Rating: Summary: Beware Review: If you start reading this book you will probably end up wanting to buy and read everything else Tim Powers has ever written. If you have not yet read his stuff you have a treat ahead. Enough said.
Rating: Summary: Plenty of action and a bit of fun. Review: Being harsh on this one I have to say that it is more in the realms of fantasy or occult than Science Fiction. There is a distinct avoidance by the author of any logical explanations for what happens. We have people swapping bodies, magical gates opening through time, magical "hooks" to bring you back, and lots of macabre cripples and characters in the sewers of London. Really the stuff of horror and occult books.But all that said - it is a good read. The pace is blistering and you have to keep up to remember who is in which body today. The story rips around the globe like an Indiana Jones movie, with the added attraction of leaping through time. I don't want to give too much away, but I really felt it was a bit rich to have the main character give away all his good clothes upon his entry to old London, and accept rags - thereby sealing his fate at the bottom of the food chain. Had he been robbed it would have been more plausible. As for Horrobins "Mistakes" - a bit of explanation would have been useful. What exactly was he trying to make? Beats me! I think Powers would have done better to put a bit more logical motive into his story, to hold it together. I liked Horrobins character, and Dog-Face Joe. The description of the "Master" could have been filled in a bit more. As I say, a fun book - but a bit uneven in places.
Rating: Summary: Captivating original novel about time travel Review: As a regular reader of sci-fi and fantasy, I have come across numerous variations on the time travel concept, Tim Powers, does it with originality and creativity that few others offer. If you're in the market for sci-fi/fantasy that is original and not just a retelling of the same old story with a new cover than this book is for you. From the moment I picked it up, I could not put it down.
Rating: Summary: A definite keeper Review: What a great pleasure it is to stumble onto a wonderful author whose work you were previously unfamiliar with. I saw Tim Powers name on a Sci-Fantasy web site and decided to give him a try. This is a superb novel, intricately yet smartly plotted and nicely weaved together by a very talented writer. Most of the story takes place in early 19th century London, brought vividly to life by the author. The story contains (among other things) time travelers, sorcerers, werewolves, a maniacal clown, historical poets Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, fictional poet William Ashbless, and Brendan Doyle - our time-traveling hero from 1983. Powers gives us a unique perspective, with fresh ideas. This one is a keeper. I'm looking forward to more of Tim Powers work.
Rating: Summary: Time travel, Steampunk, magic, what more can you ask for ? Review: Anubi's Gate is maybe the best book by Tim Powers, it enthralls you with a subtle narration that leads to unexpected twist. Descriptions are so historically accurate and defined that the "suspension from reality" effect is obtained completely. But over all the story is a masterpiece of inventive and creativity; even if you have read thousand weird tales and science fiction books you'll find this book really different and truly amazing.
Rating: Summary: The master of weird fiction at his very best! Review: This is my favorite Tim Powers book. Tim Powers has fast become one of my favorite authors. The Anubis Gates has everything: crazed magic-wielding cults, time travel, Beatles tunes, hairy beast-men, poets, and clowns. Tying together Egyptian mythology and urban legend, Powers takes the reader on a journey that's beyond amazing. It's action-packed. It's filled with high weirdness. It works! I read through this book in a day. It completely pulled me in.
Rating: Summary: Prime Rib on a Bun Review: After reading the book for the third time, I still find it worthy of an all-time top ten fantasy list. It seems to dwell and thrive in an elusive, coveted middle-ground of fantasy writing; it's grand but not pretentiously epic, adventuresome without being cliche or predictable, a challenge without intimidation, exotic but digestable, and surreal without the psychedelics. After you read the last page, you feel like you've just returned from an exotic vacation, and you're basking in the satisfaction that you went off the beaten path to get there and back. You walk away feeling the excitement of having read an alluring page-turner, and the satisfaction of having digested a literary classic. Anubis Gates is Prime Rib cleverly disguised between two hamburger buns. - js
Rating: Summary: Best fantasy treatment of time travel I've ever read Review: Tim Powers managed to do what a number of other noted luminaries in scifi/fantasy have failed to do-- written a novel featuring time travel that wasn't annoying. I think that this is because he doesn't waste a lot of time worrying about the science of it, or the potential for paradox, he just enjoys the ride (and so does the reader). A failed biographer gets his chance of a lifetime and gets a lot more than he bargained for-- featuring avenging maidens, body-switching murderers, beggar lords, and Egyptian gods. Somewhat lighter than other Tim Powers books (I'm unlikely to reread, I fear) but still very entertaining and astonishingly well-written.
Rating: Summary: Read it! It's great! Review: What a funny, intelligent, crazy, amazing book. It's an absolute roller-coaster ride of adventure, romance, darkness and magic. I would highly recommend this book to any reader of fantasy and/or sf. It's wonderful.
Rating: Summary: Atmospheric and coherent Review: When I started reading this book, my first reaction was, "Wow, what great atmosphere!" Egyptian magic, Coleridge, eighteenth-century England, secret societies... atmosphere abounds. But the thing about atmosphere is, it works well for the first half of a book, when the writer can get by with obscure intimations; but eventually, the book has to let you know what's going on -- and that's the point when many atmosphere-heavy books dissolve into an inchoate and incoherent mess. Because while it's easy to throw together a bunch of really cool elements and hint at secret plans and intricate plots, it's a lot harder to tie all those disparate elements up with all those ominous hints; and it's harder yet to make the revealed story live up to its veiled promise. I stress the difficulty of this task, because it's all the more remarkable that Powers pulls it all off. The time travel, the mysticism, the historical figures -- it all works. When Powers finally pulls the veil away, what's underneath is just as intricate and rich as the reader has imagined -- and it makes perfect sense. That's an impressive trick indeed. This is the kind of book I really enjoy: it's complex enough to rise above the level of fluff, but still possesses the pace, wit, and joie de libre that make fluff so attractive.
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