Fantastic America: The magic Unleashed is a sprawling story of changes. The book examines a version of the modern world we all know in real life. Now is a good time to refresh everyone’s memory of the cast of characters in the book. I’ve written about some of these characters before. I hope you enjoy them all, maybe enough to go back and read previous entries about characters you find interesting.
First and foremost, Ashley Monahan is the main character and protagonist of the novel. She begins as a local TV reporter in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an overnight celebrity who reports exhaustively on paranormal, miraculous, and magical events throughout the book.
Assistant Special Agent Daniel Forrester starts as the supervisor for a watch team at the situation room in President Grander’s White House. He is the antagonist to Ashley throughout the book. His reactions shape much of the narrative she reports on the evening news.
Jerry Farmer is a convicted murderer, who has recently escaped from the Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Jerry is the irredeemable villain of Fantastic America. He serves as an example of Daniel’s greatest fear come to life.
The first secondary character on this list is Herbert Allan. At first glance, no more than a retired history professor, Herb appears to be no more than a victim Ashley interviews. He suffered a fresh trauma before Ashley arrives, but helps her push back against the dangers facing their world.
Agent Sylvia Morris is Daniel’s assistant, and right hand support operative. She organizes the support staff and operations center for Daniel’s response to the events of the story. Without her, Daniel could not send out field teams to fight the monsters unleashed by the return of magic.
Bingo the wraith is an inhuman creature of darkness and corruption who ‘befriends’ Jerry at the hospital. He is unprepared for Jerry’s surprising grasp of magic. Bingo has motives Jerry doesn’t understand, but gives the wraith no alternatives. Bingo will do or say anything to escape jerry and survive to return to his mysterious ‘Mistress’.