Set in contemporary San Francisco, CICERO JAMES, MIRACLE WORKER is an urban fantasy that follows the eponymous Cicero in his life as a tech worker by day and Miracle Worker by night: “No one uses the ‘Miracle’ part anymore, though—we just call ourselves Workers.” Workers can shape reality based on the power of their belief, what the Blissful (aka “normals”) call magic.
Cicero narrates how he unexpectedly found himself in the midst of a world-changing prophecy. Written by Hal Emerson as an autobiographical call to arms, the novel starts with a standard Worker gig banishing a living nightmare (or Terror) across town during rush hour. No problem, because “trading time for space is an easy way to travel between two places if you know what you’re doing.” But when Cicero wakes in a body bag at the country morgue after his first death, things take a turn.
What follows is a manic pursuit for answers. Was he Raised? (Necromancy is strictly outlawed by his Worker Union.) What happened with that Terror? With the Worker Feds on his trail, he seeks out his mentor, Marlowe Frost, for guidance. Instead, he uncovers something called The Eternal Cycle.
An urban fantasy with a through-the-wardrobe vibe, this novel nonetheless recalls Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians.” Funny, action-packed, and well-characterized, it’s a novel of good-versus-evil and the power of choice. The first in a series, it deftly sets up a unique magic system and parallel world of the Workers.
Emerson demonstrates a strong understanding of characterization and voice, exercising both with a motley cast of characters who are often at odds. Sparse but effective environmental descriptions set up a vivid snapshot of San Francisco and the Worker City that’s “sequestered in a pocket of reality that melds the Space Between Spaces with the real world.”
A surprising strength is the novel’s world-building and tertiary characters, like the Worker City’s human-adjacent bartenders Dawn and Dusk, or the shade-talker Hades Jackson. Emerson knows how to intrigue with scant time on the page. This, in addition to the conundrum of Cicero’s death(s) and the abundant possibilities of Workings, leaves much to explore in further installments.
While its overall copy editing is good and its grammar is sound, pacing proves an issue. Ostensibly unfolding over a few days, the novel is some 450 pages. A combination of stream-of-consciousness narrative, constant looping back to expound upon Worker minutiae, and overly conversational speech frequently stretch out the action to a crawl. CICERO JAMES, MIRACLE WORKER would do well with a deep edit for flow and focus.
Fans of urban fantasy will love Hal Emerson’s funny, action-packed CICERO JAMES, MIRACLE WORKER, thanks to its engaging protagonist and unique spin on magic (as well as those who wield it).
~Remy Poore for IndieReader