Why read Old Nathan?

Book cover of Old Nathan

Book description

FIFTH YEARS AFTER
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,
MAGIC IS LOOSE IN THE BACKWOODS

The forces of evil are poised to prey on the folk of the hamlets and hollows: witches, demons, and red-handed men—but first they'll have to overcome Old Nathan the Wizard.

He doesn't claim much for his magical powers,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Old Nathan as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

D.J. Butler

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Drake’s old Nathan is explicitly identified as a “cunning man” throughout these tales. Inspired by Wellman’s Silver John, Old Nathan is a predecessor, an Appalachian wizard in the late 1700s and early 1800s, using real-world folk magic to ward off curses, heal wounds, and otherwise battle evil. Like Silver John and Hiram Woolley, Old Nathan is a war veteran—a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Nathan’s war wounds left him crippled and pulled aside from ordinary life, turning him into the course of becoming a magician.

From D.J.'s list on The best fantasy novels full of real-world magic.