Saturday, November 12, 2005

Will the flood of nerdly goodness ever cease?

Tim Powers appears to finally be done with his latest book. Last I heard, it was going to have something to do with the movies and great dark forces. It's still in So. Cal. but now involves Israelis and some secret European occultists (the Illuminati? the Templars? Rosicrucians?). It will initially be published in a very limited and very expensive edition, but should be set at normal prices soon enough.

If you don't know Powers, then you should give him a try. He is a modern fantasist. His books are set in the real world we know, but involve fantastical elements. Last Call is about poker and Las Vegas, but games of poker in which your soul can be stolen. Powers is exceptional at making the fantastic believable. I think it because his approach is matter of fact. You simply believe it could happen. It reminds me of 70s-80s King who could so easily make your skin crawl. Doubters should take a look at the Powells "also bought" which includes David Sedaris, Jonathan Lethem and Neil Gaiman. You like those guys don't you? Here is a Powell's interview where he talks about researching and writing Declare, his last and my favorite of his books.

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