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Loading... The City of Lost Fortunes (A Crescent City Novel) (original 2018; edition 2018)by Bryan Camp (Author)
Work InformationThe City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp (2018)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I loved everything: the wide range of diverse and well developed characters, the sweeping use of mythology from every area and era, the settings so descriptive I could smell the chicory coffee... This book captures everything that makes our city special, adds a dash of mystery and a heaping of magic and myth, mixes in in the biggest gumbo pot ya mama got and tops it off with Tony's. If you like murder mystery, you'll love City of Lost Fortunes. If you like mythology references, you'll love City of Lost Fortunes. If you love New Orleans, you'll adore City of Lost Fortunes. I've been bewitched, ensnared, ensorcelled!! This (audio)book was an awesome, oft times (oddly enough) enjoyably confusing, wild ride. With a delicious blend of (New Orleans) Culture and Magic and a few cameos from various Mythologies and Folklores, this book was a mixed and mottled amalgamation of all things Divine and Preternatural (with a smattering of questionable paternity) and a large dose of good old fashioned Fate (and who's in control of that?). Sound confusing? It was... just a bit BUT hang in there because it is sooooo worth the price of admission. This book was brimming with atmosphere and grit and Possibility and Chance. In part, this Urban Fantasy was a magical/mystical/crazy pants/ culturally edifying Whodunit. It was also a patchwork introduction to Vodoo and Christianity, and many other varying religious beliefs. It's also a coming of age story and a tale of Destiny and more importantly, who has their hands on the reigns in that matter... and and and... It was many many things but what it most certainly was not was boring. Every word was sheer poetry... not literal poetry but poignant nonetheless. It was not too verbose... except for Morning's dialogue but he's him so it's allowed. I was helpless, helplessly (lovingly) chained to this tale. A tale that, at its bare minimum, is a story about a boy (??) Demigod (??) Son of (??)... oh well, we'll have to move on from there because we don't know for certain those answers until WAAAAAY later in the story if at all. Well this... let's just call him (her?) Jude, this Jude resides in beautiful New Orleans after Katrina. Jude has some magical tricks and is called to a card game with some pretty interesting players. Jude is forced to play. What happens next is that the Luck God of New Orleans is killed, Jude has no recollection of what happened after he sat down and began to play and the suspect list is populated by the very eclectic group of card players in attendance that fateful evening. There is an angel, a vampire, a voodoo god (riding inside of one of his followers), and a Greek/Egyptian god. Jude knows... errr thinks... the murderer wasn't himself but if not he then who (or what) killed the Luck God of New Orleans AND what does this have to do with Jude AND does it help us figure out Jude's parentage AND will it help Jude find his place in the World? As I said, there's more to it than that but that's as succinct of a synopsis I can give without giving away too much. Overall: I'm a bit confused as to why this book isn't rated higher, maybe it's because it was difficult at times to suss out what was 100% going on at all times. I am that reader though that enjoys suspending my beliefs and need for control while being immersed in a read. I'm the one saying "I'll follow wherever this leads me even if I'm all sorts of lost along the way." If you need tight control... need to know things with complete certainty about the goings on in your read at all times? This book might not be for you. Don't get me wrong, you'll probably enjoy the wording and vibe but you'll be lost in the proverbial sauce. I personally was captivated and utterly unable to put this one down. The narrator was Korey Jackson and he brought this beautiful ode... homage... love letter to the devastated yet resilient and healing city of New Orleans vibrantly to Life. I can't wait to dive into and devour (or let myself be devoured by) book #2! I highly reccomend this (audio) book! ~ Enjoy Although I guessed (hoped?) early on what the overall arc of the story was, getting there was a pleasure. This one was told from a single point of view. Set in New Orleans, City of lost fortunes is the story of Jude, who has a knack for finding things that has gotten overwhelming post-Katrina. When the fortune god of the city calls in a favor, Jude finds himself involved in a poker game with several deities and high stakes. I like the use of Tarot cards and a card game to structure the story. No one got off with no consequences for their actions. This world felt real, and dealt with change and how once one thing changes, other things connected to it have to change to accommodate. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesCrescent City (1) Is abridged inNotable Lists
"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"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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3.5 stars for me. I'd absolutely recommend giving this one a read if you're into New Orleans and magicky trickster things. ( )