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| The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump |
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| Author(s) |
Harry Turtledove |
| Cover artist |
Stephen Hickman |
| Language |
English |
| Genre(s) |
Fantasy |
| Publisher |
Baen |
| Publication date |
1993 |
| ISBN |
0-671-72196-8 |
The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump (Baen, 1993) is a novel by Harry Turtledove. While having some aspects of an alternate history, it is mainly a work of fantasy depicting a world where magic works and is used instead of modern technology, and in which the various deities of present and past religions are unquestionably real (as are numerous kinds of lesser magical creaturs).
Having this as a proven fact does not make everybody religious. Some people worship a particular deity and others worship none of them. The general attitude toward gods is pragmatic, as they are a concrete and real part of the environment, whether or not anyone worships them. Each region has its own deities, and urban planning which does not take local deities into consideration could lead to disaster, just like planning which ignores other major ecological factors. (This is exactly what very nearly happens at the book's climax.)
Unlike the majority of fictional worlds where magic works, which tend to be set in Archaic or Medieval societies, "Toxic Spell Dump" is set in a recognizable present-day United States (specifically, in a very recognizable analogue of Los Angeles), with many present-day technologies and institutions having a magical equivalent (for example, the analogue of the CIA is staffed by actual, literal spooks, and computers use a multitude of imps instead of microchips).
The Toxic Spell Dump of the title, which plays a key role in the plot, refers to magic spells having toxic side-effects, like industrial processes in our world, and needing to have a special dump where these effects would not harm the environment.
The book also employs many of the conventions of the hard-boiled detective novel, transposed to this setting. The protagonist, EPA (Environmental Perfection Agency) agent David Fisher, starts on what seems a simple case but which soon becomes complicated and highly dangerous. Following clues to the toxic spell dump of the title, he discovers that the city is threatened by the imminent resurgence of a malevolent Mesoamerican god. The situation is saved due to the surprise appearance of the Lithuanian god Perkūnas - whose worship still flourishes in this 20th century - who heeds the prayer of a Lithuanian American devotee and lends his assistance to defeat the bloodthirsty local god.
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