The City of Lost Fortunes

By Bryan Camp

A captivating contemporary fantasy set in New Orleans following Jude - a man with a talent. Jude can locate anything that has been lost. But after Katrina hits, his talent becomes a curse and he finds himself at the edge of madness...
Post–Katrina New Orleans is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction. Street magician Jude Dubuisson is likewise burdened by his past and by the storm, because he has a secret: the magical ability to find lost things, a gift passed down to him by the father he has never known.
Jude has been lying low since the storm, which caused so many things to be lost that it played havoc with his magic. But his retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god of New Orleans is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave. A world full of magic, monsters, and miracles. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent has always been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Titan Books
• Release date: Apr 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781785656583

Bryan Camp

BRYAN CAMP is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop and the University of New Orleans’s MFA program. He started his first novel, The City of Lost Fortunes, in the back seat of his parents’ car as they evacuated the Crescent City during Hurricane Katrina.

Reviews for The City of Lost Fortunes

[markon_305303 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although I guessed (hoped?) early on what the overall arc of the story was, getting there was a pleasure. This one was told from a single point of view. Set in New Orleans, City of lost fortunes is the story of Jude, who has a knack for finding things that has gotten overwhelming post-Katrina. When the fortune god of the city calls in a favor, Jude finds himself involved in a poker game with several deities and high stakes.I like the use of Tarot cards and a card game to structure the story. No one got off with no consequences for their actions. This world felt real, and dealt with change and how once one thing changes, other things connected to it have to change to accommodate.

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you're writing a novel about occult doings in New Orleans you've set yourself a high bar to clear as there are so many cliches to navigate, so the immediate question is whether the author manages to clear it. On the whole, I'd have to say that answer is mostly yes. That said I'm not sure that the struggle of Jude Dubuisson to essentially regain his spirit, and possibly save the spirit of New Orleans, is always convincing, often being more of a slacker's than a hero's journey. The cynic might argue that Dubuisson is the recipient of too much unearned grace. Still, I like the characters, Camp has a good sense of scene and place, and I personally do like the semi-poetic prologues to each chapter which some folks seem to find pedantic. I will give the next book in this setting a try.

[milliehennessy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another book I loved. It's about magic and gods and murder in post-Katrina New Orleans. I knew next to nothing when going into this book and I think that's a good policy. There's a lot to discover about the world and the characters - it's very rich. It's a long book and it was a slow read for me, but not in a bad way. I was very immersed and I both liked and wanted to slap the MC, Jude. He's definitely an underdog type. If you're looking for some...contemporary urban fantasy, I think you should check this out.Also someone was described as looking like a "prolapsed asshole" and I could not have been happier.Here are a few good quotes:"Power always had a cost, and the fine print never included a generous return policy.""There is magic in all things, in songs and in fire, in the night sky and in the storm on the horizon, in voices raised high and secrets hidden deep, in stories and in change and in hope. There is magic in beginnings, this is true, but there is also magic - such great and beautiful and powerful magic - in refusing to let something end."

[thegenreminx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am a fan of books steeped in magical realism and The City of Lost Fortunes was a delight to my imagination. Magic was a living, breathing thing in this New Orleans and through the alluring descriptions of the people, food, music, and history, the city took on an identity all its own. Also, just like the city, this story includes a multitude of religions and nationalities woven throughout and enveloped in the characters essence. Each character is unique and the role they play is truly a mystery that unfolds and the story goes on, it was fabulous.Jude Dubuisson is a street musician and his life, his sense of self, is clearly divided between pre and post hurricane Katrina. The Jude he was before hurricane Katrina was carefree and cocky but after the destruction of hurricane Katrina, which ripped apart the city, so too was his magic torn. What used to be something he could control was now out of control and he had become a hermit of sorts, seeking only his own company while shutting out those around him. His magic was wild and his ability to find lost things was amplified, anything or anyone he touched had a story to tell and he had little control over the inflow of information.If it were not for the favor that Jude owed the city’s Fortune God, he would never had found himself seated at a high stakes card game with the trickster gods playing for a chance to become the Luck of New Orleans. Jude should never have been at that table and it was a mystery as to why he was even asked to come. Whether or not he should have been there, it was his hand that left everything to chance and possibly was even tied to the murder of the Fortune God. Jude has to discover the true stakes of the game that he had become embroiled in and in order to do that he needs to figure out who was truly responsible for the Fortune God’s murder.The City of Lost Fortunes is magical realism at its finest and the setting is the perfect backdrop to create an environment where you can almost believe that this collision between the mystical and temporal could really be occurring. The story starts off slow and the pace is never fast but it is engaging and not a book that you would want to put down once you start reading it. The plot is well crafted and takes you on a delightful chase throughout the city where you encounter many original supernatural characters who may or may not have taken part in the demise of the Fortune God. It is an amazing whodunit of the fantasy variety and it is a story that I would highly recommend to readers looking for a fresh take on the urban fantasy genre.This review is based on a complimentary book I received from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.

[krau0098 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I got this book through the Amazon Vine program to review. This was an interesting read. It started out pretty slow for me. The writing style really wasn't my thing; lots of run on sentences and ambiguous starts to chapters. However, as I continued to read I found the whole idea of Gods of different religions (different Tricksters) coming together interesting. I also enjoyed how the poker game and tarot cards played into the whole story. The style of the story reminds a bit of Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. It’s got that same kind of gritty, dark feel to it and the main hero is more of an anti-hero. However, this book is not nearly as gritty, edgy, and dark as the Sandman Slim series and I didn’t like it nearly as much.Overall this was an okay read. It was a clever story, but as I said, the writing style was hard to read and I struggled with it some. I don't plan on continuing with the series.

[bethyacoub · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've been bewitched, ensnared, ensorcelled!!This (audio)book was an awesome, oft times (oddly enough) enjoyably confusing, wild ride. With a delicious blend of (New Orleans) Culture and Magic and a few cameos from various Mythologies and Folklores, this book was a mixed and mottled amalgamation of all things Divine and Preternatural (with a smattering of questionable paternity) and a large dose of good old fashioned Fate (and who's in control of that?). Sound confusing? It was... just a bit BUT hang in there because it is sooooo worth the price of admission. This book was brimming with atmosphere and grit and Possibility and Chance. In part, this Urban Fantasy was a magical/mystical/crazy pants/ culturally edifying Whodunit. It was also a patchwork introduction to Vodoo and Christianity, and many other varying religious beliefs. It's also a coming of age story and a tale of Destiny and more importantly, who has their hands on the reigns in that matter... and and and... It was many many things but what it most certainly was not was boring. Every word was sheer poetry... not literal poetry but poignant nonetheless. It was not too verbose... except for Morning's dialogue but he's him so it's allowed. I was helpless, helplessly (lovingly) chained to this tale. A tale that, at its bare minimum, is a story about a boy (??) Demigod (??) Son of (??)... oh well, we'll have to move on from there because we don't know for certain those answers until WAAAAAY later in the story if at all. Well this... let's just call him (her?) Jude, this Jude resides in beautiful New Orleans after Katrina. Jude has some magical tricks and is called to a card game with some pretty interesting players. Jude is forced to play. What happens next is that the Luck God of New Orleans is killed, Jude has no recollection of what happened after he sat down and began to play and the suspect list is populated by the very eclectic group of card players in attendance that fateful evening. There is an angel, a vampire, a voodoo god (riding inside of one of his followers), and a Greek/Egyptian god. Jude knows... errr thinks... the murderer wasn't himself but if not he then who (or what) killed the Luck God of New Orleans AND what does this have to do with Jude AND does it help us figure out Jude's parentage AND will it help Jude find his place in the World? As I said, there's more to it than that but that's as succinct of a synopsis I can give without giving away too much. Overall:I'm a bit confused as to why this book isn't rated higher, maybe it's because it was difficult at times to suss out what was 100% going on at all times. I am that reader though that enjoys suspending my beliefs and need for control while being immersed in a read. I'm the one saying "I'll follow wherever this leads me even if I'm all sorts of lost along the way." If you need tight control... need to know things with complete certainty about the goings on in your read at all times? This book might not be for you. Don't get me wrong, you'll probably enjoy the wording and vibe but you'll be lost in the proverbial sauce. I personally was captivated and utterly unable to put this one down. The narrator was Korey Jackson and he brought this beautiful ode... homage... love letter to the devastated yet resilient and healing city of New Orleans vibrantly to Life. I can't wait to dive into and devour (or let myself be devoured by) book #2!I highly reccomend this (audio) book!~ Enjoy