Tim Powers
Mar 12
2006
Awarding-winning sci-fi/fantasy writer Tim Powers is the author of The Anubis Gates, one of the few time travel stories that I can honestly say didn’t make my head hurt. The Anubis Gates is a “secret history” fantasy—a story that weaves a magical background around actual historical people and events. The events and people in question include a failed British rebellion in the 1680s, the battles of Napoleon and Nelson, various Romantic poets, and Lord Byron, whom I was delighted to discover Powers tortured at length. (To paraphrase a line I read somewhere, I think Lord Byron should have been struck early and often, like a gong.)
Note: Powers is the Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts.
Note #2: Both Powers and fellow fantasy writer James Blaylock mention the poet “William Ashbless” in their novels. Apparently, Ashbless was a fictional poet that Blaylock and Powers created during their college years in reaction to the low quality of the poetry that appeared in the college newspaper. Legend has it that they wrote loads of terrible free verse and submitted it to the paper, which enthusiastically accepted. Years later Powers and Blaylock both named characters in their books after Ashbless. Their shared editor noticed the recurring name and pointed out that they might want to consult with one another to keep Ashbless’s biography straight.
Aftertaste:
None.
Availability:
Everywhere.
Other Recommendations:
The Holder of the World, by
Bharati Mukherjee
A Case of Curiosities and The Grand Complication, by Allen Kurzweil
Website:
http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/ -
Note: Powers is the Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts.
Note #2: Both Powers and fellow fantasy writer James Blaylock mention the poet “William Ashbless” in their novels. Apparently, Ashbless was a fictional poet that Blaylock and Powers created during their college years in reaction to the low quality of the poetry that appeared in the college newspaper. Legend has it that they wrote loads of terrible free verse and submitted it to the paper, which enthusiastically accepted. Years later Powers and Blaylock both named characters in their books after Ashbless. Their shared editor noticed the recurring name and pointed out that they might want to consult with one another to keep Ashbless’s biography straight.
Aftertaste:
None.
Availability:
Everywhere.
Other Recommendations:
The Holder of the World, by
Bharati Mukherjee
A Case of Curiosities and The Grand Complication, by Allen Kurzweil
Website:
http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/ -
Posted by: Julia
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