Reviews

Declare by Tim Powers

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songwind's review against another edition

5.0

This book was excellent on pretty much all levels.

Declare follows the life and career of intelligence operative Andrew Hale. After an unusual boyhood as the illegitimate son of an ex-nun, Andrew is recruited by the British SOE during World War II.

It doesn't take long before Andrew learns that he is working not only against the Germans, but also against and amongst strange powers that common sense says do not exist. Andrew learns that there's another level of secrets behind even those of the Great Game, and that the stakes are even higher than the struggle between fascism and democracy, or capitalism and communism.

The book does an excellent job of conveying just how confusing, convoluted and messy the lives of intelligence operatives become. Changing identities, changing sides, changing objectives all conspire to keep Andrew in a world of chaos.

Powers' vision of the supernatural is interesting as well. It differs from most books of similar ilk that I have read, with magic alongside modern life.

Finally, the sections of the book where Andrew lives and works in places and among societies that are quite different than those of most English speakers are very tightly researched and brought to life in great detail.

spitzig's review against another edition

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4.0

Not quite as good as Anubis Gate. But, I might give Anubis Gate a 5. I like lots of hard-core magic stuff, and this seemed a little light on it. It got heavier later. The fantasy elements didn't really seem to AFFECT the world very much. With the exception of the "Guardian Angel" in Russia. But, even with her, it was unclear exactly WHAT she did. The affect in that case was more what the Russians did FOR her.

The insertion of magic into Cold War espionage was an interesting idea. I haven't read any other espionage novels, so don't have much basis for comparison, but I thought it was well done.

It takes place mostly in 1963, although it also has quite a bit in WWII. And, a little with the main character as a kid, before the war.

For those who've never read any of Powers's books, he has magic blended into our society. Sometimes modern, sometimes 150 years ago. Same world, same history. Just some people know MORE of what's going on. In

eachz's review against another edition

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2.0

Disappointed by this honestly; I really liked Last Call and expected this would be similar but it was meh. Maybe part of my aversion has to do with the way the only fleshed-out woman in the book is (a) barely fleshed out and (b) is such a cringey trope that I was put off at the beginning. So many details and names I felt like I needed a conspiracy board to keep track of everything.