With her latest, S T Gibson has gone all Witches of Eastwick… set in modern-day Boston, Evocation tells of an occult elite, working under the radar of most people. Although magic, tarot cards and demons are part of the setting, the book is really about a love triangle between the arrogant David Aristarkov, his ex-lover Rhys Delacroix and Rhys’s now-wife Moira.
Although David and Rhys broke up messily and agreed to have nothing to do with each other besides dealing with secret society business, David finds himself having to ask for help from Rhys and Moira when he finds himself being called by a demon for the payment of a family debt: “The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov”
Gibson piles on the tension between the three as the situation worsens. Working in David’s dead father’s house, using the occult library there, Rhys hopes to find a literary solution.
To be fair, there’s not that much of a plot. But the way that these characters evolve is fascinating. I found David pretty unpleasant at the start, feeling that he was the epitome of 80’s culture returned to the 2020’s – slick, wealthy, and arrogant, the summation of everything I disliked about the 1980’s. With this in mind, I found it difficult to want to care about David’s predicament. Whilst things were not totally resolved by the end of the book, I did find that I liked him more and possibly understood David better, even if I still didn’t really like him.
I was much more in sympathy with the naïve Rhys, although the lovey-dovey relationship between him and Moira was a little cloying to say the least.
Nevertheless, as the book progresses the dynamic changes. Despite her initial dislike, Moira finds herself more sympathetic towards David, as he reveals more of himself to her. Rhys also finds himself drawn back to David, despite his attempts at creating distance. The impact on Moira and Rhys as they gain power within the Society is also a factor in this progression.
Evocation is a powerful examination of power and attraction, and the devastation such forces can create. I was reminded of Friz Leiber’s urban fantasy work whilst reading it (see Conjure Wife! and Our Lady of Darkness), a pretty impressive recommendation. I recently said that I thought Gibson was becoming an increasingly impressive writer – Evocation proves it. Her best yet – and, most pleasingly, I think she has more to come.
EVOCATION by S T Gibson
Published by Angry Robot, May 2024
280 pages
ISBN: 978 1915 202 680
Review by Mark Yon
