Dr. Potter's Medicine Show

Dr. Potter’s Medicine Show is structured in 3 parts, so I’m going to structure my review into 3 parts.Part One: The Medicine ShowThe characterisation of Dr. Potter as a fraudulent doctor was immediately apparent, which was good. However, the reader is not given much time familiarising themselves with Dr. Potter before lots of other characters are swiftly introduced. I felt that more characters were added to the beginning of the story than was necessary. Subsequently, it was difficult to remember each character’s individual personality and role within the group. This worked to the book’s detriment as it meant Dr. Potter didn’t wholly stand out as the main character. The story developed fairly slowly; some parts of the narrative made complete sense but other parts I found somewhat confusing to understand.Part Two: The Great WorkBy the second part of the novel, the story was more coherent and I could clearly distinguish between characters and follow different narrative strands. I liked the overarching themes of body-snatching / body invasion, alchemy and medicine in the book, and I think the book’s genre is an interesting combination of horror, science fiction and historical fantasy. I also enjoyed reading about the secrets of different characters’ backgrounds, which were revealed through flashbacks. However, I still think there may be too many characters involved in the overall story.Part Three: The StoneI liked the final third of the book the most, even though there is a small printing error, as it is labelled Part 2 instead of Part 3. There was much more action, gore, character interaction, and exciting supernatural moments. The story seemed to make much more sense, and the writing was easier to follow too. The antagonist is desperately searching for a stone that seemingly grants immortality (is it an irony there is a stone which provides immortality and one of the characters is also called Potter?), experimenting on unwilling victims until he has the right scientific formula, and he must be stopped at all costs. Because of these scenes, it was apparent Fischl has done some detailed research into alchemy, medicine and how scientific experiments were conducted in 19th century America, which I found interesting.Whilst I did enjoy reading this book, for me, it took a while for the story to get going. As a side note however, I really like the cover design.

A story of alchemy in the late 19th century set in a travelling freak show.The main characters were all very morally ambiguous, and most of them were not very likeable. Dr Potter is the main narrator and he is an alcoholic that has done, and is still doing, some very bad things.Lyman is the man who is really running the travelling show and he is a nasty piece of work. Reading about him and the way he controls people makes my skin crawl - he's a villain but written in a way that is realistic enough to be very, very scary.The two brothers, Ag and Sol, were brilliant though. They argued and drank their way through the book, stumbling from one crisis to the next with no real idea what they were trying to do.I also liked Elizabeth, she started out as a forceful, motivated and likeable character and I wish she did more than end up as a standard damsel in distress type.Overall I enjoyed reading this. It's well written and the characters are all well rounded and you know they've lived full lives before we met them. There's a very oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere which builds tension to a satisfying finale. I would read more by this author.I received a free copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.

At first glance, the plot of this novel appears to be relatively straight-forward. Alexander Potter is a charlatan, little more than a con man. He travels from town to town with his medicine show, separating the locals from their hard-earned cash. The Sagwa tonic he is peddling is nothing but a sham, it has no medicinal properties at all. Of course, looks can be deceptive, there is far more to the story than that. It turns out that one form of the tonic is utterly fake, but there is another variant that has the potential to be something miraculous.Dr Potter is a fascinating fellow. It’s quickly established that he has been ground down by his time in the world. A series of ill-advised decisions has left him in a situation he can’t get out of. Forced to travel the back roads of America, he must sell the Chock-a-saw Sagwa Tonic because he has no other option. In his mournful state, he reflects on the man he once was. In his younger days he was brilliant but brash, the fastest surgeon with the skills to match. Potter is burnt out by the horrors he witnessed during the Civil War. There is only so much blood and guts one man can stand, so he lost himself in the bottom of a bottle. At his lowest ebb he was given a choice – be in thrall to someone else or die. In his weakened state, he chose the former. A choice he comes to truly regret with each passing decade.For every hero, no matter how flawed, there must be a villain. Dr Potter may be the public face of the enterprise, but there is another who is pulling all the strings. Potter’s nemesis is Lyman Rhoades, a corpulent beast who runs the medicine show from behind the scenes. I don’t think I can adequately express how unpleasant he is. Rhoades truly is a vile piece of work. I’m always impressed when an author manages to pull this off, to make me genuinely loathe a character. Rhoades is evil, but don’t confuse that with being two dimensional. There are reasons why he is the way he is. I almost felt empathy for him when his backstory is revealed… almost.The other members of the travelling show are an eclectic bunch. The chanteuse is in an abusive relationship, the fortune teller is a drug addict and the strongman is in just as much trouble as Dr Potter. There are even a group of ill-treated oddities who are forced to live in cages and take part in a sinister scheme. Now you might be thinking this all sounds horribly downbeat, and to an extent it is. There is certainly an underlying melancholy to this novel that I don’t think I was expecting. The thing is though, I rather like it. Why? Well, it gives the narrative some nice additional depth. It also allows Potter and his friends the chance to seek something akin to redemption. The characters are well observed, you get the sense that they are all broken in one way or another. Potter most of all, he is almost crippled by his regrets. The doctor has done horrible things because he believes he lacks the inner strength to do what is right. Can he finally make amends before it is all too late?Eric Scott Fischl also does a wonderful job of capturing the intimate details of the lives his characters lead. As part of the run-down medicine show, they travel dusty trails in carts and caravans that have seen better days. You get a real sense of mind numbing repetition. They are all trapped in their own prescribed roles, ground down by the drugery. It’s like everyone is existing in their personal form of Purgatory. Each of them has a secret they are trying hide, or something they are trying to run away from.If you’re looking for subtle but engrossing fantasy with a deliciously dark heart, then look no further, the doctor will see you now.