Cicero James, Miracle Worker by Hal Emerson

Cicero James by Hal Emerson is a cracker-filled urban fantasy and so much fun to read. Cicero James is a Worker – someone who through some horrible tragic event in his life awakened the ability to fight creatures from the space between spaces. He has a Mentor, an older doctor who took Cicero in after his mother passed. Cicero does the mundane thing, the daily grind at his uneventful job, but in his free time, he does Works, meaning he takes contracts from the Worker higher-ups and then sends the beasties back to where they belong. Unfortunately, his last beastie killed him. At least that was what should have happened. When Cicero wakes up in the morgue with no deadly wound to his chest, let’s just say things get complicated. Cicero has to escape an unknown threat and prove to Marlowe’s associates that he is to be trusted while coming to terms with his apparent Immortality.

Hal Emerson has written an exciting and action-packed urban fantasy and Cicero James reminds me of Harry Dresden and Harley Merlin. The narrative is first-person driven and immediately pulled me in, while the characters are authentic which is supported by the language style and register. Cicero relates what happens to him in honest colloquial language which reveals his emotions, making him seem like a typical young man of the 2020’s. The whole book transports the reader into an urban fantasy world that has been thought through. The allusion to modern day television and entertainment as well as the reference to current world affairs and gives credence to the characters and plot as well. The book is written as Cicero’s first-hand account of what happened and therefore comes across as authentic and believable.  The main theme is the power play between good and evil. Then there are the themes of trauma and its effects, and the theme of trust and deceit. I have not read such a gripping and exciting urban fantasy in a while and would recommend this to anyone who loves gritty urban wizardry.