Evocation (The Summoner's Circle), by S.T. Gibson
5 Jun 2024The Book
Synopsis:
The Devil knows your name, David Aristarkhov.As a teen, David Aristarkhov was a psychic prodigy, operating under the shadow of his oppressive occultist father. Now, years after his father’s death and rapidly approaching his thirtieth birthday, he is content with the high-powered life he’s curated as a Boston attorney, moonlighting as a powerful medium for his secret society.But with power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David’s days are numbered, and death looms at his door.Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he’s ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret Society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other’s care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good…
My Review
Evocation is the first book in the romantasy series The Summoner's Circle, a proposal full of passion and mysticism with a character driven story, written by S.T. Gibson and published by Angry Robot Books. A story that puts the focus on David, Rhys, and Moira, and the relationships that evolve between them, while fighting with the demonic curse that afflicts David as a result of his family's deal with the devil.
We can't talk about Evocation without putting the focus on the characters and, most importantly, how they make us feel. David has been a bittersweet sensation for me. On one hand, he's a total jerk at the start, and it's difficult to empathize with him; but the more I read and he opens himself to Moira and Rhys, shows his vulnerabilities, the more I enjoyed how Gibson wrote him. David is a broken person, whose abusive familiar relationship drove him towards that loneliness and (this is a guess) depression, which only deeps himself into the self-destructive behaviours; touching the bottom moves him to ask for help, and opening himself to Moira and Rhys are the key pieces that can save him.
In comparison, Rhys is the opposite of David, a hard-worker that compensates his lack of natural affinity to the mystical things with study and effort; he totally reveres his wife, but a part of him will always belong to David.
And our third character, and for me, the real kick-ass of the series is Moira; she's brave and strong, empowered. Moira is an intense person, but in the good sense; without her, Evocation wouldn't be the same.
The polycle that appears between our three characters was, for me, a really enjoyable part of the story; while between each member the intensity is different, they complement themselves in incredible ways. Moira is the catalyst that allows this to happen, that spoils both of the male characters to show their best version; without her, the things wouldn't smooth between David and Rhys. It's not a spicy book, but the intimate moments between our characters are deep touching.
The setting is charming; I loved the gothic and mystical atmosphere that is part of the Boston described by Gibson. It is clear the passion of the author for the occult, and that gets captured in her words, creating an alive world with many forces and ways to interact with them.
Evocation is a great way to initiate the Summoner's Circle series; it's an intense character-driven story whose atmosphere will fascinate you. Despite my initial problems with David, Gibson managed to eventually get him an arc that made me love the book; and now I can only way for the next entry in this series.
