It almost seems as though we've seen a spate of Houdini-related titles, but it's just two: Steve Savile's Houdini's Last Illusion joins H. R. Knight's recent What Rough Beast (Leisure) in using the famous magician and escape artist for a fantastic plotline. Partly the reason it seems like a spate is that this mini-trend recalls the flawed classic Nevermore by William Hjortsberg (he of Fallen Angel/Angel Heart fame) and Jay Bonansinga's genuinely inventive thriller Sick, which has sadly slipped under most readers' radar since it was published in 1995. If there are others, I'm not aware of them—but Harry Houdini's life is eminently mineable for material relevant to our field.

Houdini (born Erich Weiss) became obsessed with spirit mediums, both as believer and later debunker, though his own magic was nothing more than illusion, trickery, advanced muscle control, and slow regurgitation at will. Savile posits in this short but highly intriguing novella that Houdini was gifted with a spark of actual magic. For instance, he is able to impart a small sliver of his soul into the black and white birds he "creates" for his act. One such bird ripped him from the jaws of death in the sewer infested Seine, and now—years later—he sees famous dead magicians shadowing him, apparently come to collect their due. There's a séance, of course, and there are revelations. And Harry's October 26, 1926, act at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit is the focal point. Can the great Escape Artist defeat the most permanent imprisonment of all, Death? And if so, what might the price be?

Savile's narrative is deceptively low-key, showing a thoughtful (almost philosophical) aging Houdini as he calmly addresses his own mortality—knowing full well that his debt is indeed up for repayment. There is also an underexplored time travel element that nevertheless works despite remaining mysterious. The novella, an expanded version of a tale which won in the 2002 Writers of the Future competition, wallows in a realistic nostalgia—both the nostalgia Houdini feels for his glorious youth, and that which the author seems to feel for the period. Indeed, its only mentionable true flaw might be length—even as a novella, the story still feels too short. Perhaps a full novel would tax the material, yet this subject lends itself to a longer treatment for there is much magic between the lines, and this version of Houdini's character bears further exploration. Regardless, graced as it is with an evocative glossy cover, Houdini's Last Illusion is a very enjoyable reading experience and a wonderful showcase for Telos products, more of which I hope to sample.