Last Call, by Tim Powers - Book Review
April 5th, 2010 by Robert
I often wonder how Tim Powers concocts the base premise for each of his books. Does it strike him in a blinding flash of insight, or does he slowly tease it together from a sustained mental effort of conceptualisation? Because it seems to me that, for him, devising the central concept to underpin the story almost gets him halfway there. Of course, it would only be the tip of the iceberg as far as the hard work of writing a book goes. But the story premise contains the underpinning appeal of all Powers’ work, and I think it is where his true genius resides.
As volume six of The Dark Tower series, Song of Susannah, rolls toward us, we are beset by one burning question. Can Stephen King rescue the plot of his magnum opus from the wayward excess of self-indulgence that dominated the last two instalments in the series, Wizard and Glass and The Wolves of the Calla? 
Long and detailed, but saved from being boring by some episodes of genuine suspense and tension. The action scenes are very well written and, apart from some obviously Tolkienesque plot elements, this is one of the more original sword and sorcery genre series (not that originality is one of the genre’s strong points!)
Garth Nix emerged from nowhere with his novel, Sabriel, the first volume of the Old Kingdom Trilogy. With its blend of richly imagined magical rules and a fascinating relationship between the realms of life and death, it established him as one of the world’s most exciting young fantasy authors. In the second volume, Lirael, Nix fleshes out the Old Kingdom with greater detail, more realised characters and, most importantly, more hordes of shambling zombies! 
I knew Mieville was a great writer, but little did I know on picking up this volume of short stories for a casual read while enduring some economy-class air hell that I was about to embark on an almost religious experience. 
How can I convey in a few pithy paragraphs the wonder, the fascination, the emotional turmoil, the sheer artistry to be found within the covers of this truly amazing novel? Perdido Street Station is a masterpiece – pure and simple.