Hannah Mathewson’s debut adult novel provides an entertaining examination of what could happen should magic meet capitalism. I really enjoyed Olivie Blake’s Gifted and Talented which explored similar themes to Mathewson of the corporate capture of magic-as-technology, the challenge of a new product development and launch, alongside the turmoil of succession when the patriarch is fading fast and squabbling siblings must discover what the world means to them, and what they mean to the world. However, Mathewson takes this scenario in a darker direction with a more searing examination of the cultures of capitalism and extreme wealth, wrapping the whole up in an intriguing locked-house murder mystery that reminds me of Rebecca Ides’ Georgian styled ‘romurdasy’ A Gentleman and his Vowsmith.
Mathewson invigorates the premise of commercialised consumer-facing magic with an injection of … vampires, and one vampire in particular the charming but enigmatic Lucas Sayle. If you want to read about people that remind you of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Rupert Murdoch all attending a lock in party where there are also vampires, then this is the read for you.
The story is told from the very flawed first person perspective of Valentina Maddock eldest child by (a few months) of the CEO of Mythos Industries – Oscar Maddock. Tina is compelling without being an especially sympathetic character. She is ambition and resentment wrapped around childhood trauma, suspicious to the point of paranoia, arguably addicted to spell like enhancements (EmpathyTM anyone? how about some CalmTM?) just to get through everyday life and all this with far more money than is good for anyone person to have. It is a tribute to Mathewson’s crafting of the character that we still care about what happens to her as we ride with her through the trials and tribulations of a very long weekend house party.
Tina’s unusual family relationships – a half-brother who is also a cousin (work that one out!) – and PTSD from a near fatal childhood event of donating stem cells to save her sibling, bleed (!) through the pages of the story. Besides the very ‘complicated’ relationship this creates for Tina and her brother Jude, having issues with the appearance of blood is not great when working in medical applications of magic or engaging with vampires. Safe to say by the end of the story that’s one nightmare of the past Tina has pretty much surmounted.
A varied array of minor and major characters scythe through the developing chaos of her life, each bringing something different to the party. I particularly liked the ex-suitor Graham who had magically and progressively elevated his height to an impressive 6′ 6″. (Such vanity reminded me of the Red Dwarf character Arnold Rimmer who – in one story – had so much plastic surgery augmentation that he ‘had to dress on both sides’.) In clear proof that money can’t buy you happiness Tina’s friends and relatives are about as dependable as investing in tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland. So it is not surprising that she drifts into the orbit of the not-very-welcome guest that is Luc Sayle – low grade but dangerously charming vampire.
The plot twists and wriggles in delightful ways, managing to constantly surprise such that I kept on finding myself checking the progress bar on my kindle and thinking, “There’s too many percent of the book left, so although this feels like the climax it can’t be the climax – there must be more to come!” and there always was, right up to the last page. For Tina, it’s not so much that the truth will set her free as the truth will blow up in her face, particularly when absolutely nobody is engaging in ‘full disclosure’ of their agendas and motivations.
In her worldbuilding, Mathewson poses the question “What would capitalism do with magic?” and pursues the obvious answer in some depth; Capitalism would 100% exploit magic, it would treat it as a resource and a technology rolled into one, sanitise, it, commercialise it and market it in ways that maximise profit – which means tailoring it to the proclivities of the very rich, with cars ensorcelled for instant teleport travel, spells for mood enhancement, better perception, improved college performance, and the most extravagantly augmented parties bigger even than – say hiring out the whole of Venice as a wedding venue.
Mathewson also twists the vampire and faerie tropes into slightly new forms. Her vampires don’t shrivel to dust in the daylight – and they certainly don’t sparkle! – but they do suffer from an acute and weakening kind of sunstroke as the light exposes them for what they essentially are – corpses. It makes for a fun dichotomy as Luc goes from imposing creature of the night to sallow skinned slow moving invalid sheltering under a parasol like umbrella.
This is a long book which I digested in chunks over several days, mainly to give me time to marinate my thoughts in the latest developments. Mathewson’s writing is a delight mixing lines of cutting sharpness and laugh out loud humour. For example when the sheltered Tina is on the brink of a meltdown after Luc has led her into the dark underbelly of the real world.
“You’re not in a crack den,” said Luc. He glanced through the open door as we skirted the man on the folding chair and continued. “You’re outside a crack den.”
Given that many of the characters in the book are the hypocritically wealthy, Mathewson’s pen pricks most sharply at the pomposity and entitlement of the ultra-rich, for example when Charlotte, Tina’s ‘commoner’ friend and plus-one guest rails about her fellow guests.
“These people… the ones with companies that their families founded and handed down to them. … There’s not a self-made pinkie finger in this hideous house, because guess what? You can’t get this rich in a lifetime.”
Charlotte herself comes in from contemptuous dismissal from one of those ‘children of the entitlement.’
[He] discarded a shell with a snap of the wrist. “Makes one of us.” As I started to speak, he said, “What is she even doing here? She’s poor.”
You might feel some sympathy for the same character when he shares a bit of his home life.
“You know, my dad’s first wife was my mother’s college roommate.” He curled his lip in disgust. “He’s an asshole. He has five kids by three women and we all hate him.”
I can’t think who that reminds me of or why this story came into my head!
In her acknowledgements, Mathewson mentions how her agent responded to the story concept with an all caps message of OH MY GOD. YOU HAVE TO WRITE THIS BOOK. On Goodreads the book has the tagline “A Debut Dark Fantasy Filled With Mystery, Romance, and Social Satire” and I loved every one of those big three elements, which all delivered a powerful punch.
A while ago I read Why We Die by Venki Ramakrishnan and reviewed it at some length on Goodreads here. Ramakrishnan explored the science background to the other inevitability (after taxes of course) and the ways and means by which people might try to forestall it. Aspects of Mathewson’s book remind me (as does the climate change induced disaster in Nepal) that – no matter how many must suffer or die in consequence of their actions – there is nothing the ultra-wealthy will not do to secure their wealth and future comfort. (As someone on twitter said words to the effect of, “You know that story where you can push a button and get $1million but some unnamed individual on the other side of the world dies – well the ultra wealthy have literally been doing that for decades.”)
The two central contrasts of the story are captured when Tina and Luc are debating the relative evil of their respective life choices.
“You kill people, you condescending bat.”
“I am a soulless blight upon this earth. But I’m not a hypocrite.”
So, as you can tell, the sharp social observations of Mathewson’s narrative were right up my street in a story that intimately dissects the logic and the people of unfettered end-stage capitalism. But it is also a masterfully told tale which has one constantly rooting for an unlikely and unlikeable protagonist in Tina.
(Hey ‘Capitalists and Vampires’ ?! That could be the new boardgame where people finally get what Monopoly was trying to tell them – everybody loses in a game where some people can accumulate ALL the wealth!)
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