Magic Man

by Ron Base

Book Overview

"A charming novel of old Hollywood, first loves, and man with a touch of magic "A mysterious young man named Brae Orrack arrives in Venice, California, in 1928, claiming to be a magic man who can turn stones to bees. Brae also comes carrying a curse. He says he will die unless he can find true love---and find it soon. Is he a con man or is he telling the truth? With Brae, it's hard to tell. Like Elwood P. Dowd and Harvey, Brae, with his old-fashioned...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312328095
• ISBN13: 9780312328092
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Found a little magic in this one.

Every so often, a mysterious novel comes along that no one has ever heard of or seldom remembers. I found this book right as I was about to walk out of a Borders bookstore. It was in the bargain box, only two copies, with a hard black cover and purple writing. Knowing nothing about the author, I decided to flip through this one. When I read I like to be tugged into a book. I can't stand it when the story doesn't get going until page 200. This one surprised me from the first line to the last. Just standing there, engulfed in the story, I began to realize that this book was making me tone out my surroundings. After flipping through five pages, I bought the book. Magic man is the story of Brae Orrack, a supposedly forgotten hidden man in Hollywood, dying of a mysterious curse set upon his head, whose manuscript of his adventures was discovered in a soundstage on a famous studio lot. His introduction is crisp and intriguing. His humor is dry and engaging. And the voice in which he tells the story and paints the picture is one that stands on it's own. His adventures, as a magic man, takes him to seedy hotels, glorious neighborhoods bumping shoulders with and having eccentric run-in's with George Raft, Garry Cooper and Clara Bow at a time when the film industry was changing in 1928. When the pictures made the transition to sound, that's when all this hidden, poignant chaos began. It has car chases, romance, mysterious characters and unforgettable scenes with dialogue that will keep you glued to your seat almost breathless by the time you reach the next chapter. This lost treasure of a book is one I would read again and recommend to others for just a good old fashioned story. It seems that this is the first and only fictional tale Ron Base chose to right. Well, one thing is for certain, it certainly left an impression . . . and made me believe in magic once again.