Charles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—is a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini. But nothing in his career has prepared Carter for the greatest stunt of all, which stars none other than President Warren G. Harding and which could end up costing Carter the reputation he has worked so hard to create. Filled with Charles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—is a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini.

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But nothing in his career has prepared Carter for the greatest stunt of all, which stars none other than President Warren G. Harding and which could end up costing Carter the reputation he has worked so hard to create. Filled with historical references that evoke the excesses and exuberance of Roaring Twenties, pre-Depression America, Carter Beats the Devil is a complex and illuminating story of one man's journey through a magical—and sometimes dangerous—world, where illusion is everything. Other reviews here go into the details of this wonderful novel, so if that's what you want, go read them. I'll just tell you what I knew before I went into it, which was pretty much nothing.My friend Yuri gave me this book about 5 years ago. I was intimidated by its length, so I put it on the shelf and never opened it.

Then, last year, my friend Ben gave it to me with a few other books for my 40th birthday, part of a collection he said were some of the best books he'd ever read.Anne and I took a Other reviews here go into the details of this wonderful novel, so if that's what you want, go read them. I'll just tell you what I knew before I went into it, which was pretty much nothing.My friend Yuri gave me this book about 5 years ago. I was intimidated by its length, so I put it on the shelf and never opened it. Then, last year, my friend Ben gave it to me with a few other books for my 40th birthday, part of a collection he said were some of the best books he'd ever read.Anne and I took a Secret Vacation, and I wanted something to read, so I brought this with me. It was long enough to last a week, and was an actual book, so it wouldn't be a big deal if it got wet or sandy or vacationed on.I started it on the airplane before we took off, and read it for almost 6 straight hours.

Then, I read it about 100 pages per day until I finished it this afternoon. Total days reading it? Five or six.All I knew going into it was that two people who I respect were crazy about it, and that it was historical fiction about a great magician, so that's all I'm going to give you. I will tell you that I loved it, loved every word and every page and every single thing about it I am so glad I read it, and wish I could read it all over again for the first time.Pick up a copy - I strongly recommend the dead tree version - and read it for about 20 pages.

I'm pretty sure you'll be on board by then, and if you're not, maybe it just isn't for you. But I suspect you'll love it as much as I did. Gold’s book is loosely based on the life of Charles Carter, a real magician. After reading his Wikipedia page, I appreciate that Gold was more than willing to stretch the historical facts for the amusement of the reader.The book starts off with the death (murder?) of one of the greatest presidents ever, Warren G. Harding, who could give any president a run for their money in the floozie and corruption departments. Carter is somehow implicated.Boyhood trauma propels Carter into magic and onto theGold’s book is loosely based on the life of Charles Carter, a real magician. After reading his Wikipedia page, I appreciate that Gold was more than willing to stretch the historical facts for the amusement of the reader.The book starts off with the death (murder?) of one of the greatest presidents ever, Warren G.

Harding, who could give any president a run for their money in the floozie and corruption departments. Carter is somehow implicated.Boyhood trauma propels Carter into magic and onto the vaudeville stage and eventually, his own traveling magic show.

His involvement with Harding enmeshes him in a deadly conspiracy involving secret societies, the government and big business. There are plenty of real life people who also make an appearance throughout the book including, The Marx Brothers, Houdini and Philo Farnsworth (the inventor of TV).Like any good illusionist worth his salt, Gold is expert at misdirecting the reader with literary sleight of hand. Seeming unrelated and unremarkable doings are used as diversions only to be of consequence later in the book.Bonus: How to make an elephant disappear! Revealed!!!Aside from the pulpy, dashing, derring-do, what made this an interesting read were the “I-wish-I-had-said/written-that-passage and Gold’s talent to take an extraordinary story and build it with relatable, ordinary moments.Recommended for historical fiction fans or anyone interested in literary wizardry. It's so rare to have a book that I just can't wait to get back to reading.

I always have a book with me (usually several in my car, as noted by certain friends of mine who can't help but comment on the apartment-like state of my vehicle), but then there's the one that leaps to the fore and all the other 'currently reading' titles are consigned, literally, to the back seat. Carter Beats the Devil is fun from the beginning. Gold has a knack for characters and for dialogue, and even the back story It's so rare to have a book that I just can't wait to get back to reading. I always have a book with me (usually several in my car, as noted by certain friends of mine who can't help but comment on the apartment-like state of my vehicle), but then there's the one that leaps to the fore and all the other 'currently reading' titles are consigned, literally, to the back seat. Carter Beats the Devil is fun from the beginning. Gold has a knack for characters and for dialogue, and even the back story is interesting, rather than just poorly drummed-up filler to explain motivations.

His pacing is perfect, like that of the showman he writes about. Some of the highest praise I can give is that it made me want to research characters and events to learn more about his source material. Finally, if that's not reason enough to love this story, it has one of the best lines ever uttered in a disagreement between brothers:'Oh, dear God, you don't actually have a brain, do you, it's more a filigreed spiderweb, with little chambers in it where trained monkeys play the pipe organ.' I don't know if I hate or love this book since it is so off-the-wall.

I picked it up at a book sale since the cover is very eye-catching but had no idea what it was about. I soon learned that it dealt with the death of President Warren Harding, the rise of the magician, Carter the Great (who was actually a real person), the discovery of television, Houdini, the Secret Service, the Illuminati, and a pet lion!! Mix all those things together and there you have it.off-the-wall.Basically it is a I don't know if I hate or love this book since it is so off-the-wall. I picked it up at a book sale since the cover is very eye-catching but had no idea what it was about. I soon learned that it dealt with the death of President Warren Harding, the rise of the magician, Carter the Great (who was actually a real person), the discovery of television, Houdini, the Secret Service, the Illuminati, and a pet lion!!

Mix all those things together and there you have it.off-the-wall.Basically it is a fictional semi-biography of Carter the Great, who is told a secret by President Harding that the President thinks will be disastrous to the US and the world. Soon the Secret Service is following Carter as they suspect that he murdered Harding because of this secret. Then the story goes off in a million different directions with sub-plot piled upon sub-plot. The story, which is certainly somewhat fragmented, pulls you in against your will. I kept thinking 'this is stupid' and then couldn't wait to turn to the next page, so I guess I loved it after all.

I'll say this.it is different but is a fun read and in the end you will find out something about Warren Harding and his death that you didn't know!!! Remember, this is fiction. 'Basically Dan Brown with magicians' is what I wish had been written on the cover, so I would have known not to read this. Based to some degree on the real life of the magician Carter the Great, it also includes (sigh) references to the Illuminati and Skull and Bones, and some fanciful ideas about the last days of President Harding, who was apparently a real guy.

It's suggested that Houdini was gay, a claim I can find zero supporting evidence for online. About the only things I trusted were the 'Basically Dan Brown with magicians' is what I wish had been written on the cover, so I would have known not to read this. Based to some degree on the real life of the magician Carter the Great, it also includes (sigh) references to the Illuminati and Skull and Bones, and some fanciful ideas about the last days of President Harding, who was apparently a real guy. It's suggested that Houdini was gay, a claim I can find zero supporting evidence for online. About the only things I trusted were the (weirdly persistent) jokes about Pez.The whole thing is pretty amateurishly written, and Gold has only the barest control over his plot. The romantic bits are especially wince-worthy; this is a book given to sentences like 'It had taken Carter all these tours to realize his most fragile prop was his heart.'

Despite all this shittiness, the book rolls along in an adequately entertaining way: it's about fuckin' magic; even the most hapless treatment of magic is bound to be fitfully fun. Oh, forget it.) But the whole thing is really immature, honestly. A friend gave it to me years ago. I figured eventually I had to read it, like you do. On page 67 I threw it at the wall. It's about magic, which is not very interesting to read about.

Or to see for that matter. Magic is very annoying - it's not real you know, it's just a lot of tricks.

I like it when they chop a person up and have parts of them in boxes spread around the stage - head there, feet way over there - but that's about it.Likewise with Harry Potter, every one of which I've seen on the A friend gave it to me years ago. I figured eventually I had to read it, like you do. On page 67 I threw it at the wall.

It's about magic, which is not very interesting to read about. Or to see for that matter. Magic is very annoying - it's not real you know, it's just a lot of tricks. I like it when they chop a person up and have parts of them in boxes spread around the stage - head there, feet way over there - but that's about it.Likewise with Harry Potter, every one of which I've seen on the big screen with my daughter. A whole lot of firework displays and running about with a few nice monsters. Give me Lord of the Rings any day, at least that has a story along with the creatures.

Carter Beats the Devil was set up superbly. I loved the way in which Glen David Gold really brought the early years of Carter alive and how these early childhood experiences influenced the magician he was to become. There was a pretty hefty amount of research undertaken in this project, and Gold really captures the atmosphere of the 1920's, with magicians vying to outdo each-other at every step.Unfortunately, for me, what followed this impressive start, quickly descended into a confusing tangle Carter Beats the Devil was set up superbly. I loved the way in which Glen David Gold really brought the early years of Carter alive and how these early childhood experiences influenced the magician he was to become. There was a pretty hefty amount of research undertaken in this project, and Gold really captures the atmosphere of the 1920's, with magicians vying to outdo each-other at every step.Unfortunately, for me, what followed this impressive start, quickly descended into a confusing tangle of plot lines and characters.I can't help but feel that Gold wasn't sure if he was writing a fictionalised biography or a mystery novel. At times I felt large sections of the narrative suffered from over exposition.

For me the story lacked focus, with too much time spend on accessory characters, and not enough on the story of Carter, which was built up superbly in the first section.To his credit, Gold writes some pretty tense and exciting scenes, but unfortunately he'd lost me well before the impressive finale. For me this story had so much promise, but it was lost on distracting side stories which I found confusing, indulgent and unnecessary. This book took me longer than it should have.

Partly I guess it was my fault, but partly also the book's. This is not a fast paced read, as I always hope big books to be.Nevertheless, this is a fun book, with intriguing characters, an unpredictable story, many twists and turns that have you at the edge of your seat.

There is a mix of action, character's past unraveling and magical shows.I really liked the way this book was written, despite it being slow. I liked how so many of the character's This book took me longer than it should have.

Partly I guess it was my fault, but partly also the book's. This is not a fast paced read, as I always hope big books to be.Nevertheless, this is a fun book, with intriguing characters, an unpredictable story, many twists and turns that have you at the edge of your seat. There is a mix of action, character's past unraveling and magical shows.I really liked the way this book was written, despite it being slow. I liked how so many of the character's were introduced and that you never got more information than you were supposed to have.

In this aspect the author really played the role of the magician, never revealing everything to you. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I started it on a plane to D.C. And couldn't put it down- I stayed up all night when I got there until it was finished.

It's historical fiction in the best sense and touches on so many things that fascinate me: the invention of television by Phil T. Farnsworth (see 'The Boy Who Invented Television'), the Secret Service (see 'Starling of the White House'), turn-of-the-century magicians (see 'Houdini!!!,' 'Hiding the Elephant,' and 'Kellar's Wonders'), This is one of my favorite books of all time. I started it on a plane to D.C. And couldn't put it down- I stayed up all night when I got there until it was finished.

It's historical fiction in the best sense and touches on so many things that fascinate me: the invention of television by Phil T. Farnsworth (see 'The Boy Who Invented Television'), the Secret Service (see 'Starling of the White House'), turn-of-the-century magicians (see 'Houdini!!!,' 'Hiding the Elephant,' and 'Kellar's Wonders'), and the history of my hometown, Oakland (see 'Oakland: Story of a City'). Full of mystery and adventure as well as historical fact, this is a MUST read.

Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil is something that's becoming increasingly rare: a novel about magic with no fantasy elements in it. But what makes the book truly remarkable is Gold's ability to make real-world stage magic just as interesting and amazing as the feats performed by that uppity British kid in the big glasses: even when the reader is told how the tricks are done.The book gives us the tale of Charles Joseph Carter, a real-life magician thrown into a highly fictionalized story Glen David Gold's Carter Beats the Devil is something that's becoming increasingly rare: a novel about magic with no fantasy elements in it. But what makes the book truly remarkable is Gold's ability to make real-world stage magic just as interesting and amazing as the feats performed by that uppity British kid in the big glasses: even when the reader is told how the tricks are done.The book gives us the tale of Charles Joseph Carter, a real-life magician thrown into a highly fictionalized story involving the (also real but fictionalized) untimely death of President Warren G. It just so happens that Carter performed a rather morbid trick onstage with the president just hours before he died, and now the FBI considers him a prime suspect in his death. Carter also has to deal with his own fading career, the painful memory of his late wife's tragic death, and a rival magician with a homodical grudge. Throughout it all, he devises an incredible magic show designed to get his career back on track and knock the people of 1920's San Fransisco off their feet.But what makes the book truly remarkable is Gold's ability to transfer the techniques that make magic so enjoyable unto his own writing style.

The entire story relies on Gold's skill at misdirection: the soul of the magician's act, where the audience's attention is drawn in the wrong direction so an illusion can be performed. Time and again Gold gets the reader to think about the wrong person or situation so he can surprise us with an unexpected outcome to a sequence. Somehow this trick never gets old, as Gold, like any good magician, comes up with countless ways of dressing up his tricks so they seem brand new.

The book boasts a great mystery and an excellent climax, along with a surprise ending that Gold seemingly pulls from nowhere, like a rabbit from a hat.Carter is a fine historical adventure novel, but there are a few problems. Carter himself is an excellent and full realized character, but hardly anyone else in the cast approaches his complexity; the FBI agent who persues him comes close, but several other characters are rather flat and one-dimensional, including Carter's love intrests and various backers of his performance.

The worst offender is Mysterioso (his real name is never given) the rival magician and the 'devil' of the book's title. A Snidley Whiplash style campy bad guy, he abuses animals, demeans his co-workers, murders people (with playing cards!) for no apparent reason, looks down on everyone, attempts rape, and so forth. Mysterioso is a fun bad guy, but that's all he is; he's easily the second most important character in the book but there's nothing whatsoever to his character besides being a jerk. Several of the book's supporting characters suffer similar fates, filling necessary roles which they never come close to breaking out of.Despite this, Carter himself is more than strong enough a character to carry the book all on his own, and his feats of magic, along with the era in which he lived, come alive vividly. So if you're looking for a story that blends adventure, mystery and some truly diabolical tricks, Carter and Gold have quite a show in store for you.

I've learnt about this book from this discussion:and I love vintage magic posters, which means I also loved this cover, - and these are the two reasons for my reading it;)And, of course, it is a bit of a stretch to compare it to Susanna Clarke's novel, so I won't be doing it.I was kind of disappointed with the beginning: the death of a President and its possible investigation didn't much interest me. Then I fell in love with Carter's story, and by the end I've learnt about this book from this discussion:and I love vintage magic posters, which means I also loved this cover, - and these are the two reasons for my reading it;)And, of course, it is a bit of a stretch to compare it to Susanna Clarke's novel, so I won't be doing it.I was kind of disappointed with the beginning: the death of a President and its possible investigation didn't much interest me.

Then I fell in love with Carter's story, and by the end of the 'first act', I was in love with the book. I loved the slight weirdness of the characters, the irony, and the dreamy mood of the story.By the final 'act', though, it became a grotesque action-adventure thriller, which, actually, I didn't enjoy that much, although this must make the book more page-turner-ish; indeed, readers mustn't complain the book is too fast-paced for them, must we? But this is what I felt: 'Oh, please, don't make me worry so much, everything is happening so quickly I don't get enough time to think about how all of this is written'.That said, this has been a very interesting read. I do recommend it to family and friends.I liked it that the book is generally animal-friendly, although there is one very dubious scene in the end where an animal actually gets hurt.

This is a thrilling, romantic, fascinating book and will probably be my favorite book read this year. Carter Beats the Devil is a historically fact-based novel about magician Charles Carter who performed in the golden age of magic (1890s thru the 1920s). This story pits Carter against rival magicians and Secret Service agents who suspect Carter had a hand in the death of President Harding. I was drawn in from the get-go.

This book is full of suspense, humor, and panache. It came highly This is a thrilling, romantic, fascinating book and will probably be my favorite book read this year. Carter Beats the Devil is a historically fact-based novel about magician Charles Carter who performed in the golden age of magic (1890s thru the 1920s). This story pits Carter against rival magicians and Secret Service agents who suspect Carter had a hand in the death of President Harding. I was drawn in from the get-go.

This book is full of suspense, humor, and panache. It came highly recommended from Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (also an excellent book). Carter Beats the Devil is a richly imagined story full of wonderful characters and it has perhaps the most thrilling, exciting, whiz-bang conclusion I've come across in ages. Great, great book. A disappointing read, Carter Beats the Devil is both overlong and underwritten. The historical detail just about succeeds in evoking the pre-WWI and interwar years in which the majority of book is set, but the characters, especially Carter himself, are strangely one-dimensional, and the plot is ludicrous, and, ironically, boring. You want books like this to be rip-roaring page-turners, but honestly, for all the supposed 'magic' in the book it really wasn't very magical or exciting.

I feel like A disappointing read, Carter Beats the Devil is both overlong and underwritten. The historical detail just about succeeds in evoking the pre-WWI and interwar years in which the majority of book is set, but the characters, especially Carter himself, are strangely one-dimensional, and the plot is ludicrous, and, ironically, boring.

You want books like this to be rip-roaring page-turners, but honestly, for all the supposed 'magic' in the book it really wasn't very magical or exciting. I feel like Glen David Gold missed an opportunity to tell a good tale, to really evoke the vaudeville era and it's shabby end, to explore the imagination and wonder of stage magic. Instead, the book is a bland, messy and unsatisfying.

Not the worst book I've ever read, but really not very good at all. (3.5 stars)A pretty fun read, as long as you don't mind reading a lot about magic and magicians. Carter Beats the Devil recounts the fictionalized adventures of an early 20th C.

Magician, Charles Carter (Carter the Great), who becomes involved in the mysterious death of President Warren G. Harding and then with the teen-aged Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of television. (All real people, although the action of the novel bears almost no resemblance to actual historical events, as best I could (3.5 stars)A pretty fun read, as long as you don't mind reading a lot about magic and magicians. Carter Beats the Devil recounts the fictionalized adventures of an early 20th C. Magician, Charles Carter (Carter the Great), who becomes involved in the mysterious death of President Warren G. Harding and then with the teen-aged Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of television. (All real people, although the action of the novel bears almost no resemblance to actual historical events, as best I could tell from Wikipedia.) I loved the opening scenes of the book: during his renowned solo magic show in San Francisco, Carter performs a stupefying illusion (the one in which he 'beats the Devil') using President Harding as a volunteer from the audience; unfortunately, Harding is found dead later that evening - oops!

- causing Carter to be questioned by the Secret Service as a possible suspect in a plot to murder the president. We then have a long section that takes us through much of Carter's life and career. While I liked the first part of that - about Carter's childhood and the beginnings of his interest, and ultimate career, in magic - I felt that the book flagged a bit towards the middle, particularly the bits about the dimwitted Secret Service agent who's hot on Carter's trail. (About halfway through, I was thinking: why is this book so long?) But then I found the last third of the novel pretty much unputdownable; and I give the author credit for managing to make a number of the obscure and seemingly meandering scenes from the middle ultimately turn out to be critical to the plot resolution. Vaudeville is back. But don't look to the stage; look to the page. For the second time this month, the curtain is rising on a delightful novel about entertainment before television and movies.

First, Elizabeth McCracken played the straight man in 'Niagara Falls All Over Again,' the story of a Laurel and Hardy comedy team. Now - shazam! - Glen David Gold has revealed 'Carter Beats the Devil,' an enormous historical novel about an early 20th-century magician.Although he's since vanished from the Vaudeville is back.

But don't look to the stage; look to the page. For the second time this month, the curtain is rising on a delightful novel about entertainment before television and movies.

First, Elizabeth McCracken played the straight man in 'Niagara Falls All Over Again,' the story of a Laurel and Hardy comedy team. Now - shazam!

- Glen David Gold has revealed 'Carter Beats the Devil,' an enormous historical novel about an early 20th-century magician.Although he's since vanished from the cultural memory (poof!), Charles Carter, who billed himself as 'Carter the Great,' amazed audiences during the same time Harry Houdini was escaping from handcuffs and safes. (The book jacket reproduces a typically garish poster for one of Carter's shows in the 1920s.)Gold opens his debut novel with the death of President Harding. As the nation mourns, an investigation begins, starting with the magic show he attended the night before his passing. Aides knew their commander in chief was unwell and burdened by a horrible secret, but he had seemed so full of life when he volunteered for one of Carter's grand illusions.Allowing the president to participate in an act involving fire, guns, knives, cannons, and lions - ending with his dismemberment - seemed like a bad idea to Secret Service agent Jack Griffin. Having accidentally assisted President McKinley's assassin, Griffin is loath to take the rap for another presidential death, but Harding had insisted.The next day, as the news of his death spreads, Carter disappears, Harding is cremated, and his widow destroys a trove of evidence detailing more scandals than Bill Clinton could deny in eight years. Griffin finds himself battling his own department and a shadowy group of corporate thugs to track down the president's killer and his 'horrible secret.'

But no sooner do we see these acts of mayhem, magic, and mystery, than Gold whisks us back to Carter's childhood in San Francisco, recreated here in brilliant detail. 'From the moment Charles Carter the Fourth first learned it,' Gold writes, 'magic was not an amusement, but a means of survival.' Actually, Carter's struggle was more for identity than survival. His wealthy parents loved him, but had no time for him. Nevertheless, his mother conveyed a smattering of the new Freudian psychology and a large dose of appreciation for melodrama, tools more crucial to the future 'Weird Wonderful Wizard' than any wand or rabbit.Assured that their son will head off to Yale in the fall, his parents send him touring as a Vaudeville magician. While Houdini is making $5,000 a week, Carter is 'devoured by fleas, his earnings are regularly stolen, and he returns to California smelling like a smoldering cheroot.'

Naturally, 'he loved every moment of it.' He finally gets a small part in a show led by Colonel Mysterioso, a mustached villain so wonderfully classic that the book seems to shift into jerky black and white whenever he appears.

(Keep an eye on his hideous little bald dog, too.) He stares daggers, tortures animals, and treats Carter with utter contempt.What's worse, he rules over Annabelle, 'the most fantastic furious female fighter ever to be tamed.' During the show, she takes on a group of angry Indians. 'The crowd had never seen a woman who could fight before. They went wild.' To Carter, whose 'most fragile prop was his heart,' she's captivating - but forbidden.In a gambit to vanquish his foe with a wicked act of humiliation, Carter devises a lavish stage trick called 'Blackmail.' Naturally, I can't give away the secret (Rule No.

1), but eventually, he beats Mysterioso, weds Annabelle, and enjoys performing with her around the world.Ah, but keep your eye on Gold's sleight of hand, ladies and gentlemen. When Carter's happiness is cut tragically short by a trick gone awry, he falls into the dark side of his trade, devising morbid, ambiguous illusions that leave audiences more unsettled than amazed.Nothing can cheer him or save his show until he meets a blind woman named Phoebe, who lives in a home for wayward girls funded by Francis Smith, the Borax millionaire and an early fan of Carter's. This is a sweet romance, drawn with charm and wit. He's distracted by guilt, but a woman who can't see his illusions is the perfect person to perceive the good man he really is.Too bad their happiness arrives as government and corporate assassins move in to bring the curtain down. Carter finds himself at the center of a scheme to gain control of a magical new technology that will transform the world (and ruin dinnertime). How can he possibly escape from this death-defying ordeal? As a real Carter poster once boasted, stay tuned for 'marvels that obfuscate the will, charm the imagination, confound intelligence!'

In the tradition of E.L. Doctorow's 'Ragtime,' Gold weaves the rich history of this period through his own stagecraft, creating a novel worthy of the hype that announced those great Vaudeville magicians. This was, after all, a time of perpetual gasping at new scientific and consumer miracles.

Behold - the X-ray! The vacuum cleaner! Carter and his colleagues levitated along that shifting line between fantasy and reality.In a book full of conjurers, Gold emerges as the best magician of all, pulling surprises out of his hat throughout this wildly entertaining story, which captures America in a moment of change and wonder. The third and final act alone is worth the price of admission, but I'd rather face the devil himself than reveal any details about that part of the show. Was one of those novels you hate to see end.The 2001 work by Glen David Gold is hard to categorize. Focuses on Charles Carter, a stage magician in 1920s San Francisco facing a career crossroads.

Beset by a taunting rival, with the entertainment revolution represented by movies gathering steam, Carter grapples with the need to pull off something amazing to save his career. Flashbacks to earlier points in Carter’s life trace his development from a was one of those novels you hate to see end.The 2001 work by Glen David Gold is hard to categorize. Focuses on Charles Carter, a stage magician in 1920s San Francisco facing a career crossroads. Beset by a taunting rival, with the entertainment revolution represented by movies gathering steam, Carter grapples with the need to pull off something amazing to save his career. Flashbacks to earlier points in Carter’s life trace his development from a privileged youth, his discovery of magic and his romantic travails. Along the way, the story intersects with the death of President Warren Harding and the invention of television.has an interesting central plot, but it’s not really a plot-driven book.

Carter manages to interact with numerous real world personalities on his journey (including Harding, Philo T. Farnsworth, Harry Houdini and the Marx Brothers, among others) and to intersect with real world events. The prospect of career ruination provides the motivating force of the story. But really, is about the emotional journey of Charles Carter.Gold crafted a rather compelling central character. Carter isn’t always easy to like.

Indeed, there are points where he’s rather self-involved and careless of those around him. But Gold locates a relatable point of view in this complicated man with a singularly distinctive profession and outlook on the world. Gold’s construction of the world of period revue shows and stage magic is dazzling. The details, the language of that world, the ups and downs, all come vividly to life. And Gold is a master of immersing the reader in the story’s period setting. He incorporates real world events and people not to show off his research, but because they truly enhance the story.

It’s a period novel where the period is almost a character in and of itself.And that, more than anything, may be why lingers in my mind so strongly 14 years after I first read it. Gold crafted characters and an atmosphere that were transporting and absorbing. While the plot was interesting enough and provided decent payoff, it is the characters and their world that really pull the reader in. I could have gone on reading about them for many more chapters, enjoying the clear love that Gold had for what he was writing. The language, the details, the effortlessness. When a book is crafted with as much heart as was Carter Beats the Devil, it just radiates through.Gold hasn’t been prolific. His only other novel was the relatively disappointing in 2009.

That was another period frolic whose many interesting parts never quite came together. One can only hope fans will see another book from him someday.Until then, is highly and enthusiastically recommended.This review originally appeared on. Only 480 pages? I could have sworn it was a least 700 pages. So many characters and subplots! When I was about half way through Carter Beats The Devil by Glen David Gold, I remember scanning through to the end to see if I could make It.

I wasn’t bored as much as overwhelmed. I felt like this book would have made a wonderful series of books. There are so many good stories revolving around Carter the Great. Charles Carter was a real magician in the early 1900’s but this story has little to do with Only 480 pages? I could have sworn it was a least 700 pages.

So many characters and subplots! When I was about half way through Carter Beats The Devil by Glen David Gold, I remember scanning through to the end to see if I could make It. I wasn’t bored as much as overwhelmed.

I felt like this book would have made a wonderful series of books. There are so many good stories revolving around Carter the Great. Charles Carter was a real magician in the early 1900’s but this story has little to do with the real man.

President Harding is an important character in the book as well as the creator of the first BMW and the creator of the first electronic television. All of the characters are extraordinary. You won’t find any “everyday people” in this book.

This book had a larger than life feel to it, it’s almost like the author was winking at us saying, “I know these characters are over the top, but isn’t it fun?” - there’s a damsel in distress that doesn’t need our help, a villain with a black cloak and a blood thirsty dog and our magician that truly can get out of any scrape with the tools up his sleeves. It’s fun but very involved. I’ll remember the characters long after I remember what they did.

What an awesome, perfect book! I can't believe it was the writer's first, either, it's 560 pages and never gets boring.

I don't know how accurate it is, but according the blurbs, very. This books will totally take you back to about 100 years ago, before television takes over the entertainment world, and gives the reader a good feeling for what America was like back then, especially California. There are lots of historical figures that pop up, alternate history, Malacca Straights pirates, the What an awesome, perfect book! I can't believe it was the writer's first, either, it's 560 pages and never gets boring. I don't know how accurate it is, but according the blurbs, very. This books will totally take you back to about 100 years ago, before television takes over the entertainment world, and gives the reader a good feeling for what America was like back then, especially California.

There are lots of historical figures that pop up, alternate history, Malacca Straights pirates, the first BMW motorcycle, the first tv, not one but two love stories, and they are both great and not at all cheesy, tragedy, revenge, revenge for revenge, an evil magician named Mysterioso, a lion that kills a yippy little blood-drinking dog, FBI flatfoot antics, daring escapes, gun and knife and fist fights, surprises and plot twists, brothels, man, just about anything fun and interesting you can think of, with a main character the reader cheers on from childhood till the end of the book. Super super badass book, and if I didn't have a couple hundred unread books glaring down at me from the bookshelf, I'd probably start reading it again right now. Well written, well paced, great ending. This is one of my favorite books ever!

History, mystery, and a little romance all set in long ago San Francisco so what's not to like? I'm amazed that this is Mr. Gold's first novel and agree with one review that once you're into it, it's hard not to want the answers, but wishing the book would never end.

Ah, but alas, I've read the last page - the one with all the publishing information; that's how good it was.2/10/13 - Still good, even the second time! Found nuances I missed the first Wow! This is one of my favorite books ever!

History, mystery, and a little romance all set in long ago San Francisco so what's not to like? I'm amazed that this is Mr.

Gold's first novel and agree with one review that once you're into it, it's hard not to want the answers, but wishing the book would never end. Ah, but alas, I've read the last page - the one with all the publishing information; that's how good it was.2/10/13 - Still good, even the second time!

Carter Beats The Devil Mobi Download Music Youtube

Found nuances I missed the first time around. Can't wait to hear how my book club thinks. Just found out this is one of leigh bardugo's favorite books and since she is my goddess this must be amazing2.5——————————————————————DNF @ 51% or page 252.i genuinely think that if i had been reading this at any other time it could have become a favorite book of all time. The anxiety i am feeling for school finals and just my overall depression is not helping me read dense adult fiction novels. I should have been smarter.depression is just found out this is one of leigh bardugo's favorite books and since she is my goddess this must be amazing2.5⭐️——————————————————————DNF @ 51% or page 252.i genuinely think that if i had been reading this at any other time it could have become a favorite book of all time. The anxiety i am feeling for school finals and just my overall depression is not helping me read dense adult fiction novels. I should have been smarter.depression is the bane of my existence.

While this story wasn't about the type of magic that I'm usually drawn to (where witches and wizards rule, where incantations can tear the fabric of reality, where wands are instruments of thought), it was still magic, and it still had me captivated from the second that Carter started his campaign to beat the Devil. I found myself smiling and slightly in awe by just the descriptions of Carter's final act.and wishing there was some way that I could have witnessed that show in person.There are While this story wasn't about the type of magic that I'm usually drawn to (where witches and wizards rule, where incantations can tear the fabric of reality, where wands are instruments of thought), it was still magic, and it still had me captivated from the second that Carter started his campaign to beat the Devil. I found myself smiling and slightly in awe by just the descriptions of Carter's final act.and wishing there was some way that I could have witnessed that show in person.There are so many thoughts bouncing through my head right now. That I loved Charles Carter and was fiercely devoted to him, his plans and his shows. That I was surprised that James grew on me, growing from the snot-nosed little brother to be a true friend to Carter, smart and business-savvy and respected, and throwing out the single most hilarious line:Oh, dear God, you don't actually have a brain, do you, it's more a filigreed spiderweb, with little chambers in it where trained monkeys play the pipe organ.My thoughts continue: I love historical fiction, especially when it's done so well. And this, this was done SO well. You have the history of San Francisco, a city I adore, as well as Oakland, struggling to compete with San Francisco even then.

You have the peak of on-stage magic, the intrigue of President Harding's untimely demise, the Secret Service, shunned and angry ex-magicians, millionaires, female convicts and the invention of something we take for granted.I'm actually sad that the book is over. I fell in love with Carter - not only for his talent, but for his soul. I know, that's such a camp thing to say, but it's true. He was such a kind, mostly innocent person, who above all else, wanted to entertain people, and share his sense of wonder with the masses. His nemeses (nemesis? Nemesees?) were from different worlds, and pursued him for different reasons, but their tenacity and reasons for hounding Carter were real, if shaky, and entirely absorbing.Honestly, when I started this journey, I had no idea where it would take me.

The transitions from the death of President Harding to Carter's past to Carter's present to Carter's (at the time of the first chapter) future were seamless and excellently executed. The final.ehm.' Battle' (for lack of a better word) between Carter and the two who dogged him was exhilarating and scared the bejeesus out of me with all the twists, turns and changes in dominance.Magic draws me in, no matter the form. The history in Carter's story (indeed, the romanticized versions of Carter, Houdini and the Harding’s) were able to delight and intrigue me, and made truly sad to see the end. Glen David Gold is the author of Carter Beats the Devil (Hyperion, 2001), a historical novel about Charles Carter, a real-life San Francisco stage magician who performs for President Warren Harding on the evening of Harding's mysterious death. It has been translated into 14 languages.His next novel, Sunnyside (Knopf, 2009), is a dark romp concerning Charlie Chaplin's rise to fame during World War Glen David Gold is the author of Carter Beats the Devil (Hyperion, 2001), a historical novel about Charles Carter, a real-life San Francisco stage magician who performs for President Warren Harding on the evening of Harding's mysterious death. It has been translated into 14 languages.His next novel, Sunnyside (Knopf, 2009), is a dark romp concerning Charlie Chaplin's rise to fame during World War I and its parallels with America's embrace of its part on the world stage.His most recent book is a memoir, I Will Be Complete (Knopf, 2018).

About it, Darin Strauss ( Half a Life, Chang and Eng) writes, '“ I Will Be Complete is the best memoir I’ve read in years. It’s likely the best memoir published in years.' Gold's short stories have appeared in a number of issues of McSweeney's. He has also published fiction, essays, memoir and reviews in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Playboy, Wired and Zyzzyva.Gold wrote a single 1997 episode of the cartoon show Hey Arnold. He has also ventured into comic books, including The Spirit, featuring artwork by Eduardo Risso, and The Escapist, with artwork by Gene Colan. He has written extensively about comics creator Jack Kirby, most notably for the Masters of American Comics and Comic Book Apocalypse museum show catalogues.More recently, Gold co-wrote episodes of the stage show The Thrilling Adventure Hour and the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. He lives in Los Angeles not with but adjacent to his girlfriend, in a duplex, the logistics of which are addressed in a 2018 Modern Love column for The New York Times.

CARTER BEATS THE DEVILBy Glen David Gold.Illustrated. New York:Hyperion. $24.95.Sometimes the most entertaining novels, like the best magic tricks, are deceptively simple. There's no fancy writing in Glen David Gold's first novel, 'Carter Beats the Devil.' ' Gold isn't out to wow us with excruciatingly turned phrases, painstakingly stripped-down and juiceless language, excessive self-consciousness disguised as insight or with any other brand of writing-workshop hokum. His book, which is a work of fiction built around a framework of real-life characters and events, is simply a grand story told well, in plain language that glows with bare-bones elegance. It's a class act.Gold's story enfolds a number of historical incidents, including the mysterious death of the philandering and scandal-ridden President Warren G.

Harding, and the invention of television by an unassuming but brilliant Utah farm boy by the name of Philo T. But at the heart and center of Gold's tale of intrigue, adventure, love and, of course, magic, is Charles Carter, a character based on the real-life magician Carter the Great, a fairly well-known practitioner of the craft during its golden age, from the 1890's to the 1920's.The artfulness of 'Carter Beats the Devil' rests both in Gold's ability to unfurl a story before our eyes and in his crackerjack skill at recapturing a lost era. Gold takes us from Charles Carter's first magic show (performed for a household servant during the great San Francisco blizzard of 1897, when 9-year-old Charles and his younger brother James find themselves snowbound in their home with no parental supervision) to a thrilling conclusion, set in 1923, in which Carter delivers the greatest performance of his life. In between, Carter meets the love of his life, a tough-cookie redhead named Annabelle, and tangles with a well-meaning but misguided Secret Service agent named Jack Griffin, who is convinced that Carter is responsible for the death of President Harding. Just hours before Harding died, he served as a volunteer in Carter's stage act, confessing a number of secrets to the magician before allowing himself to be 'eaten' by Carter's beloved lion, Baby. But Carter also finds himself threatened by more devious forces - namely, a group of Secret Service thugs who will stop at nothing to extract valuable information from him, and an evil magician named Mysterioso, whose bitterness against Carter knows no limits.One of Gold's achievements is the way he captures the long-vanished world of vaudeville, a universe of endless travel and colorful ne'er-do-wells. He describes complicated and wondrous magic acts (all of them based on routines of the period) with enthusiasm and dazzling precision, although he never saps them of their mystery.

Harry Houdini has a cameo, and the young Marx Brothers make an appearance as well. Gold even pulls off the tricky feat of mimicking the swaggering rat-a-tat rhythm of Groucho's speech: 'Maybe if you can pick yourself up off this pickle barrel, you could walk abreast with us, if you know what I mean, and if you're half the swine I think you are, you probably do.'

And with no-nonsense clarity, Gold nails the isolation and exhilaration a performer feels just before going onstage, the way anticipation hangs in the air with its invisible but almost audible sizzle. Carter knows that his preparations will take him until two minutes before showtime, but on one particular evening - the evening of an important performance - he finishes 15 minutes early.

'The stage would be empty,' he thinks to himself. 'He could go there.' ' When he does arrive, we read: 'He stood dead center, by a small X fashioned from electrical tape beside which Albert had written, 'Here standeth our boss.' There was a fire curtain behind him, green velvet, and, before him, a pair of musty draperies that would part in just minutes and show him off to the audience. Carter was perfectly alone, and the isolation appealed to him. The orchestra was playing its preshow selections, a medley of waltzes and popular tunes.

He fought back the urge to crack his knuckles.' 'But Gold's smartest feat may be the way, page by page, he fleshes out the character of Carter. Remote, mysterious and preternaturally lonely, Carter is the toughest kind of character for a writer to get a handle on. After all, fictional characters need their privacy and dignity too. But when you're dealing with an intensely guarded character like Carter - one who harbors his own sad secrets, and who allows himself to be quietly ravaged by heartache and regret - it's easy to make the mistake of allowing him to withdraw into the shadows to the point that readers begin to lose interest.Gold doesn't fall into that trap. He sets up a poetic scene, for example, in which Carter walks the docile but scary-looking Baby (unleashed, no less!) through a San Francisco park that's said to be haunted.

While we're still drinking in that lush and exotic setup, Carter begins reflecting idly on the nature of ghosts. It's Gold's subtle way of showing us the magician's boundless capacity for both wonder and melancholy: 'Carter, who'd never seen a ghost, nonetheless found the idea of them wonderful. Who wouldn't want to see a ghost? Whenever he visited the park at night, he saw nothing.

On weekend afternoons, he detoured through its rambles on his way to the ferry, watching the boaters, the Sunday painters, the wild and frantic children, and he thought how odd it was that the same joyful places, minus sunlight, became frightening.' 'By the end of the book, Carter, a man who lives his life in the shadow of illusion, is nothing less than vivid and perfectly rounded to us. (I'm already hoping that Christian Bale will get to play him in the movie version.) One of the things we've learned about Carter is that, partly thanks to the guidance of his mother, he refuses to saw a woman in half onstage: he sees the act as misogynist.It may be revisionist to think that a magician working at the beginning of the 20th century would think that way. Nevertheless, it's an angle of Carter's character that, given what else we know of him, makes perfect sense.

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You could also look at it as a metaphor for Gold's overall approach. In a world where so many fiction writers work up a sweat trying to saw the spangled lady in half, Gold is happy to pull a snowily beautiful garden-variety rabbit, wriggling with life, out of a hat. Maybe it's sleight of hand. Or maybe it's simply magic.