Dr. Potter's Medicine Show

You know what really sucks about books? They don’t come with the genre equivalent of nutrition labels. It’s the dumbest thing. The back cover and the blurbs and all the advertising pitch this book as a historical dark fantasy, which it is, with murder and occult magic, which it has, to put you in the mood for some arcane sideshow grotesquery, which it does.But the packaging will not tell you that this book comes with a Laurel-and-Hardy pair of bickering rustic clownshoes, or one of those headstrong young women who are always gadding about on the frontier. There will be little mention of the Hangover-esque quartet (including the hapless drunk dentist with missing teeth) and their quest to revenge themselves on a murderer and/or get some pie. You certainly aren’t going to hear anything about the colorfully upgraded rural vocabulary, despite the fact that it would do Deadwood’s Al Swearengen proud, much less the author’s own wonderful use of language. Who’s got time to catalogue all that?Well, I do. So here it is. Dr. Potter’s Medicine Show is 35% carnival horror, 22% redneck picaresque, 15% friendship and loyalty and true human connection spitting in the face of every needless cruelty, 12% opium and grain alcohol (with more than one greasy belching thereof), 8% latent tuberculosis, 5% people being rained on, and 3% Agamemnon Rideout, a corn-fed dull-edged shotgun hero-clod and one hell of a model American.So if that-all sounds like a good time to you, shake it up, hold your nose, and drink it down. There’s no telling what it might do to you, but I guarantee you won’t find bad medicine this good anywhere else.

As a biochemist, I have always been interested in the old patent medicines that were peddled in the late 1800's. Have you ever read those old ads and wondered if people actually believed that these "medicines" would cure their liver spots and solve all of their problems? Did you ever wonder if the creators of those medicines actually believed their own claims, or were they just out to make money? This book is a great story that provides answers some of those questions, with some great twists and alternative theories. Eric Scott Fischl sets a great scene, and I love that a good part of it is set in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Take Geek Love, place it in the historical old west, mix in some dark alchemy, and you transform it into a book that you can't put down.

What a creative and wild sensory ride! One of my favorite things about this book was the tone Fischl sets with the exquisitely described dank, reeking environment that is the perfect backdrop for this page-turner. The characters are well developed, convincing and hideous in their respective levels of psychic pain and depravity. You can smell the the stench on the players, hear the dripping of the trees beyond the shouts of the troupe's miscreants, feel the pathetic desperation and angst. That said, it's not all torture and despair. Our author is careful to include subtle humor, clever turns of phrase and likeable individuals. The book, despite the macabre theme, is colorfully written and well-researched. It is a great read and I cannot wait to see more from this talented writer!DLS

I bought this as a casual read; not expecting it to be so good! I couldn't put it down, and just when I thought I new what would happen next... surprise. Full of both redeemed and no-way-in-hell villains, with some gosh-darn cowpoke heroes to bring light in the darkness. This is a new and very interesting tale of snakes and snake oil. Some really creepy moments, some good chuckles, and some compulsive nail-biting (and I didn't bite my nails before opening this book). But make no mistake, this is a well-written horror story. Fischl should have Hollywood burning up his phone for the rights.

I'm torn in my review of this book. On one hand, it kept my interest, wanting to determine exactly what these so called doctors were up to. I found myself wanting to hear more about the secondary characters and liking the primaries. However, between the inconsistent usage of characters first names at some times , then last names at others, I found myself having to stop to determine who was whom. The timeline went back and forth inconsistently as well which affected the flow of the story. Overall the story was interesting, but the style of writing took away from it in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this one. The characters are well drawn and the writing is well crafted with great dialogue and descriptive language. The book moves along at a fast clip and does a good job of building suspense in a natural way. I also found the historical setting interesting. It’s set in the Pacific Northwest, which is a different part of the country than I’m used to seeing in a “western” and I liked that greatly. I also liked that although there were fantastic elements it did not go overboard with them. Best of all, it was delightfully funny which I wasn’t expecting and really appreciated.My only criticisms involve some plot contrivances and what I felt to be rushed pacing near the halfway point. The point of view shifts suddenly at times in a way that can be disorienting and I also thought the “rules” of the sagwa were a little squishy. But those are really minor gripes. I don’t give many five star ratings, and this book wasn’t perfect, but if I could it’s a solid 4.5.I have never read Mr. Fischl or any books from this publisher but I’m very glad I did if this is a good example of their quality. I’d definitely recommend checking this one out!

I was sucked into this book from chapter one. I almost missed my bus stop I was so engrossed in the first chapter and every chapter after that sucked me in just as much as the first. This book is very well written and although I'm not even finished with the book yet I'm already looking forward to the authors next book. The characters are very well developed and the story flows at a great pace. Well worth the read.

Well that was fun! Don't read it at night if you are easily spooked, there are some pretty eerie bits that might haunt your dreams. Or do! If you like that sort of thing, mwah ha ha ha ha XD.I'm looking forward to the next novel by this Author, The Trials of Solomon Parker sounds great!