Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

Encore please! ( The Face)Ī magnificent achievement. The droll, good-natured narrative never stumbles over 600 pages and Gold's characters, the endearingly troubled Carter at the top of the bill, sit so naturally in the proceedings they positively seem to enjoy being part of his show.

What's most unbelievable about this stagey set-up is that it's based on actual events. It's refreshing to see an author so obviously into his characters and debut novelist Glen David Gold radiates enthusiasm in his tale of magician Charles Carter, implicated in the death of 29th US president Warren Harding. Savour its every page ( Graham Caveney, Independent)Ī top-hat-and-tails performance.suspenseful, compendious, moving and persuasive ( Michael Chabon) the plot turns a dazzling array of somersaults.

( Christian House, Independent on Sunday) If you like this, you may also be interested in reading Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Hannah Smith Review:Įngaging, comical and, yes, magical, this is a sure-fire contender for the debut novel of the year. This is an ambitious and compulsive novel and deserves all the praise that Carter himself received and more. And Carter is such a magical character that you cannot fail to be touched by him-loving whom he does and hating his enemies. The strong narrative and storyline make for a compelling read. Subsequently, the protagonist is crippled by loneliness, widowed and hunted down by those who believe him a murderer and yet he rises again and again to delight and fulfil the highest expectations of his audience. This is only an instalment in Carter's amazing life though as we are guided from his childhood, where both the family servant and a circus freak bullied him, to his rise to stardom and his eventual performance in front of the president. Unfortunately, two hours into the performance, US President Harding is dead and the magician must flee the country, pursued by the Secret Service. The novel begins in 1923 with the most daring performance of Carter's life. Charles Carter is given his stage name 'Carter the Great' by the legendary Harry Houdini and the jazz age of the early 1900s is clearly well researched, yet the romance and strong cast of characters must owe more to the imagination than to history.

With romance, magic and science as its central themes, Glen David Gold's impressive debut Carter Beats The Devil is an inspired delight, a dazzling combination of fact and fiction.

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold