Short Summary
Andrew Mayne has given quite enough time to Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood in their own separate series, finally uniting them together in the first novel marking their new adventures together, titled Mastermind. In this story, they team up together to take on a sinister criminal known as the Warlock, seemingly capable of erasing entire cities from the face of the Earth.
Andrew Mayne Steals the Cities of the World
The concept of magic is something most of us grow out of given enough disillusionment, but the idea it might be possible never really loses its appeal; I think most of us would at least be fascinated if it was proven to exist. In Andrew Mayne's Mastermind, the first novel in the Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood series, citizens of the entire world are about to find out just how impactful and real it can turn out to be.
Our story begins when a sudden and mysterious electrical storm hits Manhattan, plunging the entire city into darkness, chaos and despair. However, the people haven't even had the time to properly panic yet, when a strange fog rolls over the town, seeping into every nook and cranny until nothing is left. Just like that, the island seemingly vanishes into the void.
While there are naturally those who are quick to blame supernatural and mystical elements for such an event, Jessica Blackwood and Dr. Theo Cray think they know better. As a matter of fact, they believe it all to be a hoax, somehow perpetrated by an infamous serial killer and cultist known only as the Warlock, recently escaped during a prison transfer.
Known as the master of manipulation and the creator of magnificent illusions, he promised the End of Days to the entirety of mankind, and he's making good on his promise. Soon after Manhattan, many other cities around the globe and faced with the same scenario, disappearing one by one from the face of the Earth, leaving seemingly nothing behind.
Regardless of how brilliant Cray and Blackwood might be, they are still many steps behind the Warlock, and the clock is ticking against them for he has no intention of stopping. On the contrary, he's only planning to escalate things further, with his endgame being so terrible it has the potential to change the world as everyone knows it.
The Domineering Super-Villain of Mastermind
Good villains, in my opinion, are becoming increasingly difficult to write due to how cliche they have become in the past decades. This led to a rise of morally-ambiguous antagonists which, to this day, seem like they've gained a solid foothold in modern literature. Nevertheless, there are authors such as Andrew Mayne who still very much have a talent for writing all-out villains, and in my opinion he put it on display in his portrayal of the Warlock.
Now, before moving on, I should mention that both of the main characters in this novel have their own individual series with a few books each, and they've already crossed paths with the villain to a certain extent. I haven't read the books myself, so I can't say how much former knowledge of the character would impact your perception of him here, but what I can say is that you certainly don't need to read those previous chapters to appreciate Mastermind.
Andrew Mayne succeeds in creating the sort of villain many authors dream of conjuring for their own stories, a seemingly normal human being made of flesh and blood who, nevertheless, seems dotted with otherworldly characteristics. Everywhere and nowhere at once, his presence is constantly felt throughout the scenes and even if we do know it's all an illusion, it becomes tempting to think of the man as someone who glimpsed some secrets from the beyond.
While morally-grey characters do have their place in literature, for once I was glad to have been able to set this aspect aside and simply focus on the domineering and ever-inflating presence of someone I both loathed and admired at the same time. There is something comforting about knowing with exactitude who the good and bad guys are.
The Warlock's powers as a villain make him a worthy target for our book-long chase, an actually worthy enemy who can math the brilliance of our protagonists. While we do know that a happy ending is in very likely in store for us, one can't help but shake the feeling throughout the book there is absolutely no way our heroes can gain the upper hand, and ultimately, this is what makes a villain truly oppressive.
Chasing After Grand Illusions
As much as our great villain might be permeating every scene with his devilish abilities, the plot does have us mostly following Theo and Jessica, each narrating their own chapters from their points of view. In other words, we spend all of our time inside their minds, and the constant switching between their perspectives helps to keep the plot moving, even though things do slow down around the halfway point of the journey.
This would perhaps be my only gripe with Mastermind: the unnecessary attention to details and descriptions which, ultimately, don't contribute to the story, even if they do add a little to the world-building. With such a big crisis looming on the horizon, it feels counter-intuitive to stop and smell the roses, but Andrew Mayne chooses to do so anyways, which might not be everyone's cup of tea.
Apart from this one little hitch though, I found the chase after the Warlock to have been a thrilling ride during which I got to witness a battle of intelligence rather than brawn. Just as the public is dying to know how a magician accomplishes their feats, so was I eager to learn how the Warlock managed the complex illusions he unleashed upon the world.
Andrew Mayne makes his own experience as a magician and illusionist quite apparent, taking us into the gritty details of acts I'm certain he must have thought through a million times. Actually, I have a sneaking suspicion Mayne uses his literature to explore the kinds of magic performances he simply couldn't do in the real world, either due to their impossible scale and/or criminal nature.
Amidst all of this, the author found time to include some thoughts of a more philosophical nature about the world, our perception of it and the meaning of reality, just to name a few. He doesn't try to make any bold or outlandish statements, but rather simply prompts us to work with our own thoughts and reach our personal conclusions, an approach I've always greatly appreciated and supported.
The Final Verdict
Mastermind by Andrew Mayne is an excellent mixture of science-fiction and thriller elements, and a worthy beginning to the Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood series. It sends us on a memorable chase rife with illusions against a truly powerful and noteworthy villain alongside two brilliant and well-written protagonists who I'm looking forward to seeing again.
If you're a fan of Andrew Mayne's works, or are just looking for a good science-fiction thriller centred around the theme of magic and illusions, then I believe you'll appreciate this novel for everything it has to offer.
 | Andrew MaynePersonal site Andrew Mayne is an inventor, novelist and magician by trade who distinguished himself there times as a Thriller Award finalist, and once as an Edgar finalist for his novel Black fall. His literary works include Angel Killer and Fire in the Sky in the Jessica Blackwood series, The Naturalist and Murder Theory in the Theo Cray series, and more recently Black Coral and Sea Storm as part of the Underwater Investigation Unit series. |
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