Strange Itineraries - Softcover

Tim Powers has been compared to Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and Clive Barker and was lauded by Kirkus as the reigning king of adult historical fantasy.” His novel Declare, a supernatural secret history of post-WWII espionage, won the 2001 World Fantasy and the International Horror Guild awards. He is the two-time recipient of the Philip K. Dick Award for The Anubis Gates and Dinner at Deviant’s Palace and a three-time Locus Award winner for Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather. His latest novel, Hide Me Among the Graves, is a sequel to his classic supernatural thriller, The Stress of Her Regard. Powers has taught at the Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop and has co-taught the Writers of the Future Workshop with Algis Budrys.

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.”
Booklist

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.”
Publishers Weekly, starred review

Tim Powers is a genius.”
Algis Budrys

Powers writes action and adventure that Indiana Jones could only dream of. And, just when it threatens to get out of hand, there’s a dash of humor and irony that keeps you reading for the joy of it.”
Washington Post

Powers always goes the distance, never taking easy shortcuts that tempt authors with lesser imaginations.”
Manchester Guardian

"Powerfully drawn."
—Internet Review of Science Fiction