City of Lost Fortunes - Rambling Readers

Published April 17, 2018 by Titan Books Ltd.

ISBN:: 978-1-78565-657-6

View on OpenLibrary

(2 reviews)

1 edition

Sally Strange reviewed City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp (author)

A New Orleans Fable for Tricksters and the People Who Love Them

5 stars

Magic! Jazz! New Orleans' famous cuisine! Gods, loas, demons, and vampires!

Jude was once a magician, for real, with a supernatural talent for finding lost things.

Then Katrina happened. Suddenly everyone everywhere was experiencing loss on an immense scale, and his gift for sensing loss became overwhelming. He retreated from the world. Six years later, he receives an invitation to participate in an otherworldly card game where all the other players are gods, angels, or vampires. This starts him down the path towards healing and rediscovering his purpose, as well as the mysterious way his fate is bound up with that of his city.

I loved it. Makes me want to visit New Orleans again. And I will!

patchworkbunny reviewed City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp (author)

Review of 'City of Lost Fortunes' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Jude Dubuisson has a magical gift, to find lost things. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, so much was lost, his power overwhelmed him. Since the storm he's been lying low, until he is drawn into a card game where his fate becomes the ante.

Each section begins with a paragraph about myths that overlap different cultures and beliefs, giving you a big hint about what this is all about. Jude's magic came from his father, a god unknown to him. At the card game he faces New Orlean's fortune god, Papa Legba, an angel, a vampire and Thoth from Egyptian mythology.

Jude was dealt a blank hand, and slowly the tarot cards are revealed to him, showing how his fate is intertwined with these deities. Each god gets their part, and some show more compassion towards him than others. It is always in the back of his mind that …

Jude Dubuisson has a magical gift, to find lost things. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, so much was lost, his power overwhelmed him. Since the storm he's been lying low, until he is drawn into a card game where his fate becomes the ante.

Each section begins with a paragraph about myths that overlap different cultures and beliefs, giving you a big hint about what this is all about. Jude's magic came from his father, a god unknown to him. At the card game he faces New Orlean's fortune god, Papa Legba, an angel, a vampire and Thoth from Egyptian mythology.

Jude was dealt a blank hand, and slowly the tarot cards are revealed to him, showing how his fate is intertwined with these deities. Each god gets their part, and some show more compassion towards him than others. It is always in the back of his mind that one of them could be his father.

I liked the concept behind The City of Lost Fortunes but I didn't really care about the main character, he was lacking in emotion and he didn't seem much of a person beyond his magical abilities. However the story really picked up for me when we encounter the underworld and the purpose becomes apparent. Personally, it was a bit on the long side for a book where I wasn't invested in the main character.

I do always love it when a city is a character in itself and there is some of that here. New Orleans suffered a great deal and that is reflected in the cracks in the supernatural world within.