Review of The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Tim Powers's classic time travel tale is a must-read for all time travel or magical realism lovers. The time travel is based on Ancient Egyptian magic and not science. It's got an eclectic cast of interesting characters, and includes clones, mind transference, potions, spells, clown magicians and things created by time loops. It takes place in 20th century, 19th century, and 17th century England and incorporates a lot of what I see in my fiction, that, unfortunately, I thought was kind of original before I read this book.

At least I've found a decent comp, albeit and old one (the novel is 35 years old).

The knock I have on it is that at times it's confusing, hard to distinguish characters (mainly because there are so many of them, and either the gaps of narrative where you don't see some characters at all is quite long, or characters are one and done), and most sentences are probably too long, though that grew on me, as you can tell from this sentence. However, these things are easily overlooked when looking at the big picture of the novel, but be warned: if you don't like confusion and complexity, then this novel is not for you. If can tolerate things that are hard to follow, and you like either time travel or magical realism, then you'll love this novel.



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Review of 1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Of course 1984 is a classic of dystopian, science-fiction literature. It is dark and depressing and as a story it doesn't disappoint. It was written in 1948, on the heels of the fall of the Third Reich, and in the midst of the anti-Communist fervor, and in the aftermath of the development of the atomic bomb. It posits a world where totalitarianism has reached a pinnacle of success across the globe, with three autocratic governments at perpetual war, in order to divert economic consumption from the people. It is a haunting reminder of what humanity's drive for power is capable of.

Winston Smith is old enough to remember all the things that the totalitarian government wants him to forget. And the government is really good at knowing that. He must find a way to survive in a world that he can't keep up with, to love for pleasure's sake where pleasure is forbidden. Can he beat the system, or is the government so powerful that he is doomed? And is brief happiness worth the high risk of the torture that will result from his efforts? And can anyone really be programmed to hate romantic love? Given sufficient technology, can the government succeed in blunting basic human nature? 1984 shows us a vision of a world where power exists for its own sake and on what cost to society it will require to achieve it. Humans have instinctive and inherent drives. Can the drive for power extinguish all of the others? And whether or not that is true, what will happen in the attempt?

Read 1984 as a powerful reminder of the dangers of modern society. Read it as a great and tragic love story. Read it as a haunting, horrifying tale of a trapped existence. But don't read it if you need something upbeat, light, and uplifting. It's not that kind of novel.




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