The Warlock Effect
On sale
13th April 2023
Price: £24.99
From Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman, creators of the international smash-hit play and film Ghost Stories, comes a new novel: The Warlock Effect.
‘All the hallmarks of a modern classic’ ADAM KAY
‘Two great masters join forces to explosive effect’ RICHARD OSMAN
‘Huge fun – gripping and very clever. I didn’t want it to end’ PETER JAMES
‘A beautiful magic trick in itself – wonderful’ DERREN BROWN
‘I absolutely loved every twist, every turn, every blockbusting cliffhanger’ STEVEN MOFFAT
Meet Louis Warlock.
Man about town, denizen of Soho’s nightclubs and cabaret bars – and the most skilled magician of his time . . .
As a boy, Ludvik Weinschenk fled Nazi Germany to England with a pack of playing cards and three tricks to his name. Twelve years later, in 1950s London, having risen through the ranks of concert parties, night clubs and variety theatres, Ludvik – or Louis Warlock as he is now known – is the most famous magician in Britain.
But after his talent for deception attracts the attention of the British secret service, Louis is thrown into the perilous world of espionage and finds himself sent across Europe with a dangerous mission to fulfil. When he comes face to face with a nemesis whose cunning rivals his own, Louis will need to use every trick in the book – or risk the most terrible consequences, both for the country and for himself.
A highly entertaining, fiendishly clever thriller, The Warlock Effect offers a twist-filled, rollicking adventure – and a glimpse into the phenomenal mind of an extraordinary magician.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE WARLOCK EFFECT:
‘A delicious confection from a pair of devilishly clever minds’ STEVE PEMBERTON
‘A superb story of espionage and human endurance which casts its own vivid spell. In the stage magician Louis Warlock, Nyman and Dyson have created one of fiction’s most complex and beguiling heroes’ JAY RAYNER
‘The period atmosphere and the Cold War detail feel like a Le Carré but it’s the characters you really care about. Exactly like some of the magic it describes, the odd sleight of hand or false deception wrapped around a terrific mystery.’ IAN MOORE
‘Edge-of-your-seat stuff . . . Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, The Warlock Effect is a fiendish mix of history, humour and horror’ SJ BENNETT
‘A thrilling and ingenious work of wonder. Twisting, evocative and hugely entertaining, The Warlock Effect delivers on every level’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Spellbinding. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman skillfully depict a shadowy world of magic and espionage in this gripping tale that is entertaining, heartfelt and as twisty as any artful stage magician’s signature trick.’ ADAM HAMDY
(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
‘All the hallmarks of a modern classic’ ADAM KAY
‘Two great masters join forces to explosive effect’ RICHARD OSMAN
‘Huge fun – gripping and very clever. I didn’t want it to end’ PETER JAMES
‘A beautiful magic trick in itself – wonderful’ DERREN BROWN
‘I absolutely loved every twist, every turn, every blockbusting cliffhanger’ STEVEN MOFFAT
Meet Louis Warlock.
Man about town, denizen of Soho’s nightclubs and cabaret bars – and the most skilled magician of his time . . .
As a boy, Ludvik Weinschenk fled Nazi Germany to England with a pack of playing cards and three tricks to his name. Twelve years later, in 1950s London, having risen through the ranks of concert parties, night clubs and variety theatres, Ludvik – or Louis Warlock as he is now known – is the most famous magician in Britain.
But after his talent for deception attracts the attention of the British secret service, Louis is thrown into the perilous world of espionage and finds himself sent across Europe with a dangerous mission to fulfil. When he comes face to face with a nemesis whose cunning rivals his own, Louis will need to use every trick in the book – or risk the most terrible consequences, both for the country and for himself.
A highly entertaining, fiendishly clever thriller, The Warlock Effect offers a twist-filled, rollicking adventure – and a glimpse into the phenomenal mind of an extraordinary magician.
MORE PRAISE FOR THE WARLOCK EFFECT:
‘A delicious confection from a pair of devilishly clever minds’ STEVE PEMBERTON
‘A superb story of espionage and human endurance which casts its own vivid spell. In the stage magician Louis Warlock, Nyman and Dyson have created one of fiction’s most complex and beguiling heroes’ JAY RAYNER
‘The period atmosphere and the Cold War detail feel like a Le Carré but it’s the characters you really care about. Exactly like some of the magic it describes, the odd sleight of hand or false deception wrapped around a terrific mystery.’ IAN MOORE
‘Edge-of-your-seat stuff . . . Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, The Warlock Effect is a fiendish mix of history, humour and horror’ SJ BENNETT
‘A thrilling and ingenious work of wonder. Twisting, evocative and hugely entertaining, The Warlock Effect delivers on every level’ CHRIS WHITAKER
‘Spellbinding. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman skillfully depict a shadowy world of magic and espionage in this gripping tale that is entertaining, heartfelt and as twisty as any artful stage magician’s signature trick.’ ADAM HAMDY
(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
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Reviews
The affection of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, an actor and magician, for the period and its magicians, among them Tommy Cooper, shines through in this delightful thriller.
Absolutely joyous, with twists and reveals I never saw coming. This book is in itself a beautiful magic trick. Wonderful.
All the hallmarks of a modern classic, with more twists and turns than the intestinal tract
This book is huge fun - gripping, informative and very clever. I didn't want it to end!
This book is exactly like some of the magic it describes, the odd sleight of hand or false deception wrapped around a terrific mystery. The period atmosphere and the Cold War detail feel like a Le Carré but it's the characters that you really care about. I hope we see a lot more of Louis Warlock
A thrilling and ingenious work of wonder. Twisting, evocative and hugely entertaining, The Warlock Effect delivers on every level
A superb story of espionage and human endurance which casts its own vivid spell. In the stage magician Louis Warlock, Nyman and Dyson have created one of fiction's most complex and beguiling heroes
Two great masters join forces to explosive effect
The Warlock Effect is spellbinding. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman skillfully depict a shadowy world of magic and espionage in this gripping tale that is entertaining, heartfelt and as twisty as any artful stage magician's signature trick. Highly recommended
A delicious confection from a pair of devilishly clever minds.
Edge-of-your-seat stuff . . . Heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure, The Warlock Effect is a fiendish mix of history, humour and horror with a unique combination of Cold War and magic methodology
It could have been grown in a vat especially for me . . . Magic tricks and spies . . . I absolutely loved every twist, every turn, every blockbusting cliffhanger
Sheer delight . . . This enthralling, playful thriller can be enjoyed for its virtuosic recreation of the period and for its cheeky depiction of Cold War spooks as closer to Derren Brown than George Smiley. Perhaps its chief pleasure, though, is simply the magic it contains, from the beginner's card tricks . . . to grand illusion
[A] serpentine thriller . . . Like Sherlock Holmes, Warlock has a network of useful contacts, including magic shop proprietors, coppers and keenly observant barmaids. But unlike Holmes, he is . . . touchingly vulnerable . . . The theme of magic [is elevated] into something more universal - a matter of survival itself; it also becomes deeply moving.
A gripping book that evokes the reality of working magicians . . . A pure delight
Thrilling . . . Both Nyman and Dyson manage to bring the attributes that made them famous to the table, making for a book that blends history, comedy and suspense to exceptionally good effect. Simply billing The Warlock Effect as an espionage thriller would be doing it a disservice: there's far more to take from it than that, as the action takes us across Europe and back, introducing a series of fascinating and complex characters along the way. The plot seems straightforward at first, but then turns on its head, and some clever writing guarantees you'll never see it coming.
Bond's manipulative trickery - at least with cards - is echoed in The Warlock Effect
A rattling good yarn with humour, action, and the chance to learn a few magicians' secrets.
A delightful historical espionage thriller, packed with arcane secrets of stage magicians and illusionists, peopled with real denizens of the period
I just adored this compulsive, fun, unpredictable and surprisingly tender book
Prepare to ooh and aah as you are terrified, entertained and bamboozled by this mind-bending, compulsive novel from the co-creators of Ghost Stories.