Declare

Rating:
Summary: Declare covers multiple genres
Review: Tim Powers has earned his well-deserved reputation in science fiction. He is well respected in the field (by other authors) and, in my experience, deserves to be more widely known by the reading public. One of the problems with writing science fiction is that one, ever after, is pigeon-holed and, often, is then beneath the notice of some book reviewers and readers who are unaware of what far-ranging styles are covered under that label.

Hopefully, "Declare" will be Powers "break-out" novel. It is first and foremost a spy novel. Our hero, Andrew Hale, is introduced to us driving back down Mount Ararat in 1948 with blood on his hands, trying to find some surviving soldiers from some unnamed catastrophe that has just occurred on the mountain above. He finds some living but none sane.

The story then jumps to 1963 where Hale is living in London as an academic. He receives a coded phone call that suddenly summons him back into undercover work. While making his appointment with a boss he hasn't seen in over a decade, we are given glimpses of his past. Hale was born under mysterious circumstances. He has never known his father and was always under the protection of a super-secret British intelligence service. He was being groomed for a purpose that he did not know.

In other words, Powers has written a first-rate, John-le-Carre-type spy novel set in the heyday of the Cold War. While not as action-oriented as a James Bond movie, it is every bit as intense and disturbing. (Powers obviously did a great deal of research on this story, but I greatly hope that some of the things he portrays are exaggerated. At one point, to give Hale a credible identity as a defector to the Russians, British operatives [destroy] two innocent men and frame him for the crime).

But in addition to being a spy novel, "Declare" is also a supernatural thriller and arguably a horror novel. In Powers version of history, there are supernatural beings who survived the Noahic Flood and who are being sought for protection. Powers doesn't write graphically, for the most part, but simply his reinterpretation of the planned starvation of the Ukraine by Communist rulers as a form of human sacrifice for a fallen guardian angel that protects the Soviet Union was horrific enough.

Interestingly, this is also Powers most "Christian" novel to date. Other novels have presupposed a Christian story (most notably "The Anubis Gates", but this is the first in which his hero (as well as his heroine) struggle with faith and recommit themselves to the Christian faith of their childhood. Both begin as lapsed Catholics and both in their own way take refuge in God when confronted by the demonic. This is all done in a very believable and natural way without being the slightest bit "preachy."

Since I mentioned a heroine, I should also mention that Powers includes romance. This is quite typical for him, and a reason for his popularity. He knows the clout of the boy-meets-girl storyline and he does it convincingly.

Finally, Powers has written a historical novel. All the major events and especially the movements of the villain, Kim Philby, are actually historical, according to Powers. He wrote this story around several puzzles that still exist in the life of that Communist double-agent.

If you're looking for some escapist and yet engaging reading, "Declare" is a good place to look. --Mark

Rating:
Summary: Best in Years
Review: Declare is Tim Powers' best novel in years. The book is based around the real activities of Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and other notable spies and double agents of the World War II era. Into this already exciting environment, Powers introduces his own secret story. Andrew Hale, the book's main character, is one of Powers' most likable characters ever. Powers creates in Hale a mix of master spy, honorable soldier, lapsed Catholic, and spirited adventurer. The story revolves around the secret agencies within the secret agencies of England, the USSR, and France, with a giant helping of Powers' trademark supernatural secret explanation for real events. The plotting of the book jumps between time periods and reveals its secrets slowly but surely. The fantastic elements of the story are based on traditional Arabian mythology, and stray from Powers recent tactic of making all his characters reborn mythological archetypes. The characters in Declare are human. Their adversaries might not be.

Declare restores my faith in Powers after the failure of his last two novels to live up to their potential. It's a great page-turner with interesting ideas and a fascinating subject matter. Highly recommended, I give it a 9.5/10.

Rating:
Summary: too slow-going
Review: I liked the concepts in this book a lot. The writing is also good. But the progression of the plot was far too gradual, and I gave up relatively early on.

Rating:
Summary: What a compelling novel!
Review: I loved this one, and often had trouble putting it down to go to work, for instance. Yes, it's long, yes, it's complex, but what a magnificent puzzle, and what a fabulous use of real people in a fictional world.

Rating:
Summary: Actually better than Last Call
Review: When a Powers book succeeds, the reader has a sudden feeling of revelation, as in "Oh! THAT explains Las Vegas!!" (for Last Call), or "So THAT'S what those poets were talking about" (The Stress of Her Regard). And even though the reader knows, rationally, that this is fantasy, at a poetic level it clicks. Reading Declare I found myself nodding in agreement, yes, large chunks of Soviet history really make much more sense if you assume that the Soviet Union was being run for the benefit of a really nasty guardian "angel". And Kim Philby is much easier to understand if he was given to the djinn as a baby. Powers has done it again.

The book is more tightly written and disciplined than any of Powers' earlier books, and much easier to follow. It is true that it takes attention to keep up with the frequent jumps in setting, but there are only three main characters, none of them have active multiple personalities, and only a couple of minor characters play active roles after dying, which makes it downright simple compared to Powers' last few books. Powers has also in this book gotten away from his standard hero (with the almost-crippling flaw) and heroine (who the hero is sure is dead); Hale and Elena are believable and unique individuals. And his picture of Kim Philby is memorable. Declare is actually better than Last Call and infinitely better than the other Southern California books, and it makes one ask, what will Powers do next?

Rating:
Summary: Mystical Spies
Review: Tim Powers excels at creating charactors that are slightly bemused by the supernatural situations they find themselves in. Andrew Hale is a good boy who doesn't quite know what's going on until he finds himself deep in the middle of international intrigue. And to make things worse, he's beginning to realize that the forces he is up against are something other than human. He might run except for the quietly intense and passionate Elena - an Audrey Hepburnesque schoolgirl spy. He falls completely and utterly in love at first sight and he is in The Game without a doubt now....

Rating:
Summary: Even better than his others!
Review: Declare sets new standards in modern urban fantasy. Tim Powers has continually redefined the genre with such works as Last Call, but Declare is clearly one of his best. Combining the tricky world of Cold War Europe with the legends of djinni, Powers continues to take a real-world situation and add the layer of the fantastic and the occult to add a sense of wonder and mystery. In Declare, he has successfully combined brilliant storytelling, wonderful characterizations, excellent research, and his own brilliant additions of symbolism and magick. I was spellbound when I read this book. I was literally hooked from the beginning and it pulled me along. And Powers continued to surprise me as I went through the story. His twists are brilliant and enjoyable. It's definitely worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: PLAN TO TAKE A WEEK OFF WORK
Review: I am glad that I read this over my summer vacation; it's a magnificent tapestry of history and fantasy (my favorite blend.) I found the characterization well-done, the settings well-drawn, and the plot fascinating. While I have enjoyed every Tim Powers book I've ever read, this one was far the best!

Rating:
Summary: Espionage with a Powers twist!
Review: Powers says of "Declare," "I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar"; I think he does more scrupulous fact-checking than many historians! I'm boggled at the amount of research that went into such an engrossing novel. Powers makes his usual supernatural twist fit the existing facts in such an ingenious way, it's hard to believe that you're reading a novel instead of a really well-written and fascinating history. This tale of Cold War Espionage, particularly the case of British double agent Kim Philby, has plot twists and suspense galore. Powers leaks out his "explanations" gradually, so you're impelled to keep reading. And the nonchronological structure also reveals information in a teasing fashion, giving you a little more information each time, but still leaving you wanting to know more. As always the interactions between his historical characters and fictional ones is thoroughly plausible, his recreation of faraway places is detailed and descriptive, and the plot itself totally involving. A very cool read.

Rating:
Summary: "Huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men"
Review: Tim Powers does not write ordinary books. From my ancient copy of 'The Drawing of the Dark' until now, Powers has managed to find a unique vision with each new effort. Even in a genre that is noted for its imaginative flare. This time he has produced a novel that is part John Le Carre, part John Milton, and part H. P. Lovecraft, and, of course, all Tim Powers.

The story starts in 1963, when Andrew Hale, a minor British academic, is called back into action by one of England's most obscure espionage organizations. On top of Mount Ararat things are stirring, and Andrew's assignment is to foil the efforts of a Russian expedition intended to establish further communication with the residents of that legendary mountain. These are those who have 'looked on God's face and will see it nevermore,' those fallen angels that did not plummet all the way to hell, but remain here with us. He is uniquely qualified for this task, having already had several brushes with these alien spirits.

Hale shares this story with a collection of characters that, at first, appear to be mundane spies doing ordinary undercover sorts of things. But, gradually, almost one word at a time, each reveals unexpected qualities and powers. Elena, a Russian spy whom Hale falls in love with teaches him how to walk with a pacing that makes him invisible. Kim Philby, another British spy, is actually a Russian agent. He has some strange linkage to Hale, and was born with the knack for being in two places at once.

Powers tells this tale in parallel, gradually bringing the story of Hale's origins, the making of him into a spy, his work during World War II, and his several brushes with the demonic into sharper and sharper focus. Initially, this is a bit confusing, for we see the bits of plot and character out of order. Like looking at a faceted gem from too close a distance it takes some time before the stones entire shape is visible. There is a rhythm to the writing, and, once it is mastered, the story begins to unfold in compelling detail. [Philby is based on a historical British espionage figure, who actually did defect to the Russians.]

The story meanders not only over time, but over place as well. Britain, France, Russia, the Middle East, and, repeatedly, Mount Ararat. Its interior landscape is just as varied and unpredictable. Strange voices and sounds pour forth from short wave radios. Ankhs and anchors serve unexpected purposes. And Russia's guardian angel wanders through graveyards looking for a bite to eat.

As I have already indicated, the book starts slowly. It is over 500 pages, and for a while I was afraid that its fragmentary start was a bad omen. Persistence paid off, however, and in the final analysis, I found the book a strangely rewarding read. This is a tale made up of subtle detailing, not suspense and action, and so will not be every reader's cup of tea. Tim Powers is addictive, though, and the patient fan will find 'Declare' a great treat.