Magician Peter Warlock lives a double life, one that not even his live-in girlfriend knows about. Most know him by his wildly popular magic show in his private New York theater. Only a privileged few know his mind reading is more than an act. Those who know the truth are the other Friday Night Psychics, a group who use their otherworldly powers to prevent major catastrophes and crimes.

When Peter sees the city devastated by some major attack in only fours days, they all agree an anonymous phone call is not going to cut it this time. But before any of them can contact the police, Peter is attacked during one of his shows and his attacker is the man he saw at the center of the future destruction. Soon Peter is helping the police and the FBI hunt down Jeremy Wolfe, an assassin sent by the Order of the Astrum to kill Peter and all the Friday Night Psychics. He also learns the truth about his parents' murder and their connection to the Order.

Overall, Dark Magic by James Swain was pretty mediocre. I'll admit I didn't really enjoy Swain's writing style and the characters felt like stock personalities. The only character that really stood out was the assassin, Wolfe. I felt like I got to know him better than even Peter. There was plenty of action, though, and the story moved at a fast pace. I was very disappointed by the ending, especially how Peter reconciles his secret with his girlfriend.

My Recommendation
I wouldn't count Dark Magic by James Swain among my favorites. My main complaint is Swain's writing style, which is completely subjective, so taking a peek at a few pages on Amazon.com might be worth it.

Dark Magic by James Swain
Published by Tor
352 pages

Dark Magic by James Swain is available at Amazon.com

My free review copy of Dark Magic was provided by the publisher.