First published 1993
Billy is six years old when Mercury, the trickster god, bestows upon him an extraordinary gift. The child now holds dominion over life and death itself. What begins as a divine present quickly transforms into something far more complex as Billy discovers how to wield his newfound abilities. He turns his supernatural powers on the people closest to him. His childhood friends become subjects for his experiments. His enemies face consequences no ordinary child could deliver. Billy acts on both his generous impulses and his darkest desires. The power corrupts as he grows, blurring the lines between healing and harm. Each choice Billy makes with his gift reveals more about the dangerous territory between good and evil that exists within every human heart.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, fantasy, supernatural, thriller, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, power-corrupts
541 pages · Paperback · Grafton
Content warnings: child-abuse, violence