Urban fantasy has really been flexing the last five or so years.

When the genre first took off, it was mostly wizard cops and paranormal romance. And neither of those are bad things. I enjoy them both and continue to play widely in both sandboxes, both as a reader and as a writer. But why limit yourself to two kinds of stories when there are literally infinite takes floating around the ether, waiting for the shower muse to jump into a writer’s brain at 5:30 in the morning?

In short, as much as I enjoy the OG storylines, I absolutely adore urban fantasy that takes established tropes and conventions, sprinkles a little fairy dust on them, and then lights them on fire.

Enter David R. Slayton’s White Trash Warlock.

You all deserve to experience this one for yourselves, so I’m going to keep the plot summary minimal: Adam Binder has magical powers, but unlike many practitioners we’ve met over the years, he doesn’t have much  of a magical legacy. Growing up in an Oklahoma trailer park doesn’t exactly foster otherworldly exploration, and it’s much easier for Adam’s brother Bobby to believe Adam is mentally ill and have him committed than it is to believe in magic.

Flash forward: Bobby is a successful physician living the American dream with a pretty wife behind a picket fence. Adam is living with his Great Aunt Sue – who is also a practitioner – in another trailer. The brothers haven’t spoken to each other in years, but when an ancient spirit appears over Denver and takes possession of Bobby’s wife, there’s only one person he can think of to call for help.

There is so much to love about this book. I’ll pick three that aren’t spoilers because again, you should read the book, and you also know by now how I tend to ramble when I love something. And there’s virtual homeschooling to be done. Hooray! I guess.

1. The Hero

In most fantasy – even urban fantasy, even when the protagonist is the human embodiment of the lava that ate Anakin Skywalker – there’s a whiff of Chosen One narrative about it. Whatever it is that needs doing, only this specific protagonist can do it… for whatever reason.

Adam Binder is not a Chosen One. What’s more, he doesn’t aspire to any such thing. He himself notes several times throughout the narrative that he is, quite possibly, the worst person to be heading the mission to destroy a giant, ravenous, pulsating, eldritch horror. His power is extremely limited. He’s half trained. His family thinks he’s crazy and his dealings with the supernatural world have rarely if ever resolved in his favor.

Of course, he does it anyway. Not because he’s special but because, like most of us, he’s a decent human being who, somehow, despite everything that’s happened to him (an abusive father, involuntarily commitment, poverty, abandonment) wants to do his best by other decent humans. He wants to leave the world a little better than when he came into it, if only in a very small way for a single person.

Our connection with Adam isn’t an aspirational one. It’s recognition and acknowledgment and fellowship.

Please, sir, may I have another?

2. The Elves

Enter the elves. Yes, they are gorgeous and well nigh unto immortal and powerful. They also love 1920s, gangster-themed parties, flashy cars, making deals, and hate their parents. Our two major players are Argent and Silver (it’s  a chemistry joke; you can laugh). Argent, though she likes to pretend indifference and poise, does have a beating heart… wherever elves keep those… and is in contention for sassatrix supreme. Her brother would prefer to be anyone rather than who he is (heir to the elven throne) and anywhere besides cemented into the elven court.

Tolkien is spinning in his grave, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

3. The Romance

White Trash Warlock isn’t a paranormal romance, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any romance in the novel. There is and it’s fantastic. And extra points to Slayton for giving us LGBTQIA+ content without making it the focus of the story. Before you get your panties in a twist, hear me out on why that’s a positive.

Two years ago, when comic-cons weren’t yet fatal, I went to a panel at Emerald City Comic Con wherein queer authors discussed the need for exactly such content: stories in which queer characters were allowed to be queer, to have queerness be a part of their identity, without it being the sum total of said identity and narrative. As a reader who happens to be pan, I wholeheartedly agree.

Sometimes, us queer folk go on adventures that aren’t about exploring our sexuality. Sometimes, we fight battles whilst being queer. The LGBTQIA+ thing doesn’t have to be the elephant in Every. Damn. Room.

*Jazz hands at White Trash Warlock*

Adam is gay. That is established from the very beginning of the first chapter. He occasionally scopes a cute guy. His family is weird about it. He has an ex-boyfriend he thinks about a lot and misses. But his mission? His mission is to find out why there’s a giant spirit hovering over Denver sucking the life out of people.

See what Slayton did there? I know, right?

White Trash Warlock also has some of the best bi rep I’ve seen in a novel to date in the form of a handsome, charismatic, Latinx man who finds himself attracted to Adam and thinks, “Huh. This guys is cute and sweet and nice. I think I’d like to date him. Must be bi.” End of story. No agony. No drama. And his family? “Adam is cute and sweet and nice. You should date him.”

So not only does the  handsome, charismatic man initiate a relationship with a man, which is so important for the male-presenting members of the bi and pan communities to see, but it’s never a thing. A part of the character? Yes. An important part of the story? Indeed. Indicative of character development and growth for both involved parties? Yup. Absolutely. But the big bad Thing? Nope.

Seriously, scream it from the rooftops, this is one of the good ones.

White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton (Blackstone) is scheduled to release October 13th, 2020. You should go preorder it now. What are you still doing here? Go.