by Lang Reid
The
Magick Papers by Antonio Pineda (ISBN 974-92409-7-9, published by IQ Inc this
year) almost says it all on the front cover, where it proclaims it is never
predictable. This is certainly one book that will have you wondering if you
took the wrong turn somewhere.
I have to admit that I read books for the enjoyment factor it provides, even though one of my readers questioned this approach, feeling that a book critic has to analyze and dissect and offer the entrails for discussion - more of an academic undergraduate exercise. Au contraire, I believe that people read book reviews to see if the reviewer enjoyed it, or otherwise. And why.
But back to The Magick Papers, which on the back cover suggests that “anyone with an IQ above ‘gifted’ will appreciate this novel and be entertained, absorbed and challenged by it.” The advice continues that a more than passing knowledge of ‘blotter art’ is advantageous, plus a good understanding of the music and theatre of the late 20th century is needed to fully appreciate the novel. “Brilliant” it calls itself, “but only for those who are not intellectually challenged.” All good confrontational stuff! But will it make people buy to show their intellectual superiority, I wonder?
The book has several ‘plots’ which seem to run in large interconnecting circles similar to the Olympic logo. Each seems to be complete in itself, but impinges upon the others. The central thread (to my mind) seems to be the drug/LSD subculture which holds the rings together.
There is enough action and information to keep any blood and thunder reader engrossed. By page 13 Antonia Pineda has taken you to Sofia and given the reader a thumbnail of Byzantine history, smoked a cannabis spliff with two Bulgarian prostitutes, and quickly transported you to San Francisco on a black Harley Davidson to slit the throat of a small-time drug runner.
There is also a couple of American drug enforcement officers, one of whom defects during the novel, deciding there is more fun and rewards on the other side; a motorcycle gang that divides its time between masterminding international drug courier systems and internecine wars with neighboring gangs and a law firm that gets fat on the resultant pickings. All very complex, but keeps the mind exercised.
The Magick Papers carries an RRP of 390 baht, which makes it an inexpensive (albeit confusing at times), entertaining, absorbing and challenging read. Even at the end, I am still not sure of where I stand on this novel, so the jury is probably still out on my IQ level as well. The back cover indeed suggests, “It probably needs to be read twice.” This is probably correct, and the good news is that after the initial 390 baht purchase, the second reading is free!
(Footnote: In the mythical Puma Diamante, in which much of the novel is set, there is reference to a Hellfirecat Club, an upstairs bar reminding me much of a similar establishment in Thailand (but more up-market), and author Pineda does acknowledge an influence from Thailand, and the novel was written here.)