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A review by subplotkudzu
Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers
3.0
I'm very torn on writing this review. The first time I read Earthquake Weather (when it came out, some 20 years go) I was really impressed. This time through I just could not get traction on it, and it ended up feeling much more disjointed than the other two books in this series.
Last Call was the secret magical history of Las Vegas, and every element in - the poker game, the tarot cards, the fisher king, Lake Mead Bugsy Segal - it flowed from the nature of the story, with the magic used built around the story and the setting.
Expiration Date was a look at the magical underbelly of Los Angeles linked to the history of Edison and Houdini. Again, every element drew from those points, and the story and magic used were both tied to it.
Earthquake Weather is trying to meld the two, while also adding the secret history of San Francisco, and the other two books many of the elements, especially the Winchester House, felt like they were included not because they really fit the story but because they were in San Francisco. The magical logic ends up feeling more ad hoc than organic, and the story feels overstuffed.
It doesn't help that much of the story relies on an a multiple personality disorder character to move forward, which now, to me at least, just screams of being mid 90's trendy. Yes, Powers puts a spin on it with the ghosts, but it's still such a dated thematic reference that it hurt the book for me, at least on this read.
Obviously this is an idiosyncratic review, and probably one I would have discounted 20 years ago, so take it with a big grain of salt.
Last Call was the secret magical history of Las Vegas, and every element in - the poker game, the tarot cards, the fisher king, Lake Mead Bugsy Segal - it flowed from the nature of the story, with the magic used built around the story and the setting.
Expiration Date was a look at the magical underbelly of Los Angeles linked to the history of Edison and Houdini. Again, every element drew from those points, and the story and magic used were both tied to it.
Earthquake Weather is trying to meld the two, while also adding the secret history of San Francisco, and the other two books many of the elements, especially the Winchester House, felt like they were included not because they really fit the story but because they were in San Francisco. The magical logic ends up feeling more ad hoc than organic, and the story feels overstuffed.
It doesn't help that much of the story relies on an a multiple personality disorder character to move forward, which now, to me at least, just screams of being mid 90's trendy. Yes, Powers puts a spin on it with the ghosts, but it's still such a dated thematic reference that it hurt the book for me, at least on this read.
Obviously this is an idiosyncratic review, and probably one I would have discounted 20 years ago, so take it with a big grain of salt.