EVOCATION (The Summoner’s Circle #1), by S.T. Gibson

I received this novel from Angry Robot Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

When last year I read S.T. Gibson A Dowry of Blood I was swept away by its unusual story and equally unusual narrative style, so that when Evocation was announced I was more than eager to sample this author’s new work.

David is the latest in a long line of famed magic wielders; as such he’s part of the “aristocracy” in the Boston magical scene: rich, handsome and successful in both his occult and mundane activities, he has everything one might desire – that is, until one day he realizes he’s the one who will have to pay the price for a demonic deal underwritten by one of his ancestors. Frantic to escape the fate that’s in store for him according to the terms of the deal, he has no other choice but to seek the help of another conjurer, his ex boyfriend Rhys, provided of course that they are able to mend the rift that brought to their violent breakup, and that David can overcome the strong objections of Moira, Rhys’ wife and a powerful medium, who can barely tolerate him.

As the three of them meet over the course of several days, trying to get to the source of what ails David, who suffers both physically and mentally from the demon’s onslaught, David’s jaunty façade begins to crumble, revealing many of his insecurities and past wounds, and the feelings between him and Rhys start to surface again, while Moira discovers that she can appreciate David’s company and starts building a strong bond of friendship with him.  Their complex interactions also dovetail with some important changes in the Boston magical scene, while the pressure from the demon becomes almost unbearable and David’s life hangs in the balance….

I must confess that I had quite different expectations for this story: first and foremost, the synopsis hinted at a harrowing battle against powerful demonic forces, and at a deeper look into the influence of magic on our modern society, which this book presents as something quite natural. Unfortunately these elements are kept to the sidelines and the major focus of the novel is on the personal exchanges between David, Rhys and Moira and their slow journey toward a polyamorous relationship: granted, this latter element proved to be interesting, thanks to the exploration of the various dynamics of such a complex liaison and to the painful history of two of the concerned parties, but from my point of view it ended up taking the lion’s share of the narrative space, shunting the encroaching demonic danger to a corner, so that its weight on the characters and its resolution felt more like an afterthought than an integral part of the story. 

And then there is the tone of the narrative itself, which is quite different from the opulent, almost lyrical writing I enjoyed in A Dowry of Blood: the story’s setting of course required a more modern form of expression, but I could not avoid constantly comparing its… mundane feel with the rich, beautiful writing that so captivated me in S.T. Gibson’s previous novel, so that I have to sadly admit that the overall feeling I was left with at the end of the book was that of wistful disappointment.

My hope, since this is the first in a series, is that the next books might recapture that special quality and offer a closer look into the layers of magic present in this vision of our modern world…

My Rating: