Ahh, mirrors. The old classic goto for horror and thrillers. In this case we have the protagonist Craig, a former Marine sniper, who is the beneficiary of a unique gift: an antique wooden mirror. Which is cursed, naturally, because people can’t give items without cursing them anymore. In order to save his family from an ancient evil (other than the taxes for such a gift) he must find a way to defeat a witch without the use of explosions, fancy rifles, and Americanisms.
Legacy by Chris Coppel is pretty much exactly what you would expect. It’s a fast pace, light on the prose sort of novel that is perfect for a midnight read. There is nothing too complicated here, even with the twists. Neither is there any glaring weaknesses. The book is well plotted, keeps to the premise, unabashedly so, following the usual tropes one finds in these sort of time travel thrillers.
The one negative I would like to highlight is the lack of fleshing out of anyone that isn’t the protagonist. The main character receives most of the focus, and he is likeable and interesting. However, I would have liked to have seen more back story to the witch. We seem to only know that she is evil, because other characters say she is. There is little there to establish her motivations, beyond the designation of being a nebulous baddy.
But perhaps that is nitpicking. Legacy is a solid thriller. I enjoyed it, and I tend to be an unforgiving critic, so I imagine most readers will get a kick out of it. Legacy by Chris Coppel is an engaging story which (witch, hah) hits the target, even if not particularly magical.
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