"But it's no use now," thought poor Alice, "to pretend to be two people! Why, there's hardly enough of me left to make one respectable person!" — Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Tim Powers is back to his usual superb style combining the knowable, the unthinkable, and the fantastical. In Expiration Date, Powers respectably paints a vivid picture using history, geography, and prose while developing characters who consistently reinforce his constants. His use of historical personalities and bizarre, yet plausible, circumstances suspends my skepticism and prods my imagination.
This modern fantasy, set in Los Angeles, revolves around the ghost of Thomas Edison, caught by Henry Ford, and accidentally inhaled by young Kootie Hoomie. The protagonists struggle to tame their own psychological ghosts while relying on their inventiveness and seat-of-the-pants luck to get them through the non-stop, fast-paced action. The ghosts and ghost-hunters perform a lively dance choreographed with conundrums, palindromes, visual mazes, and the words of the ghost prophet Lewis Carroll as told in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Tim Powers' Expiration Date honors include a World Fantasy Award, a 1996 Nebula Nomination, and a Locus 1996 df. Powers has a superior ability to spin a tale that will leave you dizzy, as you glance across to the other side.
"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied. "There is another shore, you know, upon the other side." — Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
About the Book
Expiration Date copyright 1996 by Tim Powers
A Tor book published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. New York
First Mass Market edition December 1996
Paperback ISBN: 0-812-55517-1
Other Books by Tim Powers:
- The Drawing of the Dark
- The Anubis Gates
- Dinner at Deviant's Palace
- On Stranger Tides
- The Stress of her Regard
- Last Call
Sites of Interest
- Brow interview with Tim Powers
- Leo's Palindrome Collection
- Thomas Alva Edison
- Lewis Carroll
- ... and for a bit of the ghostly spirit try Vincent O'Neil's Paranormal Phenomena right here at Suite 101.
Check out my booklist for a list of books I have recently read or am planning to read.
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