How real is too real?
By Morgan St. Knight
The lift of a wand here, a little
ditty there, and poof! The heroine or hero gets what they need at the moment.
Adding magic to a storyline can spice up paranormal, urban fantasy and horror
stories. But can it get too real?
This may bring a few chuckles. Too real? Magic doesn’t exist. How can it
get “too real”?
My opinion is different on that
matter, but I’m not here to debate that. I want to look at what authors put in
their books, and whether it sometimes goes too far.
I absolutely love
it when authors do serious research to make their books as believable as
possible. The former journalist in me loves facts. So if someone has written a
scene with a criminal investigation, I want to see a real criminal
investigation. What sort of techniques do the investigators use? What is the
science behind those techniques? Has the author written a believable series of
events with a believable outcome, or are there too many questions and
improbabilities?
When we read a
scene involving a specific science, discipline or art, and our own background
knowledge tells us the details are spot-on, it makes the experience more
enjoyable. When it seems off, we may be motivated enough to look up the details
on line. If the writer has gotten it wrong, we lose respect for and enjoyment
of the book.
What does this have
to do with magic? Well, I mentioned science, discipline and art, and in my
world magic is all three. But again, I’m not here to debate. So let’s take a
neutral example.
Say a writer
includes a bomb-making scene in a thriller novel. This isn’t just some cursory
scene, either. The writer has done her research and goes, step by step, through
the process of making a bomb. If the reader followed the same steps, they would
have a bomb that would really work. The writers might as well have cut and
pasted a chapter from “The Anarchist’s Cookbook”.
Would you say such
attention to detail was necessary? Or
would you deem it unnecessary and even irresponsible for the writer to include
such data?
Here’s where I
switch over to the topic of magic. In most cases, the magical scenes I see in
books nowadays are innocuous. It’s unlikely anything bad would happen if
someone decided to actually perform them. But I said most, not all, and
there’s the problem.
I have read some
books that put in detailed scenes that might as well have come out of a
grimoire. I have studied the occult for several decades, and I know the real
stuff when I see it. True, some of these authors omitted (intentionally or
through carelessness, I have no idea) certain aspects of the ceremonies. But
they left in enough that a casual researcher could either find the missing
information, especially in the age of everything-on-the-internet, or else could
cobble together a working ritual from the elements that are there.
If you want a good
example of TMI, read James Blish’s “Black Easter”. I don’t mind mentioning him
by name because he’s been dead nearly 40 years, and you can’t defame the dead
(in the U.S. courts, anyway. The dead have their own ideas about it). He did
his research, I’ll give him that. There’s enough information in that little
book to give someone the basics for full-dress demonic evocation. Fortunately
the ritual is so onerous and the preparation so lengthy (you have to forge your
own set of ritual swords, knives, etc.) that it’s unlikely anyone would have
the time, patience or resources to attempt it.
But that’s not the
case in other books. I read a series that centered on a witch who faced off
against a number of occult enemies. Since the author is fairly well known, I
won’t get into too many specifics or name names. A chapter in one of the books
showed an evil sorceress performing a demonic invocation, and the details were
surprisingly accurate. This was not the drawn-out process cited in Blish’s
book. This was a short ritual done in one hour. The elements, from descriptions
of magical symbols to the use of various tonal inflections in the actual
invocations, was amazingly precise.
Good job with the
research. Bad job for putting that kind of thing into writing for other people
to find it.
So I beg those of you
who want to write magical scenes, ease up on the research and come up with
something that is dramatic but clearly in the realm of fantasy, or at least not
practical for the average reader to try. Because if it’s doable, I guarantee
someone will try it at some point.
Don’t worry that a
real witch will come up and say “Bad research on the facts!” A real, responsible witch will look the other
way, and may even give you a pat on the back for not spilling our trade
secrets.
Curse of Prometheus:
A Tale of Medea
Morgan St. Knight
Genre: Paranormal/urban fantasy
AISN: B00HRG6FEA
ISBN-13: 978-0991396092
Number of pages: 276
Word count: 107,000
The ancient world's most notorious sorceress has just become the modern world's only hope for survival.
Book Description:
How do you fight a god of light who has been seduced by darkness? That’s the challenge Medea Keres must meet. Posing as a wealthy young heiress in modern day Atlanta, no one knows she is the original Medea, the sorceress from ancient Greek legends.
As priestess of the witch goddess Hecate, Medea is charged with hunting demons that would otherwise overrun the world. Now she must face a far greater adversary. One of the twelve shining Olympian gods has turned rogue, violating the edict against human sacrifice. As the body count quickly rises, Medea knows her enemy is getting stronger.
With the help of the underworld nymph Orphne and the hero-god Heracles, she must find a way to unmask the evil so that the other Olympians will take action.
But as she probes deeper into a blood-soaked labyrinth of suspense and intrigue, Medea finds a net of deceit and treachery that will require all of her cunning to escape.
Available at Amazon
Excerpt
A
form rose up between the two men on the table, as if it had been lying there
all along. Dark and still amid the flashing power pouring out of me, it was
perfectly black, the outline roughly human. There was no firm definition to the
edges of the body. It flowed and
rippled
like onyx-colored water.
Billowing clouds rose behind its back, shot through
with thick reddish-black
strands that throbbed unevenly like huge, ulcerated veins. The clouds resolved
into vague wing-like shapes. Icy winds whipped through the room, snuffing most
of the torches along the walls.
{Forbidden}
The
voice was hissing, the single word almost breathless, as if it was uttered on
an inhalation rather than exhalation. Pounding blows of dark energy assailed
me, a relentless tide from an ocean of decay. The power flaring within me
shuddered under the punishing attack.
{Release}
The
word rang within my skull as much as it echoed from the walls, the sibilance
giving it a hint of something vaguely serpentine. It seemed my summons was not
going to go unchallenged. It was the worst possible circumstance, and yet I
felt oddly reassured. I knew this adversary wouldn’t have bothered appearing if
there hadn’t been a strong chance my efforts would be successful.
“Yield,
Thanatos!” I said through bared teeth, calling death by its ancient, though by
no means its oldest name. I willed more energy from my center to push back its
assault. I could show no fear, for it would be the one chink in my armor that
Thanatos would find and exploit.
{Mine}
Fetid
winds pummeled me, trying to force me to release my grasp on the two dead men.
I knew if I broke contact with them for even an instant, Thanatos would be able
to seal them off from me forever.
I
wasn’t willing to give up now. Too much was at stake. I was going to get the
answer I needed, once and for all.
I
balled my hands into fists, clutching the hair of the men beneath me. I forced
first one, then the other of my legs to lift up so I could struggle onto the
table. “You want them back?” I yelled. “See what they bring with them!”
With
a cry, I jerked their heads up so that they faced the hovering monstrosity in
front of me. I changed the flow of my power, drawing it up rather than pushing
it into the bodies, using it to suck the ram’s blood out of their stomachs. I
concentrated with all my might, forcing the blood into jets that shot with
blinding speed towards the living darkness.
The
still-hot fluid hit home, and horrible screams pierced the air. They sounded
like multiple sets of iron claws dragging on a blackboard in rapid succession.
I’d guessed correctly. The one thing death cannot abide is life, and fresh
blood is the essence of life itself.
There
were huge rents in the darkness where the blood had eaten through the material
form Thanatos had temporarily adopted. But the demon-like terror was not gone
by a long shot. It wasn’t about to give up so easily. It closed the distance
between us almost instantly, the head coming within inches of my own.
I
struggled not to retch at the stench of rot that poured from the area where a
mouth would be on a human. On this creature, it merely seemed to be an inky
black aperture, darkness within darkness.
It
rippled slightly as another single word oozed from deep within it.
{Release}
Numbness
spread through my arms, and in a panic I looked down. I was still grasping the
men, but I couldn’t feel my hands. It was a psychic assault. Nothing was
actually wrong with my nerves or muscles. But if I didn’t maintain perfect
control my hands could easily slip and let go of the prizes I was trying to
win. Thanatos hadn’t been able to scare me into submission, so it was going to
try another tactic.
Too
bad we’d sacrificed a ram instead of a bull. If I had more blood to work with I
might have been able to disintegrate the form of Thanatos entirely. But there
wasn’t another easily accessible source of life-force.
Suddenly
I remembered. Maybe I did
have
another weapon. I looked up. The bowl which had held the sacrificial blood was
still floating above my head, right where I’d released it. It was caught up in
the same nexus of power that surround me and the dead men. I recalled the word
meaning “breath of life” engraved around the bowl, and understanding came to
me. The words weren’t just decoration.
They
were an incantation. The bowl itself was a magical object, and it was still
coated in blood.
It
was my only chance. I reached out with my mind, felt the shape of the bowl as
clearly as if I held it within my own hands.
“Now!”
I screamed, using my mind to thrust the bowl down. It struck the jet-black form
of Thanatos directly in the middle. Cries of pain and anger that would have
frightened devils erupted from the dark specter, so loud that I thought my head
would shatter.
I
felt the table jar as if we were in an earthquake, and it took all of my focus
to maintain my hold on the dead men that lay on it. Their eyes were wide open
now, their mouths working as if they were trying to say something. Hard to
tell, but it could easily have been a look of terror on their faces. Well, no
blame there. They’d died horrible deaths, and were now faced with new horrors
when they should have been enjoying peace.
I
thought the form of Thanatos might simply disappear, but I should have known
better. Nothing is simple in battles like that. Instead, it shattered into
myriad shards that shot in all direction, like thousands of tiny arrows.
About the Author:
Morgan St. Knight live in Atlanta, and is a lifelong student of mythology, the occult, and comparative religion. With more than 25 years of experience as a journalist, Morgan enjoys the occasional foray into fantasyland to escape the grim realities of life. He is currently working on the sequel to "Curse of Prometheus" and is developing a second paranormal series which also takes place in the South.
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Kindle Giveaway
To win, you just have to follow Morgan on Twitter @MorganStKnight and send a tweet that says "Entering giveaway for CoP". Only one tweet is necessary, but you must send that one tweet to know you're interested in entering the giveaway.
Additionally, Morgan will be giving away 2 copies of "Curse of Prometheus" each week of the tour. Everyone who enters for the Kindle giveaway on a given week is automatically entered for that week's book giveaway.
And yes, if you win a copy of the book, you are still in the running for the Kindle giveaway.
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1 comment:
Thanks for hosting me on your site today Roxanne! It's been a great book tour so far thanks to you, and I'm looking forward to another week of it.
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