Although many authors have tackled the issue of inhuman or supernatural populations by now, none of them have taken the next logical step. Traditionally, “ethnic” populations have gathered in groups; specifically, they’ve gathered into neighborhoods. Nancy Collins draws on her experience in the boroughs of New York to create Golgotham in Right Hand Magic.
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Tate needs a place where she can not only live, but work on her life size metal sculptures. Luckily, a perfect flat opens up, but the catch is that it’s in Golgotham, the New York neighborhood occupied by the Kymeran sorcerers and other supernatural beings. But she’s pleasantly surprised to find that her landlord, Hexe the Kymeran, is not only friendly and welcoming but also handsome.
One night, a crazed cougar shapeshifter enters Hexe’s garden and attacks her. It turns out that he’s a teenager, one who was captured and forced to fight to the death in illegal pit matches. Worse, the pits are owned by the Kymeran mob boss Marz. Protecting the young man becomes harder and harder as Marz and his henchmen do whatever it takes to recover their slave, and Tate is drawn farther and farther into the power struggles of Kymeran society.
I found this novel to be a mixed bag of good elements and questionable ones. On the positive side, the neighborhood of Golgotham is a stroke of genius. Historically, any community has created its own space within large cities—look at Chinatown or Little Italy. The concept of the supernatural creatures gathering in their own area, and doing so of their own choice rather than being forced or “contained”, is something that I don’t think has been done before. This tactic also allows for a variety of encounters and beings that Tate can meet and interact with.
The downside is that in order to really establish Golgotham as a setting, Collins has to get her character out and about as much as possible. Given her profession as an artist, and a driven one at that, getting out isn’t something that Tate naturally would do. Therefore, the author has to invent reasons to send her to different parts of Golgotham. This usually involves a problem arising, Hexe declaring that the exact person to help them is in an area of Golgotham that Tate hasn’t been to before, and heading out to go there. It gets obvious about the third time it happens and it feels a little manufactured. It does, however, take readers to some pretty cool locations.
Tate is a great heroine, not only strong but determined to make her way in life according to her own rules. She belongs to the up and coming class of female main characters who follow vocations that are not traditionally thought of as feminine. In this case, her passion for working with metal does nothing to detract from her character. In fact, it’s painted as such an integral facet of her character that I really didn’t think “Oh, this is a woman working with blowtorches and engine parts”. It’s just part of her style.
There’s a lot of background that’s hinted at, but not explored. Much of it has to do with the Kymerans and their history with humanity. It’s something that I hope it explored in greater detail in future novels. Perhaps a little more would have been nice for this novel, but readers should only expect a taste to whet the appetite for more down the road.
Unfortunately, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out a glaring continuity error. Marz’s henchman Nach loses an arm early in the novel, torn off by the shapeshifter during his escape. He is seen later with the right sleeve of his coat hanging empty, and then seen after that with a metal prosthetic replacement—again, specified as his right arm. His right hand is referenced a few times as “his metal hand”, which implies that it’s only his right hand that is artificial. I scoured the text to find any mention of whether or not his left hand or arm was less than normal, but I found nothing. And yet, during the climactic battle scene, his metal arm is described as his left arm, not his right. I flipped through the book a few times to verify this, and I’m pretty sure that I didn’t miss anything. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but otherwise, it’s a mortifying mistake.
Despite a few wobbly elements, Right Hand Magic held my attention and kept me reading. Golgotham is a compelling setting, filled with magic and mystery, and it’s one that I look forward to revisiting in future novels.
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