Nocturnal Book Reviews

Born of Illusion is not The Diviners, but it's a lovely, fun and colourful book, strong in its own right.

Like Libba Bray, Teri Brown took on a fascinating and not a very well known topic of magicians and mediums in New York in 1920s. However, while Bray concentrated on a bigger picture, describing a great and sinister conspiracy, Teri Brown painted portraits of individuals with their own dreams, fears and desires.

Anna is a strong, determined young girl, whose sole occupation is to provide for her flighty, dramatic mother, a famous medium currently on tour in New York. Ironically, Anna is the real medium in the family while her mother is a shiny fake, but it's not the side of her talent she wants to explore. Anna is deadly afraid of her visions and contacts with the dead, and wants no part of it.

Her passion is magic, and she is a fabulous magician, forced to live in her mother's shadow and fight for every bit of performance she wants to improve. Anna is bitter and disappointed and wants to escape her dear old mom when she reaches adulthood to do her own shows.

Anna is also fascinated by the identity of her father. Her mom told her he is Houdini himself, and Anna obsessively follows his performances, watches his movies and tries the same stunts is he does... while her mom thrives on Anna's bit of notoriety.

Add to this Anna's visions of an impending danger to her mother, kidnapping attempts, two young and dapper gentlemen showing interest in Anna, jealousy of her mother and a secret society determined to research mediums' powers... and you get a few hours of pure entertainment.

The plot is simple and easy to follow, there is a little bit of a love triangle going on, but mostly it's a charming and atmospheric book which guarantees a few hours of pure entertainment for the reader. Recommended!