Mister Magic

                              

Title: Mister Magic

Author: Kiersten White

Published: Del Rey, August 8, 2023

Pages: 293

Genre: Horror Suspense

Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic.  

But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who—or what—the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former Circle of Friends has. 

Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it’s been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, they understand one another better than anyone has since. 

After all, they’re the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? 

Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . .

This one hit a little close to home. So it wasn't very scary until like the last quarter of the book. But then the parallels were very scary! It got so real. 

So this woman is 38 years old and her father has just passed away. At the funeral she is confronted with men that she has not seen or thought of in 30 years. And she recognizes them instantly. Cannot relate. If someone that I hadn't seen since I was 8 years old walked up to me and told me their name, I would be lucky to recognize the name, much less the face! Also, her father has had her in hiding on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. And she just trusts people that roll up at his funeral and tell her that her mother is alive and they can take her to her? WILD. 

But she does trust them. And she does leave her father's funeral with 3 men she supposedly knew when she was 8 years old. Without telling anyone. She eventually texts the owner of the ranch, who was like a stand-in aunt to her. But with one of the guy's phones because she also doesn't have a cellphone. The red flags are only just beginning. But ultimately that's not the scariest part of this dang book.

All of these people were on a children's show together. Something happened, Val left, and the studio burned down. So now it's 30 years later and they're doing a reunion podcast about it. I think my favorite thing about the book was the way they talked about the show. There are no existing recordings of the show. There isn't really a consensus of what happened in the show, or what the characters looked like or did. But there are a ton of blog posts and fanfic about the show. And the author intersperses clips from these throughout the story, which was really fun.

Ultimately though, this show was a way for this exiled sect of people to spread their personal brand of morality to children around the world. It was gross. The scariest part of the whole book was that these people were trying to force their world views on children, and had previously been extremely successful at it. YIKES.

Ratings

Stars: 3/5