Tarot in Fiction

WyrdRaven

Tarot makes a great appearance in Rosemary Edghill's Speak Daggers to Her (a Bast mystery). And as far as TV goes, there's a terrific episode of King of the Hill that deals with Bobby's discovery of tarot (definite in-group humor!).
 

minrice

There's an older romance/bodice ripper titled "The King of Cups" that has tarot and the Borgia family in it. I wish I could remember who the author was, it was probably published in the early 90s or so. It was a fun read!

I'm currently enjoying the DC comics Madame Xanadu series, the tarot reading, fortune telling superhero!
 

Debra

Piers Anthony has an old 3-part science fiction series revolving around tarot archetypes. It is set on the planet Tarot. I bought all three for six dollars and read them all as a form of self-punishment. They are so bad that I *threw them away* rather than donate. Yes, that bad.

On the other hand, "Last Call" by Tim Powers is brilliant.
 

WalesWoman

Oh how serendipitous! I was about to do a search or ask if any member/writers had ebooks or kindle books on Amazon. Today I was browsing free kindle books and found a novel, "Destined, a novel of the Tarot" by Gail Cleare... each chapter is one of the Majors and the character in each chapter embodies the essence of the card.

I am not going to do a critique of the book, it is entertaining and going to be a quick read I think. It's not bad, not great, but can't complain for the price.

2/26/12 Edited to add: I finished it this morning. This book, as I said, isn't bad at all. It's sort of lite tarot, lite new age philosophy and slightly like a lite Harlequin romance novel. Good food for thought, not too preachy and a nice little story, but 'lite'. In the back she has a bibliography and Aeclectic Tarot Forum is one of them... so it's time for true confessions. Which member here is it?
 

gregory

There is the Castle of Crossed Destinies by Calvino.

I say "there is". I wouldn't recommend it - but it is there...
 

Lillie

The Sign of the Fool is an old, but curious book, about a biker who becomes a hippie in 60s America.

It has a small mention of tarot, and the appearance of the fool card (if I remember right) is one of the things that symbolises the change in him.

John S Simon. I'd never have remembered that. I looked it up. It's years since I read it.
 

frac_ture

There is the Castle of Crossed Destinies by Calvino.

I say "there is". I wouldn't recommend it - but it is there...

I might need to track down this book, despite some less than glowing reviews on these here boards: I read one of Calvino's other novels, and I thought it was an amazing book. Obviously hitting a home run once doesn't guarantee the same result for every at bat, but I can hope, right...?

(And I have no idea why a sports metaphor insisted on inserting itself there...)
 

gregory

I read a really good one by Calvino too (Complete Cosmicomics).

This one was not it. :(

No really - it wasn't. I TOTALLY wanted to like it. I EXPECTED to like it.

Even debra didn't like it, as I recall - and she is a Proper Academic !
 

frac_ture

I read a really good one by Calvino too (Complete Cosmicomics).

This one was not it. :(

No really - it wasn't. I TOTALLY wanted to like it. I EXPECTED to like it.

Even debra didn't like it, as I recall - and she is a Proper Academic !

Hmm, don't know Complete Cosmicomics, but I'll do some internet research on it.

The one I read -- that was phenomenal, I thought -- was called If On A Winter's Night A Traveler... Very metatextual (before that became a totally common concept), and extremely well-written, while being about the pursuits of reading and writing. Just a great book.

Then again, someone loaned me another one called Invisible Cities, and it's been sitting untouched on my coffee table for months now...

I'll consider myself warned on the Tarot one, though, and if I try it and don't like it, will accept full blame for my own plight!
 

PathWalker

The Tarot Murders - Mignon Warner

(also authored 'A Medium for Murder, but I haven't read that one)

The Five of Cups - Wendy Mewes

(Also author of 'Moon Garden', but I don't recall tarot specifically being in that one)