This isn't Maugham at his best, but it's not intended to be. Rather, this is a real page-turning thriller that Maugham more or less dashed off for the fun of it. But whatever Maugham wrote, including pot-boilers like this one, was written extremely well. The Black Magic theme in the hands of a lesser writer -- e.g., Dennis Wheatley -- is usually hopelessly lurid and over the top (albeit entertaining). But this is not the case with Maugham's "The Magician," which is that true rarity -- a sophisticated thriller.