STARRED Book Review: Cicero James, Miracle Worker

Reviewed by Timothy Thomas

Unique magic, deep worldbuilding, and an amusing first person narrator—Cicero James, Miracle Worker is the complete package.

This urban fantasy, set in a version of San Francisco, is more than just a magical savior story. It’s refreshingly original and loads of fun, and it builds off of a simple, important premise: what you believe matters. 

Our beliefs affect the world in ways that the Blissful are unaware of. But the Miracle Workers (usually just called Workers) know how it happens. See, all Workers are a tad bit unhinged, and their madness lets them “see cracks in reality and play with them,” changing reality itself by forcing their beliefs onto the world. 

In Cicero’s case…well, he chooses not to talk about what trauma brought him into the world of Working, but now he specializes in fixing cracks in reality where Terrors, Wrathfuls, and the Envious have broken through into the world from the Space Between Spaces, usually generated by the intense beliefs and fears of the Blissful. 

He is killed responding to an urgent assignment concerning a Terror manifestation, but he wakes up in the morgue just before his autopsy. Noticing his death wound is fully healed, questions and terror fill his mind: self-resurrection is illegal, and the consequences of it are extremely severe. 

Though he’s certain he did nothing to bring himself back from the dead, that doesn’t stop him from being hunted and investigated by John McMillin, a guild-sanctioned enforcer, and the terrifying Mallory Shrike, an alleged Workers of America (WA) consultant. 

Turning to his old mentor, Marlowe Frost, for answers, Cicero finds himself unwittingly embroiled in an ages-old drama with him at the center of it all. Will Marlowe be able to provide the answers he seeks, or will Shrike’s hunt conclude their search before the truth can fully be revealed?

This is already a captivating story worth paying attention to, but it’s made all the more compelling by its narrator. Cicero’s first person retelling of the events is brutally honest, in large part because it’s intended to bring awareness to the coming conflict that he considers himself on the right side of. His personality is what really steals the show, as his blunt, sarcastic wit makes for an entertaining recollection that makes buoyant a narrative that could just as easily sink in its heavy subject matter and high stakes. 

Also praiseworthy is the story’s particular brand of what may be generally considered magic. Hal Emerson has crafted a fully fleshed-out system that is, as best as this reviewer can tell, altogether its own. Adopting an explain-as-I-go approach, Cicero’s explanations of how things Work (pun intended) are integrated into the story as needed. This approach is successful because, though some things mentioned earlier in the story aren’t fully explained until much later, they don’t detract from the reader’s ability to understand what’s happening. When all is said and done, the system makes sense even if it does take some getting used to. 

Cicero James, Miracle Worker is an utter delight. With so much potential and so many possible paths for the series to take, I eagerly await returning to this version of San Francisco to continue the fascinating story of Cicero James.

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