The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Warlock in Training
By TJ Nichols
Dreamspinner Press, 2017
Four stars

What a smart, thoughtful book. Fantasy/magic is a genre that can be silly, in a literary culture so altered by JK Rowling (all hail), but Nichols does something really interesting. Dreamspinner was smart to pick up this book by TJ Nichols, another fine Australian novelist.

In our own world, in my nation, we love to demonize the “other,” whether they be gay people, people of color, or Muslims. In Angus Donohue’s world they demonize, um, demons. The human world is linked to the demon world, called Demonside, by magic. Magic is the source of energy for humans. It is power, and humans who can handle magic (wizards) are hungry for it. Angus is in training to be a warlock, which is a wizard who can call a demon and use that demon’s magic to increase his own power.

This all seems very straightforward, until we realize that humans bonded to demons draw on their demon’s magic until the demons is drained and dies. Then they simply dispose of it and call a new one from Demonside. Human students in training to be Warlocks are taught a very clear history: demons are monsters, and will destroy humans if not controlled. This is why warlocks have such cultural power, because they can control demons.

Angus Donohue doesn’t want to be a warlock. He wants to be a doctor and is trying to fail his demon-calling exam. When the demon he calls grabs him and takes him through the void to Demonside, Angus’s whole life changes. He learns the truth about demons, and learns the extent of the misinformation being taught at the Warlock College. He learns that magic the drain of magic by greedy warlocks is rapidly destroying Demonside.

There is a double parallel that gives Nichols’ narrative a shivery relevance. On the one hand, the demons and their magic are like the oil-rich Muslim nations, whom the West both depends on and vilifies. On the other hand, the relationship between human and demon is uncomfortably like that of master and slave in the good old days in the USA, when slaves were seen as sub-human, to be used and discarded without a thought. There are other parallels, too, and Nichols makes her story more powerful by sticking to the world she has created and letting the readers draw their own conclusions.

Nichols gives us very beautiful world-building here, and Saka, Angus’ demon, becomes the mirror-image to Angus himself. Saka is the embodiment of all of the truth about which Angus’ father and the other warlocks have been lying for generations. He becomes the lens through which we see Demonside in all its dark beauty and complexity.

I would say that this is not a romance. Saka and Angus’ relationship is critical, and emotionally powerful, but it is simply a piece of the larger story. The narrative is quite erotic, in a way that is essential to the plot. Strangely enough, another parallel that came to mind as I read was in the animated film “Monsters, Inc.,” when Sully and Wazowski realize that the power in a child’s laughter is far greater than the power of a child’s terrified scream.

The book ends neatly, but I looked somewhat desperately for a sequel in the works, and found no sign of one on Nichols’ website. However, the title online is subtitled “Studies in Demonology #1” which is a good sign. I felt satisfied at the end of “Warlock in Training,” but was hungry for the next chapter.

Unfortunately, I have to disagree with the inestimable Ulysses here. This is my review:

The promising beginning of this book was not paid off, sadly.

In the beginning, our protagonist won me over with his quiet rebellion against his father. Not wanting to be a warlock, but badgered into it anyway by his father, Angus decided to simply fail warlock college. It was a good, simple plan. Fail to summon a demon and he could go back to his life.

Saka, a demon mage, had other ideas. He steps through the rift and grabs Angus and drags him into demonside. This is where the promise of the book shows. For one, some excellent worldbuilding with the demons and their society and Saka and who he is and what he wants. Also, some really good, hot, sexy magic stuff.

This is where the book peaks, though. The lewdly amusing premise of this warlock being corrupted by his demon gets buried under mountains of angst. Angus whines about having sex with a demon. He whines about the demon only wanting him for sex. He whines about the underground wanting him to help them. He whines about the hot guy who wants to be his boyfriend.

At only one point does the lovable rebel from the first page return to screen. And it leads to the orgy many others have commented on. But where Angus goes into the orgy with a fierce determination, the whining returns fairly quickly.

I'm really confused by this book. It feels like the author kept fighting the story. Maybe Dreamspinner pushed Nichols to add certain elements to satisfy the romance readers. I don't know. But the book spun out of control halfway through and never recovered. Were it not for the excellent world building, this would have been a DNF for me.

I don't disagree with you, really. I tend to focus on the positives to encourage the good writing...I guess I wasn't as disturbed by what bugged you...My only defense is that my book group mostly hated Willa Cather...that's why diverse reviews matter.

The writing was good. And the world building was beautiful. I also loved the vague analogy about climate change the author used. And when a book has that much promise built into it, I get that much more disappointed when it falls on its face