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Thomas M Disch is a very eclectic writer- He has published non-fiction, poetry, essays, criticisms, lots of fiction & science fiction, and apparently even some computer games.
Anyway, This book is subtitled " A Study in Witchcraft ", although it is not really- It is just a story about a woman who calls herself a witch. There is some pseudo-witchcraft in it, some Native-American Shamanism etc. but it is really hard to classify this book. It isn't fantasy, it isn't horror, it isn't mystery, it isn't action / adventure. It is definitely fiction, and is definitely NOT a how-to metaphysical book.
I guess it is just a moderately entertaining story with elements of many genre.
As the story opens, Diana Turney is a substitute teacher (thereby the title " The Sub " ). For the first several pages, it looks like she is going to be the hero of the story, and that most everyone else are going to be either the " bad guys " or just bystanders, but by the end of the book, there is almost a total role reversal.
Just about the time that Diana gets laid-off of her sub-teaching job, her sister Janet is going to jail for shooting her husband Carl in the arm when she catches him in a motel room with someone. So, Diana moves in to take care of her niece Kelly (Carl and Janet's young daughter).
Things are fairly normal for a while, until Diana accidentally turns Tommy W., {one of Carl's Co-Workers (they are Prison Guards)} into an animal - Literally- She makes him turn into a stag (deer).
Diana decides she enjoys this, and starts turning several people in to assorted animals.
This story is both simple and complex at the same time, and a complete review would probably be more complex than the actual story, so I won't even try to tell you more .
It was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, but not a really compelling tale. It won't make you stay up all night, or neglect your chores (unless of course you want to neglect your chores). It might make a fairly good " Made For Cable " TV movie, but I can't imagine it being made for the big screen.
