The Cunning Man

The Cunning Man by D.J. Butler and Aaron Ritchy

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I picked this up thinking it might be along the lines Manley Wade Wellman's “Silver John” series, which I think was initially set during the same post-World War I time frame. Like the Wellman, this story involves a staunch, sober and decent man who knows the magical lore of the backcountry. However, where Wellman's hero roamed around the Appalachians with a silver stringed guitar, the hero of the Cunning Man is a Mormon beet farmer.

In this time when diversity is used to justify giving awards to mediocre books, this book really shows diversity. Outside of Orson Scott Card, I don't think I know of another book that mines Mormon culture for its story resources, but this book shows that there is an exotic and deep source of material there.

The “cunning man” of the story is Hiram Woolley, a Mormon beet farmer who helps out his neighbors during the Great Depression. Hiram learned his cunning from his grandmother. Mormon hedge magic involves cantrips, lamens, symbols, and rocks. Hiram has rocks that stop poisoning and also tell him whether someone is lying to him. Since this is Mormon mythos, there is also a “seer stone” that puts the user into contact with angels or demons after one places it in a hat.

Hiram is dispatched to a Utah mining town where the inhabitants are on the verge of starvation because the owners are divided on where the mine should be operated. There are rumors of ghosts in the mine. The railroad wants to use the family division to force a sale of the mine. And, finally, there is another cunning man whose knowledge of lor may exceed Hiram's.

The authors D.J. Butler and Aaron Michael Ritchey set up the pieces and do a good job of moving them around to keep the readers interest. This is a fun book, particularly in light of its setting, but not entirely perfect. Hiram's adopted son, Michael, is just a little to sarcastic for my tastes, but I enjoyed the characters and the working out of the plot.