The railroad wants to use the family division to force a sale of the mine. Hiram is dispatched to a Utah mining town where the inhabitants are on the verge of starvation because the owners are divided on where the mine should be operated. Since this is Mormon mythos, there is also a 'seer stone' that puts the user into contact with angels or demons after one places it in a hat. Hiram has rocks that stop poisoning and also tell him whether someone is lying to him. Mormon hedge magic involves cantrips, lamens, symbols, and rocks. Hiram learned his cunning from his grandmother. The 'cunning man' of the story is Hiram Woolley, a Mormon beet farmer who helps out his neighbors during the Great Depression. Outside of Orson Scott Card, I don't think I know of another book that mines Mormon culture for its story resources, but this book shows that there is an exotic and deep source of material there. In this time when diversity is used to justify giving awards to mediocre books, this book really shows diversity. However, where Wellman's hero roamed around the Appalachians with a silver stringed guitar, the hero of the Cunning Man is a Mormon beet farmer. Like the Wellman, this story involves a staunch, sober and decent man who knows the magical lore of the backcountry. I picked this up thinking it might be along the lines Manley Wade Wellman's 'Silver John' series, which I think was initially set during the same post-World War I time frame. Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote.

The Cunning Man by D.J. Butler