Book Review | The Occultists by Polly Schattel

Max Grahame lives a miserable life with a sick mother and a domineering stepfather. To escape, he gets a job as an errand boy at the post office. He discovers that the Postmaster and his wife are part of an occult group where magic and spiritualism are real. But being an occultist means opening the door to dangerous threats. Soon, he is running for his life – to places where even magic cannot help him.

He opened it randomly to find a diagram of the human eye, with hand-drawn charts and knotty glyphs he couldn’t identify. The language was something different, not Latin, with curvy, spindly, crookbacked characters he’d never seen before.

The Occultists is an immersive book that was a pleasure to read! The story of a teenage boy discovering the secret world of spiritualists transported me into Edwardian America, introduced me to a fascinating cast of characters, and moved me in ways I didn’t expect.

This is a character-driven story about the teenage protagonist, Max.  He comes from troubled family life and finds an escape provided by a trusted adult. He makes new friends and learns new skills. We are learning new information at the same time as he does. His physical journey from home to the outside world is fraught with emotional weight and a spiritual shadow where everything he knows is constantly changing. I was surprised at how the characters he meets would come and go in unexpected ways, but it added to his loneliness that sets him apart. He has to face terrifying monsters, heartbreaking losses and find the strength inside him to survive.

Even though Max is a teenager, the book deals with heavy subject matter that is more suitable for mature readers. Tackling themes like abuse, racism, oppression, and poverty, the book isn’t afraid to dig into the darkness. And there are some scary scenes! The horrific imageries are brilliantly illustrated and there’s a shocking death scene that is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. There’s also the looming danger of Max’s fellow humans, some of whom would do anything to get what they want. Sometimes there’s nothing scarier than people with power and privilege.

I thought the writing in this book is beautiful. The amount of detail is impressive where every fact is naturally presented throughout the story. The places and people are vividly described and feel atmospheric. However, I did find the pacing slows in the middle. Some of the plot turns are abrupt and there’s a couple of threads left hanging. I’m not sure if there’ll be a sequel because the timeline has changed. But if there is, count me in!

The Occultists is a remarkable historical fiction horror with amazing world-building. If you love magic, you will love this book!

CW: child abuse, racial profiling, physical violence, animal deaths

Thank you to the author for a digital copy for review purposes.

About the author: Polly Schattel

Photo by Natalia Y