Post by dinadan on May 15, 2006 8:23:30 GMT -5
dinadan's reader rating 9.3/10
I'm an admitted Tim Powers fan, but Last Call is definitely the best of his novels that I've read--as well as being one of the best novels I've read in a long, long time. The story is interesting, the premise is utterly strange, and as always, Power's style is striking and, in this one, much more refined than in books from earlier in his career (say, The Drawing of the Dark).
In some ways, this book almost demands comparision to The Drawing of the Dark because it continues, or expands upon, Power's speculations about the Western occult tradition--particularly in Hermetic magick as it shapes the Tarot. The Tarot is actually, in some ways, a character in the novel. People are playing though real-life, high stakes (losing your soul!) poker-like games with Tarot cards in order to achieve the vaunted 21-year position of being the Fisher-King. It's fascinating and unique and quite strange.
However, if you are offended by profanity, drinking, or sex and violence, this one is probably out for you. It's not over the top, but where it exists, it's pretty graphic. Also, as is the case with most of Power's fiction, there are "lull spots" in the narrative. The one in The Drawing of the Dark almost stopped me from finishing it. There are two in Last Call--but trust me, it's worth getting over the humps and continuing on.
I'm an admitted Tim Powers fan, but Last Call is definitely the best of his novels that I've read--as well as being one of the best novels I've read in a long, long time. The story is interesting, the premise is utterly strange, and as always, Power's style is striking and, in this one, much more refined than in books from earlier in his career (say, The Drawing of the Dark).
In some ways, this book almost demands comparision to The Drawing of the Dark because it continues, or expands upon, Power's speculations about the Western occult tradition--particularly in Hermetic magick as it shapes the Tarot. The Tarot is actually, in some ways, a character in the novel. People are playing though real-life, high stakes (losing your soul!) poker-like games with Tarot cards in order to achieve the vaunted 21-year position of being the Fisher-King. It's fascinating and unique and quite strange.
However, if you are offended by profanity, drinking, or sex and violence, this one is probably out for you. It's not over the top, but where it exists, it's pretty graphic. Also, as is the case with most of Power's fiction, there are "lull spots" in the narrative. The one in The Drawing of the Dark almost stopped me from finishing it. There are two in Last Call--but trust me, it's worth getting over the humps and continuing on.
