Scan barcode
A review by songwind
Last Call by Tim Powers
5.0
There were so many ways that this book was amazing.
The premise itself, that there is a secret magical kingship of the American West, is intriguing and fun.
Powers' writing is powerful (hah!), spare and beautiful. He had a solid handle of literary devices like foreshadowing, allusions, self references, irony, etc.
The characters were all well developed. Strange, broken, messy wonderful humans.
The inclusion of concepts from psychology, mythology and folklore was excellent. Close enough to real world "canon" to feel legitimate, but different enough to evoke a feeling of alieness. Similarities between disparate elements were played up or skewed to be closer, resulting in a world spanning magical cosmology, whose edges are all we can see.
This magical landscape is harsh and unforgiving. That in itself is not a positive or negative, but Powers keeps it consistent. There's never a feeling that the MCs are getting an easy pass for the sake of the story, or because they're The Chosen Ones or whatever.
I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Arthurian story of the Fisher King, poker, and Tarot - all things I'm interested in in a general way. Other things, like the Mandelbrot set, mob history, Alexis Carrol's "immortal" chicken heart, and Eliot's "The Wasteland" add to the texture.
The story had a good balance of tension, mystery and moments of wonder.
I enjoyed it immensely. Bronson Pinchot did an admirable job as narrator as well.
The premise itself, that there is a secret magical kingship of the American West, is intriguing and fun.
Powers' writing is powerful (hah!), spare and beautiful. He had a solid handle of literary devices like foreshadowing, allusions, self references, irony, etc.
The characters were all well developed. Strange, broken, messy wonderful humans.
The inclusion of concepts from psychology, mythology and folklore was excellent. Close enough to real world "canon" to feel legitimate, but different enough to evoke a feeling of alieness. Similarities between disparate elements were played up or skewed to be closer, resulting in a world spanning magical cosmology, whose edges are all we can see.
This magical landscape is harsh and unforgiving. That in itself is not a positive or negative, but Powers keeps it consistent. There's never a feeling that the MCs are getting an easy pass for the sake of the story, or because they're The Chosen Ones or whatever.
I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the Arthurian story of the Fisher King, poker, and Tarot - all things I'm interested in in a general way. Other things, like the Mandelbrot set, mob history, Alexis Carrol's "immortal" chicken heart, and Eliot's "The Wasteland" add to the texture.
The story had a good balance of tension, mystery and moments of wonder.
I enjoyed it immensely. Bronson Pinchot did an admirable job as narrator as well.