The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers – a Review

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Even though, I had read this book thirty years ago, I was just amazed at how much of it I had forgotten. Also, at the time I originally read this book, it was only the second book of Powers’ that I had read; the first being Drawing of the Dark.

Since that time, I’ve read nearly everything that Powers has published. I believe that because of this I had a much broader perspective of Powers’ talents to allow me much more appreciation of The Anubis Gates this time around.

When it comes to writers, or any human endeavors, there are categories: bad, mediocre, good, and superlative. Powers most definitely falls into the superlative group, which is not heavily populated. I think that writers of prose or poetry who have truly astounding talents definitely display a touch of genius approaching Einstein (Physics) or Beethoven (Music).

I cannot even begin to fathom the amount of time, effort, frustration, and huge piles of scribbled notes Powers endured while researching and writing this book. Sadly, many who read Powers’ works will miss 50% or more of the interesting tidbits he twists and twines into the tapestry he’s creating while writing. Powers loves to use actual historical persona, Classic Literature, Physics, and historical events in his stories. Most folks will enjoy the stories even without the background education required to catch all of Powers’ references. However, if you do catch and understand them, it just adds to the joy and amazement of this talented man’s writings .

As with most readers, I have a short list of favorite authors:

– Lovecraft
– Stephen King
– Mark Helprin
– Vonnegut
– Jane Austin
– Charlotte Bronte
– Loren Eiseley
– E.A. Poe
– Steinbeck
– Ambrose Bierce
– Washington Irving
– et cetera

Powers is most definitely on this list!

I’m guessing Tim and his ol’ pal, James Blaylock, experimented a bit with certain substances and ethanol-based liquids back in their college days. I cannot believe that some of the things Powers dreams up could have happened without some outside assistance. 😉



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