The magician and the fool

Format:

Book

Title:

The magician and the fool

Author:

Anderson, Barth.

ISBN:

9780553383591

Publication Information:

New York : Bantam Spectra Books, 2008.

Physical Description:

290 pages ; 21 cm.

Series title(s):

Bantam spectra book.

Summary:

Jeremiah Rosemont, a disgraced art historian who's been backpacking through Central America, accepts an airline ticket to Rome from a man he's never seen before. Later, Rosemont walks through the back door of a Roman hotel and finds himself in a street filled with strange festival-goers and men and women from his own past. Meanwhile in Minnesota, two deadly killers, one of whom was born in the 14th century, pursue a Dumpster diver and tarot reader called Boy King.

Subject(s):

Tarot -- Fiction.

Retired teachers -- Fiction.

Homeless men -- Fiction.

Genre:

Paranormal fiction.

Fiction.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Silver Falls Library	SF ANDERSON	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

For hundreds of years, men have sought their hidden futures in the legendary images of the tarot--but what secrets of the past are harbored by the priestess, the magician, the hanged man...and the fool? The author of the explosive The Patron Saint of Plagues returns with a richly textured mystical mystery exploring the dark heart of one of our oldest traditions.

Years ago, fallen scholar Jeremiah Rosemont left the bitter rivalries of academia behind and now lives a simple nomadic existence in South America, far from the arguments that once defined his life. But he can't outrun his past...or the dangerous truth that lurks beneath his abandoned studies. Following an enigmatic summons to Rome, Rosemont finds himself at the center of a mystery that dates back to the fall of Troy, the pursuit of a mystical treasure many are willing to sacrifice fortunes and lives for: the earliest known tarot deck.

As Rosemont delves deeper and deeper into the tarot's unsettling secret origins, his own fate is inexorably intertwined with that of the Boy King, a homeless man with an unspeakable gift...and a mysterious past of his own. For these two men--and the demons, dupes, and power seekers drawn to them--the cards will reveal everything, even the shattering, unseen truths of human life itself....

Author Notes

Barth Anderson lives in Minnesota with his wife and children. He has written short fiction in numerous publications and anthologies, and six of his stories have received honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror . He was the winner of the Spectrum Award for best short fiction in 2004. The Magician and the Fool is his second novel.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

At the start of Anderson's offbeat thriller, Jeremiah Rosemont, a disgraced art historian who's been backpacking through Central America, accepts an airline ticket to Rome from a man he's never seen before. Later, Rosemont walks through the back door of a Roman hotel and finds himself in a street filled with strange festival-goers and men and women from his own past. Meanwhile in Minnesota, two deadly killers, one of whom was born in the 14th century, pursue a Dumpster diver and tarot reader called Boy King. The plot revolves around an ancient tarot deck, the origins of which, if authenticated by Jeremiah, will change the nature of the arcane "science" of divination. Anderson (The Patron Saint of Plagues) doesn't make it easy on the reader, preferring to reveal his swirling, complex story bit by enigmatic bit. Those willing to surrender themselves to this talented author's compelling vision will find a fevered dream universe where understanding in the normal sense is probably not possible, nor even necessary. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Jeremiah Rosemont, fleeing the disastrous in-fighting of academia, has been wandering South America for quite some time. At a hostel in Managua, he receives an anonymous summons to Rome and a plane ticket. Curiosity piqued, he takes the flight and enters into the mystery of the world's oldest tarot deck, reputed to drive its viewers mad. Entwined with Rosemont's story is that of a squatter in Minneapolis called the Boy King, who is running from some unspeakable horror in his past. The Boy King has a certain gift for the tarot, also one for manipulating people. Furthermore, he's pursued by terrible ancient powers. The strange lives of Rosemont and the Boy King provide the main show here, but the bizarre history of the tarot deck, which touches the founding of Rome and the fall of Troy, and the forces nipping at Rosemont's heels make them gel. A clever spin on the antique game of tarot and its esoteric origins.--Schroeder, Regina Copyright 2008 Booklist