary stage magician and illusionist Charles Carter, Harry Houdini, and a cast of notables, including the most villainous of villains. I enjoyed both the mystery at its heart and entering into the fascinating world of magic and illusion. Engagingly written, cleverly plotted. What's more, I understand that the book has been picked up by the American Movie Classics Channel for an upcoming project. I highly recommend it.
I tried I normally read non-fiction. Politics, science, and environmental policy are my usual fare. I mention this so you know that I am quite comfortable investing in and reading through relatively dry, boring material.
Having said that, I could not bring myself to finish Carter Beats the Devil. I started reading it on a flight between San Francisco and Portland, and tried, really, really tried, to continue it once I got home.
I couldn't.
This book meanders aimlessly through a plot and introduces characters I couldn't bring myself to care about. I made it just beyond where Carter visits his adult brother and to the murder in...in...where was it again?
Who knows? Certainly not me.
I stuck it on the shelf and cracked open Al Gore's The Assault on Reason.
Ah...much better.
I must admit - I'm puzzled by the glowing reviews of Carter Beats the Devil. I'm surprised anyone would rate this book highly.
Magic and Mayhem - What a Treat! This is a great book. Set in the San Francisco area in the 1920s, it tells a tale of murder, mayhem, romance and magic that is, amazingly, mostly factual. It's true that the author does take some liberties with the facts in several places, but it's all in the spirit of fun at the core of this novel. You'll meet magicians, a US president, secret service men, entrepreneurs, inventors, pirates, lions and elephants before this book ends and if you're like me you'll be left wanting more. Author Glen David Gold captures the spirit of the age - the rapid pace of technological innovation, the profligate spending habits of those with money - with a clarity that made me see the similarities to the present era in a way I had never considered before.
Granted, this was a fairly long book by current standards, but it was a page-turner that captured me within the first few pages and carried me effortlessly along all the way to the end. When will Glen David Gold produce another novel? The sooner the better as far as I am concerned. Definitely recommended.
Humor, History, Adventure and Mystery I can't remember the last time I read something this exciting-- just plain fun! This is a great read for anyone who enjoyed The Illusionist or The Prestige, but has the added advantage of humor infused throughout. Gold has expertly crafted the characters, written clever dialogue, and created an entertaining mix of historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and humor. This novel would translate well on the screen.
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