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nigellicus's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
5.0
Almost exactly as if he'd planned it that way, the third Fault Lines volume draws together the first and second in an epic conclusion to the saga. The King Of the West is dad (that's a mis-type, but I'm leavng it in because it looks like a Dad joke, as in hello King Of the West, I'm Dad), murdered by a woman with multiple personality disorder currently languising in a mental hospital under the sinister care of a creepy psychiatrist. Meanwhile the body of the dead king, which shows no sign of decay, has turned up at the home of Cootie, the presumptive heir. This is all very upsetting for everyone involved, but things are only going to get worse as efforts to revive Scott Crane involve various dangers and heavy costs. This is as motley a collection of the lost, the weird and the broken as have ever graced a Powers novel, and the history of wine-growing in America and the msyterious Winchester House and the god Dionysius all play a part in the grueling quest. Grueling for the characters, that is. The reader just goes along with wide eyes and/or ears if they're listening.
jrenee's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
caroreads22's review against another edition
I realized after I started reading it was the third in a series. I debated continuing anyway because I was enjoying the story, but I was also going pretty slow. Felt like if I was really invested, I should start from the beginning.
nixnixnixnixnix's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
The first half was pretty tedious,occasionally punctuated by somewhat fast paced sections. The second half was a much more enjoyable read, but overall there was just too much fluttering about the awesomeness of the realm of magic without actually generating enough interest to make the magic and the background story seem that awe inspiring.
The first half was pretty tedious,occasionally punctuated by somewhat fast paced sections. The second half was a much more enjoyable read, but overall there was just too much fluttering about the awesomeness of the realm of magic without actually generating enough interest to make the magic and the background story seem that awe inspiring.
williemeikle's review against another edition
3.0
EARTHQUAKE WEATHER was, unfortunately a bit of a slog to get through. Powers mashed together the worlds and characters of LAST CALL and EXPIRATION DATE, but although, like all Powers books, it had its moments, there were just too many characters that I didn't care about, and too much time spent with them all bickering while sitting around in a variety of rooms or vehicles. You know that long bit of the AVENGERS movie where they all act like spoiled kids? It's a bit like that, but goes on for longer.
The Fisher King mythology took too much of a back seat to the ghost plot devices for me in this one, and, like EXPIRATION DATE, I felt it suffered because of it. Personally I'd have liked more focus on the Tarot and archetypes to take center stage instead of the bickering characters and multiple real, and ghostly, personalities.
But again, like EXPIRATION DATE, a sub par Powers is still better than most everything else. It's just that my expectations had been set too high after the brilliance of LAST CALL.
The Fisher King mythology took too much of a back seat to the ghost plot devices for me in this one, and, like EXPIRATION DATE, I felt it suffered because of it. Personally I'd have liked more focus on the Tarot and archetypes to take center stage instead of the bickering characters and multiple real, and ghostly, personalities.
But again, like EXPIRATION DATE, a sub par Powers is still better than most everything else. It's just that my expectations had been set too high after the brilliance of LAST CALL.
sheeprustler's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bent's review against another edition
1.0
Interesting. I just went back to see what I thought of the first two books in the series and I loved the first one, and was kind of m'eh on the second. I didn't really like this one. I felt that it was way too long, confusing, I was tired of all the mystical stuff - the palindromes that attract ghosts, the ways to hide your psychic energy, etc. The book just went on and on without much tension. I don't like the setting - I don't think I liked it in the last book either - I found it all drab and faintly depressing. And I didn't really like the characters much.
I've absolutely loved some of Tim powers stuff - The Anubis Gates, The Drawing of the Dark - but this was very uninspired. And the ending just went on and on, with a little unnecessary epilogue at the end to drag it out even longer. A bit of a confusing mess, and definitely not worth the read. After awhile, it was and endurance contest to get to the underwhelming end.
I've absolutely loved some of Tim powers stuff - The Anubis Gates, The Drawing of the Dark - but this was very uninspired. And the ending just went on and on, with a little unnecessary epilogue at the end to drag it out even longer. A bit of a confusing mess, and definitely not worth the read. After awhile, it was and endurance contest to get to the underwhelming end.
thisistanya's review against another edition
3.0
While Tim Powers continues to spin incredibly well-researched stories that deftly combine mythologies and modern culture, I felt like this book had a little too many angles thrown in. The Fisher King mythos, Dyonisus and occultism, Latin American Brujeria, ghosts and possessions, and multiple-personality disorders all lumped together? Leads to a confusing plot that makes it hard to believe that the characters going through the narrative would really be able to handle it all as well as they did.
mononoke's review against another edition
4.0
Slow to read in some places, and confusing in others but ultimately a good read.