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| Plot Summary of Magic |
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"Charles "Corky" Withers is on the verge of hitting the big time. His magic act includes the winning hook of a heckler/ventriloquist dummy named Fats. Unfortunately, Corky's acting a bit erratic, too -- sleeping with overnight pickups, refusing to sign the contracts his pushy agent Ben "The Postman" Greene has been getting him -- and he escapes to the upstate New York of his boyhood, there to encounter ex-cheerleader Peggy Ann Snow, the woman of his teenage year dreams, now the aging hotelier/wife of philandering ex-ballplayer Ronnie "Duke" Wayne. The idea of a dummy overpowering the psyche of his schizoid operator is not new (see the 1945 movie "Dead of Night"), this horror thriller is a step down from Goldman's best (Marathon Man, The Princess Bride), and lovely Anthony Hopkins was badly miscast in the lead role of the 1978 movie, yet there are some lovely connecting bits of reality that have the ring of truth: Corky's adolescent yearnings for Peggy and success with the Charles Atlas bodybuilding course, the enthusiastic apprentice attached to aging and alcoholic has-been magician "Mr. Merlin." Plenty of patented Goldman plot twists, too, although a few strain credulity. A good beach read."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Magic |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror Story?
Yes
Horror plotlets
- the inanimate object chased me!
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Forest?
Yes
Water?
Yes
Water:
- drowning
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- touching of anatomy
Unusual forms of death
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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