There used to be a theory that a story should take place over fairly short amount of time – weeks, days if possible. I think most people gave it lip service and went on to do whatever they felt like doing anyway. Besides, there are some stories, especially those that don’t feature Bernie, that can be told over the space of a weekend. Some stories span generations and to condense that into a weekend of action and massive amounts of exposition is to take a dump all over the story. And no one like dump-covered stories.
So, enter Carrie Miller’s Copper Pennies, a story that takes place over around a hundred years, a few generations, and at least a couple of planes of existence. The amazing thing about it is even though it sounds mind-bendingly complicated, Miller does a fantastic job of keeping things simple and concise, so the reader doesn’t have to keep a notebook full of names and what they did so when they pop up a few decades later no one has to flip back through the book.
And, frankly, what a story. It’s easy to whip up a tale of black magick and betrayal; it’s much more difficult to add layered depth, interesting characters, and enough history to make it come to life. Copper Pennies breathes. Its breath isn’t always pleasant, but no good story comes to life when it’s been drenched in mouthwash.
So, if you want something gritty, a story that doesn’t hold back or paint its characters as perfect, try Copper Pennies. It’s one of those books that feels so real the characters and places stick with you after you put it down.
Magda stands in the moonlit cemetery waiting for the spell to work, for her lover to return. But what’s done can’t be undone, and Magda will learn she should have left him in the ground.
When twins Avery and Chloe Parsons receive a cryptic letter and a sinister-looking book filled with illegible scrawls from their grandmother, the sisters set out for Prague to check on her.
Drawn to a cracked crystal ball in a curiosity shop, Chloe discovers it harbors the spirit of their grandmother, who tells them a horrific tale of lust, naïveté, betrayal, and… demons.
Armed with a book of dark magick they can’t read and a cracked crystal ball, the twins must stop Magda’s resurrected lover before he releases an unstoppable force that will consume the human world.
Across continents and nearly a century, follow the adventures of three strong-willed women: one seduced by evil, one struggling to withstand the lure of power, and one trying to save her family—and the world.
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Eric Lahti 