Review: The Phantom Circuit by Austin Farmer

A reflective and frightening piece of dark fiction, The Phantom Circuit by Austin Farmer is a contemporary thriller carefully laced with classic horror themes.

Erica Westfield is dealing with the sudden loss of her international superstar sister, but a horrific slice of their past is also haunting this new grief, bringing up sinister memories of Bloody Mary, and a curse Erica thought she’d long ago left in the rear view. That twisted piece of personal history is breaking through the bounds of death, lurking on the other side of mirrors and computer screens, waiting to hack into her already troubled life.

Finding an unlikely ally in the universe of the dead, Erica must also work to save another doomed young woman, Macy, from an eternity of torture. Erica must also find the part of herself that she once lost, all those years ago, when she first saw through the other side of the mirror, only to watch her life flash before her eyes.

Sifting through a shattered past of experience and recollections, Erica embarks on an existential quest of healing by revisiting past traumas, examining decisions and morality from new angles, and ultimately protecting the memories and spirit of a beloved sister before Bloody Mary consumes them forever.

Putting a modern twist on a timeless urban legend, Farmer’s prose is relatable for a wide swath of readers, both young and old, given our collective fears about the digital realm that has seemingly overtaken our lives. The symbolism that guides the plot is also universally relatable and relevant – time, death, identity, peace, dreams, stories, and memory. A heartrending tale that begins with the mirror in a long-forgotten locket soon echoes the gadgets of Silicon Valley, blending faith and abstract belief with real-world tech and hyper-modern philosophy.

From a narrative perspective, there are some holes and conveniently cut corners, but the plot moves along quickly, and readers will accept that a complete suspension of disbelief is required. There is a great deal of telling, rather than showing, however, particularly when it comes to moments in the past, justifications for plot developments, and the emotional toll of the events in the book. Erica essentially goes through hell and back, but her personality and presence on the page rarely shifts; readers are told how she is feeling, and why, but aren’t properly immersed in her narrative arc, as there isn’t a sense of feeling her emotions along with her.

Similarly, a reliance on self-referential questions and a narrative voice that seems nearly omniscient weakens the suspense and mystery the author is trying to evoke. Farmer addresses big questions about mortality, morality, and our knowledge about life and death, but the tone and tension within the writing doesn’t necessarily reflect this thematic weight.

That said, the story is a wholly original mixture of paranormal, character-driven drama, and tech-driven anxieties. The structure of the novel pulls readers in well, like the twisted literary lovechild of A Christmas Carol and Memento, touching on deeply human fears both past and present, making it hard to put this eerily addictive thriller down.