Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, LGBTQ
Reviewer: Ulysses
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About The Book
In the thrilling sequel to “Magic, Monsters and Me,” Elijah Delomary forges new abilities with new mentors, seeks to reunify with Austin, and faces the terrible truth behind losing his powers. As war rages between Devlina and Zid’dra, Elijah and his family are drawn into the conflict.
Zid’dra grows stronger and brings Elijah to the precipice of destruction. Faced with a terrifying revelation, Elijah is pushed to protect his family, Austin, and the very fabric of existence. The weight of these challenges tests Elijah’s strength, forcing him to confront the darkest forces while proving the unwavering strength of his love to Austin.
As the evil plan comes to light, Elijah forges new abilities with new mentors, seeks to reunify with Austin, and faces the terrible truth behind losing his powers. As war rages between Devlina and Zid’dra, Elijah and his family are drawn into the conflict. Zid’dra grows stronger and brings Elijah to the precipice of destruction. Will he survive? Can he trust himself to do the right thing? Will he believe that love can conquer darkness and save the world?
Warnings: homophobia, racism, bullying, fat phobia, LGBT slurs, fade to black sex
The Review
Leaping right into this from the cliffhanger of book 1, I embraced Timoteo Tong’s antic narrative style as if I were riding a roller coaster. It’s really the best way to deal with these books—part heartfelt YA teen romance, and part crazier-than-Hogwarts magical adventure. With all the magic-related stories involving young people I’ve read, this one stands out as a unique vision.
Elijah Delomary is in a much better place in this book (other than being the object of the hatred of the lord of darkness). His family situation has settled into something like happiness, and his relationship with Austin Kang is strong. But there’s a serious mental issue that Eli has to deal with—stress and anxiety brought on by trauma. So that makes a strong subplot of this book.
The bizarre almost-familiar world of Burbank in which Elijah and his friends live is marvelously rendered. The Delomary family’s enormous wealth and global corporate power is made pretty evident as well. That, however, is balanced by the Delomary family’s connections quite literally to the creation of the Earth and their position as not just powerfully magical, but linked to the very creative forces going back to the Big Bang.
Yeah, I know. Honestly, it’s slightly less confusing than it sounds, and a great deal more fun. Elijah and Austin are adorable and admirable. Not everybody in this world is good and kind, and social hierarchies are strong and strange. But this parallel track of teenage angst and multiverse power struggle moves along with remarkable ease. The author has a way of keeping the apocalypse light-hearted, and is filled with such love for his characters that the reader can’t help but feel the same way.
The loudest message in this literary two-part series is that homophobia sucks and that teenage bullying is something that should be prevented and stopped by adults who are, after all, the guardians of our children.
Oh, and saving the universe from the forces of evil, too. So much fun.
5 stars.
The Reviewer
Ulysses Grant Dietz grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his Leave It to Beaver life was enlivened by his fascination with vampires, from Bela Lugosi to Barnabas Collins. He studied French at Yale, and was trained to be a museum curator at the University of Delaware. A curator since 1980, Ulysses has never stopped writing fiction for the sheer pleasure of it. He created the character of Desmond Beckwith in 1988 as his personal response to Anne Rice’s landmark novels. Alyson Books released his first novel, Desmond, in 1998. Vampire in Suburbia, the sequel to Desmond, is his second novel.
Ulysses lives in suburban New Jersey with his husband of over 41 years and their two almost-grown children.
By the way, the name Ulysses was not his parents’ idea of a joke: he is a great-great grandson of Ulysses S. Grant, and his mother was the President’s last living great-grandchild. Every year on April 27 he gives a speech at Grant’s Tomb in New York City.