Colour me interested…
YES! I’ve been waiting for a Powers shout-out. Powers is the truest heir to PKD. Last Call and Declare are both on my short list of “life-changing novels.” Thanks, Cory!
Sorry, Kimmo, I mean to comment on Cory’s OP, not on your comment. Fine-grained board postings without coffee are not good.
I’d also like to call out a couple of terrific latter-day PKD tribute novels: Jonathan Lethem’s Chronic City and Matt Ruff’s Bad Monkeys.
He’s quite good! I’d recommend starting with his older stuff and working your way towards the newer.
This is shaping up to be an interesting thread for finding new reads. I really enjoyed both Powers’ Declare and Lethem’s Chronic City so will have to check out the others mentioned here!
Cory mentions KW Jeter too - I’ve always found Jeter patchy , but his very early (and highly sick!) Dr. Adder is definitely worth a look for fans of Dickian dystopia and paranoia.
Have to agree (with some sadness) re. Cory’s summation of Dick’s style and talent/churn ratio, always felt he was an awesome idea-generator who didn’t write great books around them.
Oh, man, I’ve been a fan of Powers from decades (I was initially outraged at how the Pirates of the Caribbean movie ripped him off, until I saw that they had purchased rights from him).
That said, I’m really excited about this new book. “Declare” is one of the best novels I’ve ever read, period (and I read it during a time that I was reading a lot of Le Carre, so it was perfect).
I can’t even say “The Drawing of the Dark” without chuckling, so many years later. Neal Stephenson recaptured some of that style of humor for me in his Baroque Cycle but Tim Powers is the master.
But does William Ashbless show up in this one?
As much as I’ve loved Powers’ previous work, I thought Medusa’s Web was a bit weak. Not on par with his other fabulous books
I love Tim Powers. Great imagination, wonderful use of logic, and the guy can really write. Plus, from everything I’ve heard, he’s a total nice guy. More people need to know about Powers, who is not only a writer’s writer, but a fan’s writer, as well.
I’ve never heard anyone say a bad thing about Powers personally. His reputation is as just about the nicest author you’d ever meet.
Declare is, thus far, his best and the best fantasy of this genre I’ve read. Can’t wait to open this one.
Powers uses characters who are wonderfully damaged, there’s hardly a sane one with all his or her appendages or protuberances intact - he’s a joy to read, even when at his most self-harming. Dinner at Deviant’s Palace and The Drawing of the Dark remain favourite novels after all the years and despite his recent (scary thought coming) forays into what might actually be literature…
LA Cigar - too tragical.
Bugged dick.
There.
21st century.
Thanks to your opinions, I ordered a couple from Abebooks. If I don’t like them I’ll be coming through the Gate to get you.
That does a disservice to Tim Powers as a author. PKD had many fine points but being readable wasn’t really one of em. Powers is by far the better author overall.
Anyway, Medusa’s Web is a real fine novel!
A TV show of The Stress Of Her Regard and his other Byron + vampire novels would be soooo good. And I absolutely hate vampire tv shows. But I’d watch that one.
