Rating: 
Summary: a wonderful novel, full of fantasy
Review: This is a jewel of a novel. The exploration of a great magician in the early 20th century, the time when magic was an integral part of stage entertainment, is enthralling. As a former magician myself, I was impressed by Gold's knowledge of the history and practices of this art.The story is complex, but not complicated. We follow Charles Carter through his career, from his most humble beginnings (with a brilliant, unforgettable scene describing his first escape), to the apex of his career. Through love and loss, through intrique and fame. However, I can only give it 4 stars for his treatment of some of the characters - Gold is clearly uncomfortable with female characters, and their dialogue sounds too tough to be believable. Carter's love at first sight lacks emotion, and his second love comes more as a prop than a real event in the story. Nevertheless, this is a fine novel, one to read again. I'm looking forward to this author's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: this book is writen with such breathtaking imagination. I love it. This book goes into my top 10 of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful historical fiction!
Review: This is a wonderful read and the color drawings that begin the chapters are delightful. I really enjoyed this book. Living in San Francisco and in the East Bay I especially liked reading about the Bay Area in this story.
Rating:
Summary: A Rabbit Out Of The Hat
Review: Glen David Gold has written a highly entertaining novel. Set against the compelling backdrop of San Francisco in the early years of the 20th century, this book is replete with colorful, well-drawn characters, a plot with more twists and turns than Lombard Street, and crackling good writing and word-crafting. Gold provides a fictional but plausible explanation for the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding, who died in San Francisco after attending a performance of the real-life magician Carter The Great. Through painstaking research, Gold gives us a glimpse of the life of the touring magician in the day and age when Houdini was a bigger celebrity than even the great Babe Ruth. He guides us through the life of Charles Carter--who is good-hearted, talented, hard-working, and indulgent. Even if you've never been drawn to the world of magic, this book will entertain and draw you. Not only is it a great story, but the writing is remarkable. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE BOOK!
Review: This has to be one of the most incredible books I have ever read
and I am an avid reader with literally thousands of books "under my belt"! Mr. Gold's descriptions of magic, his explanation of what we don't know much about, makes me look at magic in a whole new light. What characters! Fascinating and written with such depth. I know, I'm gushing and I don't usually do that but it isn't often that I find a book that I absolutely love, can't wait to purchase after borrowing from the library, and so want to see as a movie and hope Mr. Gold writes the screenplay! It is a terrible thing, at least to me, when a reviewer ruins the plot for me so I will not divulge ANY details of the storyline. Suffice it to say that you will be drawn into this book and not want it to end. The characters will fascinate you, the illusions will amaze you and at the end, just like a good magic show, you will want to experience all of it all over again, even though you know how it turns out.
Rating:
Summary: Quite good indeed
Review: Debut historical, based on the real life of magician Charles Carter, that manages to get several balls in the air at once, only to let them drop along the way. According to Gold's account, President Warren Harding's death in 1923 came only hours after he attended, and participated in, one of Carter's performances. Indeed, the depressed Harding and the mysterious Carter even had an opportunity for a chat, in which, supposedly, Harding confided to Carter that he knew a terrible secret. Should he let the country in on it? From here, Gold backtracks to Carter's early life in upper-middle-class, turn-of-the-century San Francisco, a period and place he lovingly re-creates. After Carter turns his back on Yale and hits the vaudeville trail, eager to learn his craft, we follow him through the defeats of rival magicians, a meeting with Houdini, the early development of television, and on to his arrival at the pinnacle of the profession. Woven throughout is his suspicious involvement in Harding's death, which he can never shake, along with a rather odd federal agent, who dogs him every step of the way. It's very clear that the author himself is enchanted by the history of magic. He often historical data to set a scene to wonderful effect, describing in detail, for example, the strange and elaborate mechanisms magicians used to make bodies disappear and devils fly. But too often Gold lets his research become his tale when it should simply inform it; storytelling and character development grind to a halt under the weight of all that imparted knowledge. Moreover, as the story progresses, it shifts too rapidly from one character to another, one scene to another, one period to another, effectively cooling down any tension the lengthy narrative may have built up. A wildly ambitious performance from a first-novelist who has all the tricks in his bag-but just doesn't know how to use them yet.
Rating:
Summary: Best Read of the Summer
Review: I read this delicious book cover-to-cover in 72 hours. The book cover promises a fun story and delivers beyond expectations. If you're looking for literature and prose comparable to the supposed "greats", don't spend your money. However, Glen David Gold's story telling ability has no equal. If you're looking for the perfect vacation read, look no further.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story!
Review: It wasn't until reading the author's acknowledgements at the end of Carter Beats the Devil that I found out that Charles Carter (aka Carter The Great) was an actual magician, and not just a fictional character. I guess I could have done some looking around beforehand, but I just assumed it was all made up. Carter Beats the Devil was a fantastic book in many ways. The story of Charles Carter, from boyhood to his first magic shows, to his headlining extravaganzas in the 1910s and 1920s, is truly inspiring. It makes me want to travel back in time to attend some of the wonderful magic shows that were described in the book. In many ways this book reminded me of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. I suppose it may just be that they take place around the same time, although Carter died before much of the action in Kavalier & Clay takes place. The writing style is similar, and there's a small parallel between the characters from both novels: the same drive for ambition, being in creative fields, and the same kind of character demeanor. Now that I know Carter was an actual magician, it makes me want to read up more on his life, and see how close the book comes to reality. I have a feeling Glen David Gold spiced up the story some, by writing in meetings with then-President Warren Harding and one of the inventors of television, Philo Farnsworth. Both of these "cameos" play a large role in the latter half of the book, and make for some interesting situations that Carter has to wrangle himself out of. From what I can tell, this is Gold's first novel. With the quality of the writing and the wonderful story of Carter Beats the Devil, I'm certainly looking forward to what he may write next. Any book that gets me in a mood to do some research and read more about a particular topic is impressive; most books I read and then just move on to the next.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful book
Review: I hadn't heard of Carter the Great when I started to read this book (and, in fact, found myself checking online to find out if he was real!). He did exist and this book is a delightful novel based on his life. It traces his development as a magician, his friendship with Harry Houdini, and his involvement in the death of one President of the US. I couldn't put it down! In a never boring style, the author provides glimpses into life in San Francisco in the late 1800's and early 1900's and into the craft of stage magic as it was practiced in its heydey.
Rating:
Summary: thrilling, romantic, fascinating
Review: This is a thrilling, romantic, fascinating book and will probably be my favorite book read this year. Carter Beats the Devil is a historically fact-based novel about magician Charles Carter who performed in the golden age of magic (1890s thru the 1920s). This story pits Carter against rival magicians and Secret Service agents who suspect Carter had a hand in the death of President Harding. I was drawn in from the get-go. This book is full of suspense, humor, and panache. It came highly recommended from Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (also an excellent book). Carter Beats the Devil is a richly imagined story full of wonderful characters and it has perhaps the most thrilling, exciting, whiz-bang conclusion I've come across in ages. Great, great book.
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