The Prestige

by Christopher Priest

When two fledgling magicians meet at a sham seance, a rivalry is born. At the aforementioned seance, Alfred Borden not only exposes Rupert Angier as a fraud, he also causes Rupert's wife to have a miscarriage. Let the revenge begin!

As competing magicians, the men watch each other's careers and occasionally interfere with their rival's shows. But they never know when to stop.

When Borden stages "The New Transported Man," Angier is mystified and determined to learn the illusion and improve upon it. "In a Flash" does indeed improve upon Borden's illusion, but at a frightening cost to Angier.

So, this is nothing like the movie, except for the names of the magicians and the time period. If you loved the movie, read the book. If you're having a hard time reading the book, just watch the movie. And if you love magicians, but hate this novel, pick up Carter Beats the Devil. It is awesome.

4/1/07