The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump is a fantasy novel by American writer Harry Turtledove,^[1] published by Baen Books in 1993.

Premise and setting

While having some aspects of an alternate history, it is mainly a work of science fantasy depicting a world where spells, pragmatically used by some to achieve the same results as the use of technology, call upon a spectrum of major to minor deities of the present to the past that are functioning when called upon or omni-present and restricted to local use or having a greater area of influence. Spells are not toxin-free and can have an ill effect on the environment when the appropriate deities and if certain practices are not considered, disaster can follow.

The book 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 title refers to magic spells that can have toxic side-effects, much the same as industrial practices in our world; therefore, there is the need for a place where those toxins can be dumped to avoid damaging 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, is assigned a case that would appear to need little attention and a simple solution soon becomes complicated and dangerous.

See also

• Magic, Inc. - a similar fantasy world by Robert Heinlein
• Operation Chaos/Operation Luna - a similar fantasy world by Poul Anderson

References

External links

• The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Review by Doug Linger Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
• Review on the Baen Books website Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Review by Jeph Gord
• Online sample

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