Strange Itineraries [Paperback]

Tim Powers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Ghosts, accidental time travel, a secret clan of immortals, and Maxwell's Demon are all subjects in this complete collection of short stories by Tim Powers. Elusive and evocative, these stories are excursions into strange and dangerous worlds and are as colorful and inventive as Powers's novels. A pioneer of the popular "Steampunk" genre of speculative fiction, his complex and tightly researched "secret histories" blend with compelling fantastical elements to create some of today's most memorable modern science fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The nine eccentric, label-defying selections (three written with James P. Blaylock) in Powers's outstanding first story collection offer the same literary pleasures as this World Fantasy Award–winner's novels (Declare, etc.). The eerily atmospheric "Pat Moore," in which numerous Pat Moores collide (some male, some female, some living, some ghosts), is far from your conventional ghost story. "Through and Through" is a brilliant study of a disillusioned priest and his penitents within the confessional. The reader hopes that Bernard Wilkins of "The Better Boy" can keep the worms away from his prize tomato plant, that he can preserve his beloved "inventor pants" and, finally, just stay alive. In "Night Moves," perhaps the volume's finest entry, memories and dreams pervade the hero's life, with a colorful subsidiary cast. These are subtle, suggestive tales for the connoisseur of imaginative fiction.
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From Booklist

During a 25-year career that includes several highly praised novels and many awards, Powers has earned a reputation as a reigning master of adult contemporary fantasy. In the first collection of his shorter stories, which includes three collaborations with fellow fantasist James Blaylock, Powers displays his trademark predilection for quirky modern ghost stories and unsettling incursions of oddness into everyday life. "The Way Down the Hill" eavesdrops on a secret meeting of immortals whose carefree lifestyles have insidiously disrupted the lives of mortal children. In "Pat Moore," the author of a chain letter comes face-to-face with the ghosts of those who perished when they didn't act on the letter. "Fifty Cents," written with Blaylock, follows the surreal journey of a man, just out for a weekend spin in the desert, who encounters, among other phantoms, a future version of himself. Whether the subject is disillusioned priests or vengeful spirits, Powers is always ready with a surprise around the next narrative corner. A delight for fans and nonfans alike. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tachyon Publications (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892391236
• ISBN-13: 978-1892391230
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freeing the people in the snow-globe, December 13, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Strange Itineraries (Paperback)

Powers is primarily a novelist -- one of our best, too -- not a short-story writer, and this collection of nine stories comprises all his short fiction to date. Still, Tim Powers is Tim Powers, and his slightly strange perspective on the world is such that any fan of _Anubis Gates_ and _Declare_ will want to spend time with this book. A quiet, rainy afternoon would be most appropriate. Most of these stories deal with loss in one way or another, loss of a spouse, loss of oneself, and the settings are ordinary, mostly California, mostly the inland deserts, but the characters are ordinary only on the surface. They tend to be sort of abstract, too, in a Rod Serling kind of way, like "Fifty Cents," in which a guy driving across the Sonora on a personal quest keeps running into hitchhikers that turn out to be himself (sort of) in the past or the future. "We Traverse Afar" is about another guy, also dealing with loss, and a very pointed look at Christmas. In fact, as in his novels, you have to pay attention to Tim's writing because what he has to say is likely to slip right past you otherwise. The most straightforward narrative piece in the volume, "The Way Down the Hill," is also the earliest, written more than twenty years ago, but even it has a strong whiff of Phil Dick about it, not surprisingly, and it will also inevitably bring to mind "All You Zombies." Everyone compares Powers to Dick, of course, and they were friends, but I also see a connection to Fritz Leiber's work from the early `50s. No space opera here, no high fantasy, no universe-straddling plots. Just quiet, thoughtful word-pictures, extremely well done.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable & Bizarre, March 24, 2006

By 

C. Middleton (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Strange Itineraries (Paperback)

Quantum theory, time loops, alternate realities, the supernatural and one special story about a gentle old man whose pants are torn off by the side mirror of a speeding Torina are all included in this remarkable collection of short stories by Tim Powers.

Powers has the writer's skill of placing the utterly unreal into the norms of our day-to-day reality. Another great American writer, Edgar Allen Poe, used this particular skill to great effect with such stories as The Fall of the House of Usher and The Man of the Crowd. The tale begins ordinarily enough and then suddenly jumps, sometime subtly, sometimes not so, and we find ourselves bounding along to alternate realities, witnessing sad spirits in a catholic confessional or attending a strange gathering of immortals. And, incredibly, it all seems quite feasible. This is fascinating reading and extremely entertaining.

What really makes these tales stand out is their credibility, as one can perceive that their contents have been thoroughly researched. The vast majority of these stories' theme is the notion of time itself: where does it begin and does it ever end? Some of his characters are confused at the start but then later, as in the story 50 Cents, the character appears to accept their fate, that they are trapped in time, and this reality will never end, and continue to replay itself like a scratch on a CD.

In the story, Pat Moore, the character begins his day like any other, (except for a chain letter he has received, which if not passed on, could well prove unlucky), a professional gambler, sets out in his beat up Dodge, where he observes a man in a Chevrolet with a sawn-off shotgun, tries to run him off the road. An instant later he sees a woman appear next to him, who claims to be his guarding angel, when the Chevrolet crashes off the road. At first he is shocked, but as the tale unfolds, he puts together the clues, to discover it all has to do with his dead wife. The story becomes more bizarre, yet believable, finally sorting itself out in the end.

The two cleverest stories, Where They are Hid and Night Moves, on face value are outlandish, but are so well constructed, every loose end is tied up nicely, with a hint of irony, that they actually become credible.

This is Tim Powers's only collection of short stories, as he's predominately a novelist. All his novels are award winners and to a certain extent, as other writers have said, he leans towards Phillip K. Dick more than any other America writer. In fact a young Powers met an older PKD where he had nothing but praise for the younger writer.

After reading these exceptionally entertaining short stories, I hope Powers decides to write more short stories, because the one's included in Strange Itineraries are remarkable.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book!, January 1, 2006

By 

Madreader (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Itineraries (Paperback)

This is a great collection of stories. I especially liked the odd ghost story "Pat Moore." But every story is good or even better. Plus this is cost effective way to get these stories, some of which were only available in expensive limited editions. In all, great reading and a great value!