Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Declare


Declare
by Tim Powers

What do you get when you cross John LeCarre and Len Deighton with H.P. Lovecraft and Auguest Derleth? Well, that would be Tim Powers' magnificent fantasy/horror/espionage novel, Declare. This impressive novel focuses on the intelligence community, and a 1960s attempt to fix a mission that went horribly awry on Mount Ararat during WWII. The espionage elements of Declare truly feel like reading the best of LeCarre, Deighton, Follett or any of the other "spy" thriller writers. A review of this book is hard to write without giving too much of the intricate and complicated plot away...however, Powers manages to insert the supernatural into this spy story very effectively. His descriptions of ordinary soldiers and intelligence offices' encounters with otherworldly beings is truly terrifying. Powers' research into the real-world people he includes in this book is detailed, and Declare is very dense with seemingly minor historical details...which may put off some readers. However, I recommend you stick with it -- this one is a tremendous read! -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ Declare page on Wikipedia ] | [ official Tim Powers web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.

No comments: