The Blessed Man and the Witch by David Dubrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dubrow delivers a novel that takes three seemingly disparate genres and smashes them all together like some author’s cruel joke on an unsuspecting literary Humpty Dumpty whose pieces were then somehow put back together in such a way as to make him Super Humpty. The resulting concoction turns out to be a suave story told from multiple points of view. Each perspective is unique as Dubrow unravels a mystery revolving around someone named The Blessed Man and how each of the characters is then connected. The laws of nature don’t seem to matter in world that hovers at the brink of Biblical Armageddon, each side garnering its warriors through what appear to be the natural courses of events. Angels appear and disappear at will, taking possession of bodies as they awaken the humans chosen to play major roles in the coming festivities.
I really enjoyed this unique fusion. Dubrow’s writing is sharp, giving us real pictures of people to whom some truly strange things happen. He adds a dose of realism to each person involved, writing them to vivid life through the myriad little details thrown in. I was engaged from the beginning, enjoying each perspective and caught up in the myriad connections to the central figure of The Blessed Man. The story bobs and weaves like a boxer swift on his feet, the pace driven but not forceful.
Despite an overall enjoyment of one crafty writer with a style and brain just genius enough to pull a mixed gamut like this story, I did have moments of pause throughout the reading. Early allusions regarding backstory are delivered a little too casually, inferring some necessary knowledge of events or characters from some previous story. I chalk it up to an author who knows his story and its universe so well he tells the story to others like he’s telling it to himself or someone whose been in on the ground floor with him for awhile now. This didn’t take much away from the reading since it kept me turning the pages anxious to find out what Heck’s fugue state was all about, why Siobhan gains the sudden ability to perform real magick and if Kyle Loubet had any more substance to him than simply living his life on camera as an internet streaming star.
This is paranormal urban fiction done right, in equal parts fantastic and real world. I’d definitely recommend this first book in what bodes well as being a trilogy fans of any of the three genres shouldn’t miss out on.
High ratings for The Blessed Man and the Witch. Dubrow is an author to keep an eye on!


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