Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Written By: Mark Rosendorf
RRP: £12.99 / $15.99 (Paperback) | £3.98 / $5.19 (Kindle)
Reviewed by: Sebastian J. Brook
Review Posted: 31st October 2020
Mark Rosendorf's The Witches Of Vegas is a fantastic new YA / Urban Fantasy with a thrilling supernatural twist. Think The Greatest Showman meets Twilight and you get the recipe for this thoroughly entertaining book.
Set against the titular backdrop of Las Vegas, the story follows Isis; a young witch getting to grips with her magical powers. Following a troubled childhood she is saved and subsequently taken in by a coven of witches who give her the family she's always wanted.
And now to the really clever bit... the Witches have a sell-out show at the Sapphire Resort in Vegas - displaying (unbeknown to the audience) real magic. This is a genius move by the author to create a device where the Witches can hide in plain sight, whilst using their talents, and earn a tidy crust on the side.
As well as Witches we also have a rather nasty Vampire, which compliments the story wonderfully by giving us a worthy, and may we say unexpected adversary. There's also room for a little Romance in The Witches Of Vegas, and whilst we don't want to give anything away, we did enjoy the fresh way in which it unfolds in the story.
There are characters that you will simply love; outside of Isis, Sebastian, Luther, Valeria and Zack were among our favourites and were all layered and delightfully complex.
Not only does Rosendorf bring to life a rich palette of characters, but he also brings Las Vegas to life in the pages of the book. It's clear this is somewhere he has researched, walked the streets and breathed the atmosphere, and it reads very much as a character in its own right.
The conclusion was incredibly satisfying, whilst leaving you wanting for more, and you will love how everything regarding the show itself has a poignant part to play for our beloved coven.
The Witches Of Vegas is simply screaming out to be a movie series. The glamour and sparkle of Vegas juxtaposed with the magic and dark undertones of the story would convert so well on the big screen. One can only hope that Hollywood snaps up this incredibly engrossing adventure.
In a conversation with the author, we were pleased to learn that there will be a sequel, which is just as well, as we felt like we weren't done yet with Isis and her fascinating world. Expect big things from Mark Rosendorf - an author you most definitely have to have in your library!
What first got you into writing?
Writing was something I always knew I wanted to do. As a child, I had a wild imagination, especially when playing with my toys. I used to create worlds which were detailed and followed a story that would continue each time I laid on the floor and played.
I was in the seventh grade when I knew writing was in my future. My social studies teacher gave us an assignment to interview a grandparent and then write up their story. Unfortunately, my grandparents had a 1960s sitcom ability to turn every single topic into an argument…and they both hit below the belt. The fact that they were married for 70 years is perhaps the eighth wonder of the world. I did take a shot at the assignment; I asked my grandfather to tell me about his life growing up during the depression. He told me about the girl from Ohio he wished he’d married instead of the woman he did marry. My grandmother jumped on the line and, of course, they ended up arguing. Even as I hung up the phone, they were still yelling at each other on the line.
I sat down and made up a story about my grandfather. In the story, I explained how, during the depression of the 1920’s, he left home at fourteen years old and survived by carrying bundles of hay for a nickel an hour. I talked about how he managed to save one nickel every other hour, which he used to open a business and become successful. Then he met my grandmother, and it was love at first sight. They settled down and lived happily ever after.
None of that was necessarily true, but my teacher loved the story. He gave it an “A” and asked me if I would bring my grandparents to school so they could talk about their lives and take questions from the class. Picturing what a disaster that would have been, I did some quick damage control and explained that my grandparents wouldn’t be able to make it.
Do you have any literary influences / authors you admire?
There are a lot of books that I loved reading while I was growing up and they were certainly influences towards my own writing.
Number one on my list would have to be “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams. I found the story clever, funny, and well told. Not to mention, so many of the lines are quotable. The sequel, “Restaurant at the end of the galaxy” was just as good, if not even better. After that, the sequels started to drop in quality, but I’ve reread the first two books many times. (Truth be told, I gone though both books twice before realizing that one of the main character’s name was NOT Ford Perfect).
My next book is “The Time Machine” by HG Wells. The concept of travelling through time and witnessing the future is every fiction writer’s dream.
Last, and perhaps most important on my list was Stephen Baxter’s “The Time Ships,” which was a direct sequel to “The Time Machine.” It was one of the first non-classics I remember reading. It had short chapters and each one ended with a cliffhanger. The entire book kept my attention, especially since I never liked long chapters. I say “Time Ships” was the most important book I’ve ever read because it was the one that pushed me over the line and inspired me to become a writer.
We absolutely loved The Witches Of Vegas! With the sequel just around the corner, what can you tell us about it?
Thank you for the compliment, I’m glad you loved “The Witches of Vegas.” I think your audience will too, not just for the fantasy aspect, but for the characters. These are the types of people we all want to be our best friends.
The sequel, titled “Journey To New Salem,” takes place a year after the events of “The Witches of Vegas.” While “The Witches of Vegas” introduces us to this family of witches and their vampire mentor in Las Vegas and the local magicians around them, the sequel will open up more of the supernatural world. We learn more of their world and their history as the family searches for a fabled village of witches that may or may not exist. Why must our heroes leave their home to seek out this village? Find out in “Journey To New Salem.”
Are you a fan of Doctor Who, and if so, what was your first memory and do you have a favourite episode?
It’s really hard to choose a favorite episode from a series that’s been around since the sixties and has gone through so many different renditions How can I even begin to compare Doctor Who from 1963, which I had seen as syndication on PBS when I was a young child, to current Doctor Who which I am seeing now on BBCA as an adult. (I will say, however, that one arc I particularly liked was the Brain of Morbius storyline.)
My earliest memory involving Doctor Who is kind of funny. When I was about ten years old, my father would tell me about Doctor Who, which I was interested in watching. If my father liked it, I figured I would like it. After all, he was right about Star Trek. So, I read in the TV guide (which was a thing back then) that an episode of Doctor Who was going to be shown Saturday afternoon on PBS. Saturday afternoon came but I didn’t get to the TV until about fifteen minutes after the time the episode was supposed to start. I sat down in front of my TV and turned on PBS. Apparently, I had the day wrong, because PBS was showing the old 1981 TV movie version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Being ten years old, and never seeing Doctor Who before, I thought that was what I was watching…and the guy in the bathrobe WAS Doctor Who. I remember, even at ten years old, thinking that was a weird way for a timelord to dress…and where was the TARDIS my father told me all about?
Finally, if you could take a round trip in the TARDIS, anywhere in time and space, where would you go and why?
Wow, what an opportunity, to travel to another planet with human life somewhere across the entire universe. The chance to either find out, in person, what the world looked like during the dinosaur age…or see what humanity would evolve into 200 thousand years from now.
Hmm…I think in the end I would choose to stay in my own home in current time. Why? Because that’s where all of my stuff is.
Thank you for the interview and giving me a chance to share The Witches of Vegas with all of my fellow Doctor Who fans.
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