History Corner / Book Review: the City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Houghton Miffin Harcout Press via Netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it,  all opinions are my own.



Today's History Corner takes a supernatural detour, as a new fictional piece takes on the 300 years of New Orleans history!

It comes out next week!

the City of Lost Fortunes cover

Synopsis:

The fate of New Orleans rests in the hands of a wayward grifter in this novel of gods, games, and monsters.


The post–Katrina New Orleans of The City of Lost Fortunes is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction, a place that is hoping to survive the rebuilding of its present long enough to ensure that it has a future. Street magician Jude Dubuisson is likewise burdened by his past and by the consequences of the storm, because he has a secret: the magical ability to find lost things, a gift passed down to him by the father he has never known—a father who just happens to be more than human.


Jude has been lying low since the storm, which caused so many things to be lost that it played havoc with his magic, and he is hiding from his own power, his divine former employer, and a debt owed to the Fortune god of New Orleans. But his six-year retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind. A world full of magic, monsters, and miracles. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent for lost things has always been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

Read an Excerpt:

Check out an excerpt before my review!



Review:

At its heart this book is a love story to the New Orleans that was (before Katrina) and what it is now (still coming back). New Orleans has always, in its 300 years, been a city surrounded by mystery, things seen and unseen, unexpected and different. Add in different cultural influences and its no wonder that most New Orleanians can speak with some merit to the different faiths and cultures, as they continue to influence modern culture to this day. But what HAS changed is the city's soul. It was forever changed by Katrina and a part of it's fortune was lost, never to return.

And that is the central theme of this story- while the Gods of New Orleans play out a poker game for Jude's life, it's really the city itself that if fighting for it's breath, and chance to try to bring back its magical essence. It's hard to believe that this is Camp's debut, as rich in its texture and nuances, as it is. But it is the story that those from New Orleans will recognize in their souls. You may leave your heart in San Francisco, but your soul? No it wants to stay in New Orleans, and it will recognize the city in each of the characters, and hold its breath, to see the outcome. Camp gives us an amazing allegory, that is a 'can't put down read', that draws you in from the first page. Be prepared for lots of late late night reading once you start this book, and if you love NOLA, be sure to read it!


About the Author:

BRYAN CAMP is a graduate of  Southeastern University in Hammond, LA and the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop and the University of New Orleans’s MFA program. He started his first novel, The City of Lost Fortunes, in the back seat of his parents’ car as they evacuated the Crescent City during Hurricane Katrina, as part of a writing assignment. He has been, at various points in his life: a security guard at a stockcar race track, a printer in a flag factory, an office worker in an oil refinery, and a high school English teacher. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and their three cats, one of whom is named after a superhero.Check out his webpage for more info

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