Declare

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing mixture of cold war spying and djinns
Review: Tim Powers' recent work has interwoven 20th Century settings with various supernatural entities. _Declare_ is probably the best of his recent books -- marrying a WWII and Cold War spy story with well-imagined djinns.
It opens with a brief scene featuring a British Intelligence Captain driving a Jeep down Mt. Ararat in 1948, fleeing the deaths of several of his comrades. Then we switch to 1963, and we meet Andrew Hale, who, we learn soon enough, was that Captain in 1948. He's a lecturer in English at a University, but his past in Intelligence has caught up with him. The mission he attempted in 1948 needs to be tried again -- and he's soon off to Kuwait to try to infiltrate himself into a new Soviet operation.
From there the story proceeds on multiple timelines. We learn in flashbacks of Hale's past -- his mysterious birth in Palestine, his Catholic upbringing by a single mother in the English countryside, his recruitment into a curious side branch of British Intelligence and his first assignment -- to let himself be recruited as a Soviet agent, to work in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1941. In Paris his partner agent is a beautiful young Spaniard named Elena Ceniza-Bendiga, and she and Andrew fall in love, but she makes clear that her first allegiance is to international communism. There follow episodes in Berlin in 1945, where Hale meets Elena again, as well as Kim Philby, the highly placed spy who Hale has always disliked and mistrusted. The three meet again on Ararat in 1948, when Hale learns conclusively that Philby is a traitor, and also becomes convinced that Elena has learned to hate him.
A parallel path follows Hale's adventures in the Middle East in 1963, as he manages to get recruited by the Soviets for their new attempt at -- I won't say what -- on Mr. Ararat. This involves trips to mysterious cities in the desert, meetings with curious entities, and another meeting with Elena and with Kim Philby, who has finally been exposed publically as a spy, and who is looking for escape -- either to France or Russia. Finally, as we have known, the strange operation called Declare will be resolved, one way or another, on the slopes of Mt. Ararat, near a curious long buried wooden object -- perhaps a ship.
The book is always intriguing, and full of clever supernatural ideas. The central supernatural entities here are djinni -- which Powers links to fallen angels. He ties this in with the true stories of Kim Philby and his father, and with T. E. Lawrence, and with some mysterious cities in the Arabian Desert, and with meteorites, and spies, and Catholicism. I found this all well-imagined, and consistent and comprehensible in a way that, for example, the ghosts in _Expiration Date_ never managed to be for me. There is also the love story between Elena and Andrew, which is well-told and very well resolved, but which didn't fully work for me, as the emotional element of it never quite came to life for me. Powers also manages to work in some of his other recurring themes -- poker, and the injured hero, for two. It's a very solid effort, just a whisker short of being exceptional, and it takes a place in my pantheon of Powers' books at the second level -- below my favorite, _The Anubis Gates_, but ranged somewhere with _The Stress of Her Regard_ and _On Stranger Tides_ as among the next best.

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Summary: O fish, are you constant to the old covenant?
Review: Of any living writer, Tim Powers is the undisputed master of the "secret history," the conspiracy within the conspiracy, and this may well be his most intriguing (so to speak), best developed, and best written example of that genre yet. I generally prefer his earlier stuff -- especially _Anubis Gates_ and _Drawing of the Dark_ -- to more recent titles like _Expiration Date_ or _Earthquake Weather._ But in those early works, most of the background of his tapestry was fictional. This time, everything outside of the Declare conspiracy itself is very close to absolute fact, which Powers has reinterpreted in oh, so plausible ways to fit his story. His characters ring true, too: Andrew Hale, recruited to the most Secret Service at the age of seven. Elena, Spanish Catholic turned Russian Communist agent turned semi-French Catholic again. And the repellent Kim Philby, master spy, master traitor, and a thoroughly disgusting little snot . . . even though Powers shows you why he turned out that way. I believe it's time to go back and re-read all of Powers's old books, while I wait for his next one!

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: What a tour de force of ingenuity and complexity. I think that Declare is one of the best dark fantasy books of the year. Its seamless blend of the cold-war thriller a la LeCarre and supernatural dark fantasy is an exciting mix. Even though I only know bits and pieces of the intrigue surrounding Kim Philby and his part in the Cold War, Powers' storytelling drew me in completely. His Andrew Hale is a sympathetic character continually manipulated by forces (and politics). A very satisfying read and my favorite of Powers' novels.

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Summary: What happened to the old Powers?
Review: Somehow Tim Powers lost me. I was the most avid fan. Everything he wrote, everything up to and including LAST CALL, I considered the most brilliant books. Pirates, English poets, avatars of King Arthur, poker games with Tarot. I mean he has an amazing imagination and I was drawn in. Then things took a turn for the worst. Too many characters that I didn't care about. Situations that started to ... dare I say it... disinterest me. The 2nd and 3rd books in his 'trilogy' were unnecessary and I disliked what he did to characters I had fallen for. Then came a new book, DECLARE, and I thought, hey, he's no doubt gone back to his roots. But I could not finish the book. I was lost, bored even, buried beneath too much detail and slow pacing that jumped time streams needlessly. Whatever intrigue and suspense was abandoned by the slow pacing, whiny love affairs, and niddling facts. I miss my old Tim Powers, the one that knew that the story, the plot, came first and took you on a breathtaking trip to Fantasy. Instead, he's become doddering.

Rating:
Summary: Powers Petering out Phenomenon
Review: True to the Powers genre, Declare provides us with a confused and physically beaten-up protagonist, an ages-old supernatural evil to be overcome, well-developed characters, and engaging dialogue in a semi-historical context. All this is to the good, and fans of Anubis Gates, The Stress of Her Regard, and the contemporary trilogy (Last Call/Expiration Date/Earthquake Weather) will find Declare irresistible throughout the first half of the novel. Unfortunately, Declare shares with the aforementioned novels (and other Powers works) the unfortunate tendency to unravel into lengthy (dare I say tedious?), explicit explanations (presented via character dialogue) of the intriguing supernatural elements hinted at earlier in the story. One finds oneself repeatedly bludgeoned with horrific caricatures of overly-defined supernatural forces of evil and their methods of operation, effectively wringing out any mystery that might remain by the time one is two-thirds through the story. Plot elements are also pretty well played out by this time, so that the story's ending is entirely predictable, and one is almost impatient for the inevitable antihero-saves-the-world cliche climax ending, in which, of course, the good guy always gets the girl. So: strong start, weak finish. This was acceptable in earlier works, but to the seasoned Tim Powers reader, it is beginning to feel like formula. (yawn).

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Summary: Obsessively Detailed (and Mostly Right), Devil of a Read
Review: Maybe I'm the odd reader, but as it happens, I do know a bit about Kim Philby, and something about Cold War espionage, and this-and-that about the Second World War. So all the near-obsessive detail in "Declare" just drew me in, made it easier to accept the blood-and-thunder fantasy at the core of the story.

The trap for a writer who uses this technique is, of course, that he won't get *everything* right. And Powers doesn't:

* V-2 rockets made no noise as they approached their target. Powers was thinking of the V-1, a primitive cruise missile driven by a pulsejet. * I'm reasonably certain Berlin was never bombed by B-29's. * I'm a bit doubtful that BOAC ever flew Douglas DC-8's, and even more doubtful about steel-and-ceramic laminate armor on a helicopter in 1948.

Does any of this matter? In the end, it doesn't. I closed Powers's book at a quarter past midnight this morning. That should tell you my reaction.

Rating:
Summary: A great blend of different genres
Review: Wow! "Declare" is one of the most unique novels I have read in a long time. Powers does a superb job of blending the best elements of fantasy and spy thrillers into a remarkably creative novel. The real key to the book is that it covers old ground from an entirely new angle. Instead of looking at the stories we know from the Cold War, or the ones that probably happened (or could have happened), Powers instead takes something fantastic and makes it believable.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but the basic premise of the novel is that significant aspects of the Cold War revolved around magic, or more generally, the occult. In their race to triumph, the adversaries deal with powers they can't truly understand. What makes "Declare" believable, however, is the author's blending of real historical figures into the novel. In fact, the famed British traitor Kim Philby plays a pivotal role. Powers achieves this "blending" without disrupting any of the timeline of what actually happened, which makes the novel all the more real and gripping.

If your tired of the same old rehashing of the Cold War you get from most thrillers, give "Declare" a try. The writing is superb, the characters are well drawn, and the plot is incredibly original. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Powers has no peer.
Review: Well, he's done it again. Though Powers is decidedly not for the casual reader, those looking for a challenge-- of their wits, of pre-conceived notions, of conventional genre restrictions-- will find happiness here. Powers has been writing wondrous stuff for more than 20 years, and for my money he's seldom more than a degree or two away from perfection. Other reviewers below note that he blows hot and cold; I'd disagree. I haven't been disappointed by him yet, and it's been a pleasure to watch his growth over the years. Newcomers to Powers' work may wish to start with On Stranger Tides or The Anubis Gates to see if his work strikes that inner chord of delight-- if so, march forward chronologically thru his works (after moving backward in time to The Drawing of the Dark). Declare is his latest work of legerdemain, and a gem. I'll be reading and re-reading his stuff for the rest of my life, and I'm thankful every time he adds a new one to the list.

Intelligent readers of genre fiction will share my enthusiasm.

Rating:
Summary: Best since On Stranger Tides
Review: Since 1979, I've eagerly awaited each new Powers novel. In that time, it has been my experience that he runs hot and cold, hit or miss. (Hot - Drawing of the Dark, Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides, perhaps Expiration Date; cold - Dinner at Deviants Palace,Stress of Her Regard,Last Call, Earthquake Weather). The books are always well researched, but do not always entertain while they educate on the often arcane topics which serve as the book's theme. Declare does entertain - it's hard to put it down, and it is (I assume) well researched. It also was the first Powers books since On Stranger Tides which stood on its own in providing that Powers-quality unique entertainment factor (I exclude Expiration Date, as being part of a loose "trilogy", and not quite up to snuff). Powers writes on themes and in a style that is difficult to categorize. Except for the trilogy, his books each stand on thier own - unlike numerous other fantasy/sci-fi authors he doesn't sell out on the series hook. He isn't quite like any other author, and that is perhaps why he isn't more widely recognized as the truly great author he is. This is one book that I will re-read, and like Powers other exceptional "hits" I will find new pleasure each time. If you haven't read Powers yet, by all means try Declare or one of the other "hits" above.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Tim Powers used to be my favorite author. I raved to all my friends and family about his outstanding books: Anubis Gates, Stress Of Her Regard, On Stranger Tides, Drawing Of The Dark, and Dinner At Deviants Palace. These were exciting to read and had many great and memorable moments. They were clever.

Sadly, I have been disappointed with Powers' last few books. Last Call was the last good one, but that even had a couple of sequences that just didn't make any sense.

I love spy novels, and I really wanted to like Declare, but the clever writing just isn't there any more.

There are too many characters in this book; most of them come and go so quickly that it is difficult to get to know them or even remember who they are. The plot just meanders along, never holding my interest. The frequent jumping between multiple time periods is confusing. Most of the characters other than Hale, the protagonist, are unlikeable, and it's difficult to keep track of whose side they're on.

It was an effort to finish this book.