The Black Magician

By Kay Cee Jones (Indie Author)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 233 (print)

Via: Author request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nasty oil. Sleeping dust. Illusions. Tunnels. An herb garden. Masterful planning. Clever camouflage. Courage, creativity, and daring. All of the above and more are part of Granny and George’s ingenious plans to help black slaves escape their chains in this historical fiction novel set in 1836 Charleston.

The Basics

Granny and her grandson George are “Massa Smith’s” slaves. Although highly intelligent, George the smithy trains himself to act stupid and clumsy at Granny’s behest in order to protect himself and evade trouble. Granny’s stories and passion for freedom help stir a longing for same in George’s heart and mind. George eventually meets Enoch, “a black man living without the restraints of having to hide his intelligence.” 

Granny teaches George to read and write. Like Granny, George has a special gift: The ability to read “auras.” Together, Granny and George use their considerable gifts and talents to help more than a hundred black slaves escape to freedom in Pennsylvania with the help of Shelby, Massa Smith’s illegitimate daughter and abolitionist.

About half of the book is focused on Granny’s backstory. A princess of the Zauzuuzuu tribe, Granny is from a long line of royalty. She bears a “K” mark under her left arm. George bears the same mark, given to him at birth by Granny. Resourceful and quick-witted, Granny labors in Massa Smith’s kitchen and cares for the young, the sick, and the elderly with her extensive knowledge of herbs and natural remedies.

Meanwhile, Granny’s stories spark George’s desire for freedom. He later meets “Indian Red,” a runaway black boy. George saves Indian Red’s life. An orphan, Indian Red lives by himself in a cave after his father is killed trying to escape. The two become fast friends. So when George decides to help slaves escape, he turns to his industrious and resourceful friend for help.

Potential

This book has potential. It’s a strong story. The author’s passion for the subject shines like a full moon in a cloudless night sky. There’s a lot of heart in these pages. But the story is severely hampered by numerous errors in basic mechanics – grammar, punctuation, etc. It would benefit greatly from another proofread and a professional edit. Typos and other errors can be found on nearly every page. 

A Brief Sampling:

• “… Julia always had need for money. Together, they are a very frugal pair.” (p. 3)
• “He was a short plum man…” (p. 5)
• “She had grown quite use to the place…” (p. 10)
• “It wasn’t loneliness per say…” (p. 10)
• “… these men could renegade on their promises…” (p. 110)
• In chapter 5, Granny is “weary” of the attention her skilled cooking could bring. 
• “… the fact that reading was impliedly forbidden…” (p. 70)
• “… he gave a lot more curtsey to the dead than they gave his father.” (p. 101. Incidentally, this is not only an improper word choice, but the sentence structure also indicates that the dead are those doing the “giving.”)
• “At the town’s boarder…” (p. 168)
• “… the rare end of the gun.” (p. 171)
• “… a vile of nasty oil.” (p. 177)
• Granny “could get anyone to corporate.” (p. 178)
• Sprinter “Usian” Bolt. (p. 228)
• Regarding capitalization, there is often no distinction between common nouns and proper nouns.
• Irregular use of the past perfect tense, as in the Epilogue.

The About the Author section: “This book is a dream come through.”

Ouch.

Not Ready for Prime Time

The basic structure could also use some attention. For example, the Prologue is repeated verbatim in Chapter 11. Same with the Preface, which is partially repeated in Chapter 12. This creates needless redundancies and bogs down the story. So although this is an impressive effort and a notable historical fiction read, it is hampered by so many errors that the actual narrative gets derailed. 

Flip Side

On the flip side, the writing style is fluid and easy to follow. The characters are well-drawn. Once it gets rolling, the basic plot offers plenty of action and intrigue, thundering down the track to its conclusion like a runaway freight train. Unfortunately, the conclusion kind of goes “thud.” Like the train just ran out of steam and sputtered to a halt. 

This book isn’t yet ready for prime time. So we won’t be rating it.