This was a fast and enjoyable read, but it didn't rise to the level of Gibson's prior book, An Education in Malice. It's a poly romance in an occult setting. David Aristarkhov comes from a long line of mediums, and he holds a position of wealth and power in occult society. But his ancestor made a deal with the Devil, and the Devil is coming to collect. David finds himself in need of help, but the only people who might be able to do something are his ex-lover Rhys, and Rhys's wife Moira. Buried family secrets and buried emotions are all being revealed while David fights for his life. It's fun, but it feels a bit surface level, almost like an occult YA. There wasn't any world building outside of the fact that there's a secret society they're all a part of. Does the rest of the world know these people have powers? Are mediums and psychics and witches all out of the closet? How does that play into the rest of the world? Does this secret society actually DO anything, or is just like a magical Rotary Club where the old timers get together every now and then and talk about the old days? The romance is fine, but also doesn't feel particularly deep. It's a bit disappointing because I enjoy a good non-traditional love story, polyamory, throuple, whatever. I will say it's not a love triangle, thank god, and there's no over-the-top jealousy or miscommunication issues. Everyone involved handles things mostly like adults. Mostly. (I'm sorry, if someone I care deeply for slinks off for a couple of weeks and I've been worried about them, the idea that I'm not going to call or text for weeks to ask if they're ok? Unrealistic.) We briefly meet a few other characters but they're entirely forgettable. Possibly this will be fleshed out in the rest of the series? I know some other people have fallen in love with this book, but I think I'm not entirely the right audience, and for me it was a 3.5 star. (read less)

This was a fast and enjoyable read, but it didn't rise to the level of Gibson's prior book, An Education in Malice. It's a poly romance in an occult setting. David Aristarkhov comes from a long line of mediums, and he holds a position of wealth and power in occult society. But his ancestor made a deal with the Devil, and the Devil is coming to collect. David finds himself in need of help, (read more)

I received this novel from Angry Robot Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity. When last year I read S.T. Gibson A Dowry of Blood I was swept away by its unusual story and equally unusual narrative style, so that when Evocation was announced I was more than eager to sample this author’s new work. David is the latest in a long line of famed magic wielders; as such he’s part of the “aristocracy” in the Boston magical scene: rich, handsome and successful in both his occult and mundane activities, he has everything one might desire - that is, until one day he realizes he’s the one who will have to pay the price for a demonic deal underwritten by one of his ancestors. Frantic to escape the fate that’s in store for him according to the terms of the deal, he has no other choice but to seek the help of another conjurer, his ex boyfriend Rhys, provided of course that they are able to mend the rift that brought to their violent breakup, and that David can overcome the strong objections of Moira, Rhys’ wife and a powerful medium, who can barely tolerate him. As the three of them meet over the course of several days, trying to get to the source of what ails David, who suffers both physically and mentally from the demon’s onslaught, David’s jaunty façade begins to crumble, revealing many of his insecurities and past wounds, and the feelings between him and Rhys start to surface again, while Moira discovers that she can appreciate David’s company and starts building a strong bond of friendship with him. Their complex interactions also dovetail with some important changes in the Boston magical scene, while the pressure from the demon becomes almost unbearable and David’s life hangs in the balance…. I must confess that I had quite different expectations for this story: first and foremost, the synopsis hinted at a harrowing battle against powerful demonic forces, and at a deeper look into the influence of magic on our modern society, which this book presents as something quite natural. Unfortunately these elements are kept to the sidelines and the major focus of the novel is on the personal exchanges between David, Rhys and Moira and their slow journey toward a polyamorous relationship: granted, this latter element proved to be interesting, thanks to the exploration of the various dynamics of such a complex liaison and to the painful history of two of the concerned parties, but from my point of view it ended up taking the lion’s share of the narrative space, shunting the encroaching demonic danger to a corner, so that its weight on the characters and its resolution felt more like an afterthought than an integral part of the story. And then there is the tone of the narrative itself, which is quite different from the opulent, almost lyrical writing I enjoyed in A Dowry of Blood: the story’s setting of course required a more modern form of expression, but I could not avoid constantly comparing its… mundane feel with the rich, beautiful writing that so captivated me in S.T. Gibson’s previous novel, so that I have to sadly admit that the overall feeling I was left with at the end of the book was that of wistful disappointment. My hope, since this is the first in a series, is that the next books might recapture that special quality and offer a closer look into the layers of magic present in this vision of our modern world… (read less)

I received this novel from Angry Robot Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity. When last year I read S.T. Gibson A Dowry of Blood I was swept away by its unusual story and equally unusual narrative style, so that when Evocation was announced I was more than eager to sample this author’s new work. David is the latest in (read more)