I have been wanting to read this book forever, and finally got the chance to do so. Ate this up real quick!
Title: White Trash Warlock
Series: Adam Binder #1
Author: David R. Slayton
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release Date: October 13, 2020
Heat Level: 1/5
Pairing: M/M
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tags: Magic, Magic Users, Witches, Elves, Gnomes, Grim Reapers, Ghosts, Spirits, Spirit World
Content Warnings: Death of a secondary character, Animal Torture (mentioned), Child Abuse, Depression, Homophobia, Institutionalization, Miscarriages, Murder
Blurb:
Guthrie was a good place to be from, but it wasn’t a great place to live, not when you were like Adam, in all the ways Adam was like Adam.
Adam Binder hasn’t spoken to his brother in years, not since Bobby had him committed to a psych ward for hearing voices. When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.
It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.
The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.
My Review:
This was a gem of an Urban Fantasy read, one that I had been eyeing up for a long time, so I’m thrilled I finally set about getting myself a copy and reading this book.
Adam Binder is from the wrong side of the tracks. He has grown up poor, lives in a trailer, and has The Sight, but not much of it – he’s not as powerful a witch as many other practitioners. He also knows that his abilities run in his family, and he suspects that it came from his father’s side. That’s complicated because his father’s parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. His mother is a cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking, bible-toting monster (in my opinion), and her actions make you wonder exactly which side of the family carries the witchery gene.
As you read through the story, Adam’s abilities, although seemingly not powerful, are incredible none-the-less. I’d be interested in seeing what a regular witch can do! Spirit Walking is of fair importance, as is seeing ‘beyond the veil’ and into the Spirit Realm. It’s hard to describe, but think of another dimension overlaid on top of our own world, and then fill that extra dimension with elves, gnomes, trolls, manticores, incredible beasts, ghosts and reapers. It’s truly a fantastical arena.
Slayton has taken bits and pieces from neo-paganism – dare I say Wiccan – belief systems and twisted them up a little. The Guardians of the Watchtowers was my absolute favorite bit. Throw in some conspiracy theories regarding lizard people, some spellcraft on binding, magical objects (like luck giving pool cues) and there you have White Trash Warlock.
Did I mention Adam is gay? Adam is also a crafty mechanic, blending his own brand of willpower(magic) into his car repairs. This was a nice divergence of stereotypes – gay guys aren’t often thought of as mechanical – a silly assumption – but it still made me stop and go, “Cool.” In attempting to assist his brother – the one who threw him into a mental ward – Adam ends up finding a boyfriend in Vicente Martinez, a cop. A cop who gets himself shot. Adam saves the day, but how is does it teeters on the delicate but sharp blade of grey magic.
In the end, it would seem that Death herself has had a critical part to play in this adventure from its very beginnings. Won’t give anything more than that away – suffice it to say the book has its twists and turns, fresh takes on magic, and at times almost had me thinking this was more fantasy than urban.
Book two – Trailer Park Trickster is coming out next month. You can be sure I’ll be placing my pre-order for this sequel. I know Adam and Vic will continue their adventure, and it will assuredly be as much of an emotionally complicated hot mess, and gloriously magical as the first.
My Rating:
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible
Meet the Author:
David R. Slayton grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado and writes the books he always wanted to read. His debut, White Trash Warlock, was published in October 2020 by Blackstone Publishing. The sequel, Trailer Park Trickster, will be released in October 2021. He is represented by the Seymour Agency.
In addition to writing, David is a regular presenter and speaker on writing. He has appeared on panels at Denver Pop Culture Con and taught workshops the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, the League of Utah Writers Quills Conference, and the Seymour Agency Winter Retreat. He also regularly speaks to library and high school audiences.
J.P. Jackson 
i think think of or catch the gay stereotype about cars. cool. I know zero about cars lol
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