I had heard of, or at least seen the cover of Mister Magic circulating the web for a bit before I actually decided to jump in. After reading Something is Killing the Children: Hope is a Knife, which Kiersten White co-authored, I decided it was time to see what the hype was about. A unsettling, unique, and mind-bending horror story about childhood and what is expected of us.
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?
In addition to how wonderfully written SIKTC: Hope is a Knife, I also saw the comparisons to I Saw the TV Glow, one of my favorite horror movies of the past few years. The children’s television program everyone knows about, can sing the song from, or at least have some sort of memory about, but no one can prove existed. What a fantastic hook to this story, which goes in directions I hadn’t expected.
The characters are slowly built throughout the story led by our narrator, who comes in nearly blind to the situation having forgotten what happened in her life as a child. After the death of her father things from the outside world start to penetrate her mind and opens her up to these horrors of her childhood.
I loved how this book progressed, but funny enough laying the foundation of whether or not a specific children’s program ever really existed could be a fantastic beginning to a lot of horror stories. This is a fictional horror story that is built on truths of the life White lived as a child as part of the Mormon Church. Yes, this is of course a work of fiction, but White builds this story using her experiences with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both as a member and her choice to leave.
White crafts a visually stunning book without imagery, but with her words on the page. I can see the television program, the children singing, as well as the settings of each part of this story. Which made for an immersive reading experience, what makes it better is the upcoming graphic novel adaptation that allows you to get another idea of what this book is all about.
Mister Magic is an emotional and unsettling horror story that hit harder than I expected. Kiersten White takes an eerie premise and turns it into a deeply personal story about childhood, belonging, and belief. Mister Magic is a mind-bending horror tale that turns nostalgic children’s television into a pure nightmare.
Mister Magic is available at bookstores everywhere from Del Rey. The audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Lowman, is available at Libro.fm!
