Last Call (Fault Lines, #1)

Apr 15, 2012 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: award-nominee-locus, award-winner-locus, multiple-award-nominee, multiple-award-winners, award-nominee-mythopoeic-fantasy, award-nominee-world-fantasy, award-winner-world-fantasy, audiobook, not-tolkien, mythstories-and-legends, 1990-1999, unique-magic, magical-realism, x-filing-and-secret-histories, signed-first-or-limited-edition

In a word...

(roughly translated, it means your naughty bits are fired up, tingly, and ready to rumble.)

In more than a word...
Last Call is my new favoritest book by Tim Powers. From a brain stimulating perspective, this produced a a significant amount of tingle by skillfully stroking a number of literary pleasure points. You know what I mean?

First, I love the way the magical elements are woven credibly into the fabric of the story. They are, simultaneously, both elusive and omnipresent through...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, magic, fantasy, spooky-powers

“Good evening and welcome to ESPN’s coverage of the 1st World Championship of Assumption Poker Tournament at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. I’m your host Mike Honcho and with me is three time poker champion Billy “Busted Flush” Stark. Billy, you can certainly feel the excitement and tension in this room tonight.”

“Mike, you got that right. We all used to think that poker tournaments for money were a big deal, but ever since the recent revelations that magic is real and that muc...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: new-weird, 2010

Former professional poker player Scott Crane's life is falling apart, having just lost his wife and been on a beer binge, when aspects of his past have come back to haunt him. Specifically, a bizarre card game twenty years before where he may have lost his soul. But what do his foster father and foster sister have to do with it? And why is everyone trying to kill him?

Last Call is really hard to summarize accurately. You could say it was about a man who lost his soul and tried to win it back. Or...more

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Nov 30, 2007 Pete Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people the term "speculative fiction" appeals to.

Shelves: more-books-like-this

Like this one nearly as much as Powers's "On Stranger Tides" and more than Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" (similar subject matter).

Powers does a lot of research. Obsessively immerses himself in whatever is available on a time and/or place that interests him, and then goes looking for the gaps in the facts. He runs screaming from Occam's razor and fills the void with the most complicated and far-fetched "possibilities". I love it.

Here, he looks at Vegas, from the early days to the early 90s (when...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Ben Babcock rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, fantasy, not-my-cup-of-tea, urban-fantasy, owned, 2010-worst10

I was avoiding this book, and then I decided to read it during my busiest weeks of the term, which in retrospect was a mistake, since it took me two weeks to read! In Ben's reading world, that is an eternity.

This book comes to me courtesy of an ARC of the Subterranean Express edition, which I received when they shipped me The God Engines . I was pleasantly surprised, and I shelved this book to read it when I could get to it. Every time I took it off the shelf and glanced at the back cover, howev...more

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Jul 30, 2007 Wealhtheow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fantasy

Twenty years ago, the main character lost his soul in a game of cards. To prevent his foster sister from suffering as well, he enters into a battle for godlike power—literally. He and many others race across the country trying to become the new embodiment of the legendary personas that guide humanity unseen. The writing is taut and the pacing is great; the detailed descriptions and various characters’ introspection serve the plot rather than hinder it. The basis for the novel is twisty and compl...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Richard by: Lori @ http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/75407?al=MTY2MjYzMg==

Shelves: fantasy

Splendid; deeply involving -- and long. My eyes can barely focus after reading so much.

Reminded me of Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light : a masterful absconding of ancient mythologies to tell and entirely new tale. Enough to make me put Zelazny's book on the re-read shelf just to compare.

For those that have recently read Powers' Anubis Gates -- this one is much better.

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As I suspected, after my brain got a chance to overcome the infatuation of a powerful book, c...more
Splendid; deeply involving -- and long. My eyes can barely focus after reading so much.

Reminded me of Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light : a masterful absconding of ancient mythologies to tell and entirely new tale. Enough to make me put Zelazny's book on the re-read shelf just to compare.

For those that have recently read Powers' Anubis Gates -- this one is much better.

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As I suspected, after my brain got a chance to overcome the infatuation of a powerful book, complaints started arising. (This contains some minor spoilers, but nothing that really detracts from the story.)

My primary complaint is how the desired and fought-over kingship was supposed to work. The book begins with Bugsy Siegel, and it's pretty clear that was a mob boss ruling a criminal empire, with obvious financial benefits and prestige in some circles. This, in itself, is a bit confusing: if being king grants him such power, why choose the wrong side of the law when the law should be amenable to the king's power?

But the following king is never shown in that light. He doesn't seem to live in monetary splendor, or to have much obvious recognition. At one point, he's stuck in an RV with little recourse to power at all. Is our protagonist expecting to not have to work, for example, if he succeeds in becoming king himself? Not understanding the final objective all these folks are fighting and killing over definitely hurts.

A secondary complaint is that the magic is unclear. The tarot cards are links to power, but aren't often physically used -- does being "king" provide some form of conscious control over natural phenomena, such as the roll of the dice, or the weather? There are certainly hints, and uses of power in small ways, but not clear theory of magical power was shown. Holding a hand of conflicting minor cards in front of oneself to become invisible to magical sight was a clever idea, however -- I suppose this would be an instance of invocation, whereas evocation -- summoning protective spirits -- was also shown, but how it was done wasn't clear.

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Aug 17, 2008 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Powers or Vegas

Shelves: alternate-history, fantasy, horror

Up there as my favorite Powers novel (tied with Declare and edging out Earthquake Weather because it's a sequal), this is the novel where he learned to get the reader though his main character's dark-night-of-the-soul without losing the forward momentum of the plot. A heady mix of gambling, American mythology, and clever occult conceits, this novel shows Powers is at the top of his form -- engaging characters, humor, horror, pathos, thrills, and a certain kind of meloncholy awareness that, while...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, novel, fantasy, alternate, history, gambling, tarot, las, vegas, fisher, king, bugsy, siegel

Tim Powers writes fantasy. Here� s what his fantasy doesn� t have: elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves, wizards (well, OK, it has some magicians sometimes), maps of imaginary countries, thick heroes to whom everything endlessly has to be explained.[return][return]Tim Powers writes alternate history, but the � what ifs� in Tim Powers novels are fantasy � what ifs� rather than science-fictional � what ifs� : not � what if the Spanish Armada had conquered England� but � what if the Egyptian gods were real...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Sam Reader rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay, so the rundown is as follows: I love this book. I love it unabashedly, I love it with all my heart and soul, it is hands down one of the best books I have read. The characters, dialogue, and the way history and actual mysticism and mathematics are woven into the fiction all work, and even anyone who isn't well-versed in crazy historical minutiae can enjoy the story of a man storming Las Vegas to claim back his soul and his birthright with no difficulty. Add to this the descripti

...more

Okay, so the rundown is as follows: I love this book. I love it unabashedly, I love it with all my heart and soul, it is hands down one of the best books I have read. The characters, dialogue, and the way history and actual mysticism and mathematics are woven into the fiction all work, and even anyone who isn't well-versed in crazy historical minutiae can enjoy the story of a man storming Las Vegas to claim back his soul and his birthright with no difficulty. Add to this the descriptions, some genuine moments of dread and well-conveyed paranoia from the characters, and a sense of danger that never really lets up, and you have a book well worth reading.

The downside is, there are a few sequences that never really pay off, and sometimes there is just too much going on sometimes on even one page to keep up with. Also, the main character spends a whole section-- possibly two-- of the book doing some really stupid things against the advice of people who clearly know more about this stuff than he does. But it serves as some good character development, and helps create a line between Scott's self-destructive urges and his need to finish his quest. All in all, the book is worth a read, possibly a buy, and a ride you won't regret taking.

"No one who isn't blind should ever read tarot cards. A surgeon doesn't use a scalpel with two blades on it, one for the handle, does he? Shit."

- Spider Joe

"Maybe, Crane thought, if you use the real high-octane stuff, you don't need to dress it up."

I suppose it's a nice coincidence (or, since the book doesn't believe in coincidences, was it...) that I found this book the first time purely at random. I'd been wandering through the fiction section of the Maplewood Memorial Library, and I found a book with an odd tarot motif on the cover. Intrigued but wary, I read the synopsis and about halfway through the first paragraph, I was on my way to the checkout desk with the book under my arm. It didn't take much more convincing than that. I started it on the way home from the library, and read it in every moment I could steal away after that. It just so happened that at the same time I started Last Call, I was reading a lot of crazy books on mysticism and theories on reality, which also clicked right into place.

And it is wonderful. If ever anyone asked me if there were a book I wish I could have written, I'd simply point to Last Call and say "that one". It's simple in its language, complex in its themes, and each line contains a plethora of contexts without being confusing. It throws a dizzying array of concepts both real and imagined at the wall and makes them stick there through sheer force of will and a desire never to let things slow down even for an instant. This is one of my favorite books, and while not in the top five, it is a book I come back to time and again because each reading unlocks something new, and each time I read it, I look for something else. Where Pynchon* attempts to be dense by overloading his book with concepts, Powers is able to do the same thing with a few off-the-cuff references and hints at a deeper world beneath the surface of the one we inhabit.

Last Call is the story of Scott Crane, a one-eyed former poker player. In his later years, Scott lives a very quiet life...hiding from his neighbors, pretending to his friends that his wife isn't dead, and working a small-time job as a waiter. He's surrounded by weird coincidences he mostly ignores: Animals fall dead around his house, discarded bits of food land in geometric patterns, and his next-door neighbor is a terminally-ill savant who worships chaos and randomness. But one day, the bills Scott's been avoiding finally come due, and he has to take up the cards and chips again to make a little extra cash to pay everyone off.

And then things get weird.

By playing cards, Scott puts some very interested parties on his tail...parties who want to see him dead or worse, parties who have existed almost ceaselessly since they found out how to manipulate seemingly-random factors and bend them to their will. And Scott isn't feeling too good, himself. He finds himself drunkenly rambling about mathematicians and his old life. All of this has something to do with a game Scott won on Lake Mead in the 1960s (a game played with tarot cards), but damned if he could figure out what it is. The only thing Scott is sure of is that he needs a lot of help and that he has to find a way to stop whatever it is. So Scott, his savant neighbor Archimedes, and his adopted father set off for Las Vegas in an attempt to stave things off. Soon they are swept up into a massive competition involving Egyptian gods, tarot cards, random coincidences, and the opportunity to become the king of the world. That is, if they survive the serial killer, gangsters, power-mad gamblers, and mystical forces that all want to see Scott become their puppet.

The best part of the book is just how much it manages to cram in. The scope of the story begins with the death of Bugsy Siegel and continues up through the nineties, but it never feels particularly dense. Details are revealed when relevant and some things aren't explained in great detail, but the important details are there. Even better, some of the details are wrong, as they're being interpreted by people who've only heard this stuff colloquially. Every line has an interesting concept, every paragraph makes it work. There's an amazing degree of world-building in the book, and it all comes across naturally from the protagonists. In comparison to high fantasy novels where the world building involves paragraph after paragraph of exposition, the fact that Powers manages to show without having to tell and tell and tell is refreshing.

Another part of the book is the dialogue. The three protagonists (Scott, Ozzie, and Mavranos) have wonderful chemistry, making the book seem like a darker version of a road trip to visit family and hang out in Vegas for a weekend. It's effective in that I could even see and hear the characters. The villains have natural dialogue and behavior, as well, making them while not human, a little less like faceless shadowy forces. They get angry, they make mistakes, and while they're operating from a position of strength, seeing them get out of depth gives the scale of the conflict its necessary parameters. But the plain dialogue is definitely part of the charm of the book...the characters even snark about the flowery language in the allusions they use.

And finally, the scale is big. Really big. Without giving too much away, the contest is just the tip of a very big iceberg below the surface. But it never feels like it's too immense to comprehend, like the people involved in it are too small. Powers manages to keep a tight control over the narrative, to make it about the characters without getting lost in the narrative. I like it when a gods-and-monsters plotline gets it right, and with its mythology, lore about probability, and gangster allusions, Last Call does it almost too well.

The book is not, however, perfect. A lot of sections tend to end in bizarre ways, and occasionally just stop. The character of Dondi Snayheever is important, but doesn't immediately seem to fit in**. There's also a very creepy subtext in that it seems like brother and sister pairs are able to Assume the throne and win the contest-- as archetypical King and Queen, or husband and wife. Which fits the mythological context, but is damned creepy.

But these are minor nitpicks. This book is well worth the price of admission, the characters are rich, the setting is full without being exposition-heavy, and overall the entire thing is brilliant. Buy this book. Get it out from the library first if you must, but if you do not read this book, you are doing yourself a massive disservice.

And now, I leave you with this:

"I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died." - Steven Wright

NEXT WEEK:

- Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

AND AFTER THAT, SOMEWHAT INTERMITTENTLY:

- Down Town by Vido Polikarpus and Tappan King

- Coverage of ZenKaiKon, hopefully this time with me remembering to take pictures and not ramble so all-fired much

- Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

AND MUCH LATER, POSSIBLY AS BUFFER MATERIAL

- Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon

- Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon***

* Third time I've referenced Pynchon without actually reviewing a Pynchon book. Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. I have a copy of Against the Day with a bookmark in it sitting right near my hand...

**I didn't get what he was doing there until the second time I read the book through. Poor guy. Pooor guy.

***SEE? SEE? I told you I was gonna get there eventually.

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Feb 23, 2013 Helmut Barro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Letzte Ausfahrt: Las Vegas

Poker ist wieder schwer in. Das heutzutage äußerst beliebte Texas Hold'em ist aber nicht die Art von Kartenspiel, die in diesem Buch betrieben wird: Hier geht es nicht um Chips oder Dollars, hier geht es um Macht, Zauberei und sogar ewiges Leben. Der etwas heruntergekommene Ex-Pokerspieler Scott Crane hat vor zwanzig Jahren einen schlimmen Fehler begangen, er hat sich auf ein seltsames Kartenspiel mit einem seltsamen Mann eingelassen, und stellt fest, dass der damalige...more Letzte Ausfahrt: Las Vegas

Poker ist wieder schwer in. Das heutzutage äußerst beliebte Texas Hold'em ist aber nicht die Art von Kartenspiel, die in diesem Buch betrieben wird: Hier geht es nicht um Chips oder Dollars, hier geht es um Macht, Zauberei und sogar ewiges Leben. Der etwas heruntergekommene Ex-Pokerspieler Scott Crane hat vor zwanzig Jahren einen schlimmen Fehler begangen, er hat sich auf ein seltsames Kartenspiel mit einem seltsamen Mann eingelassen, und stellt fest, dass der damalige monetäre Gewinn einen Preis hat, der ihn selbst und alle, die sich um ihn herum befinden, teuer zu stehen kommt. Doch der Kartenzauberer rechnet nicht mit dem Potenzial, das in Scott Crane steckt...

Tim Powers schreibt keine Romane, die man so mal schnell nebenbei liest. Auch in "Last Call" muss man sich durcharbeiten: Viele Handlungsstränge, viele Personen, ein aufreizend komplexer Spannungsaufbau. Hier bekommt man nichts serviert, sondern erst mit Fortschreiten des Romans versteht man Stückchen für Stückchen, was da eigentlich vor sich geht. Auch wenn das stellenweise zugegebenermaßen etwas frustrierend ist, ist das Endergebnis umso befriedigender: Hier entfaltet ein Künstler eine wahre Pracht an verrückten Ideen, die wie kleine Zahnrädchen ineinandergreifen, obwohl sie scheinbar auf den ersten Blick so gar nicht zusammenpassen. Powers hat das seltene Talent, aus etwas so Banalem wie Kartenspielen eine mystische, in sich geschlossene Fantasiewelt aufzubauen, die in unserer modernen Welt verortet ist, und dabei viel geheimnisvoller und spannender zu erkunden ist als alle künstlichen Fantasywelten.

Das Taschenbuch ist eng bis an den Seitenrand mit etwas miefiger Tinte bedruckt. In Kombination mit billigstem Papier und einer sehr festen Klebebindung ist das haptische Leseerlebnis nicht unbedingt angenehm.

Wie dieser Roman zeigt, braucht es nicht immer Drachen und Vampire, um Spitzenfantasy zu schreiben. Garantiert: Nach der Lektüre dieses Romans wird man Glücksspiele in Zukunft mit anderen Augen sehen.(less)

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Oct 24, 2012 Juan Raffo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"—¿Qué compraste en la última mano? —preguntó Crane.
—Suerte —dijo Ozzie—"

El mito del Rey Pescador re-interpretado en clave de póquer con Las Vegas como especie de Monte Olimpo de arquetipicos dioses representados en las cartas del tarot.

El mafioso Bugsy Siegel, uno de los creadores de Las Vegas fue en realidad una re-encarnación del Rey Pescador, avatar de Dionisios, Osiris, Jesús y cualquier dios que haya muerto para resucitar, destronado por Georges Leon, quien para ser inmortal necesita trasl...more "—¿Qué compraste en la última mano? —preguntó Crane.
—Suerte —dijo Ozzie—"

El mito del Rey Pescador re-interpretado en clave de póquer con Las Vegas como especie de Monte Olimpo de arquetipicos dioses representados en las cartas del tarot.

El mafioso Bugsy Siegel, uno de los creadores de Las Vegas fue en realidad una re-encarnación del Rey Pescador, avatar de Dionisios, Osiris, Jesús y cualquier dios que haya muerto para resucitar, destronado por Georges Leon, quien para ser inmortal necesita trasladar su alma a distintos cuerpos que compra en una partida de poker llamada Asunción, la partida se lleva a cabo cada veinte años, años que son necesarios para que la compra anterior madure y poder realizar la toma de posesión de los incautos. Justo en este momento, cuando el Rey se dedica a pescar cuerpos, aparecen los Jacks (las jotas de la baraja) como aspirantes al trono que lo intentan derrocar. Aquí entra Scott Crane, hijo de Georges, quien junto con su vecino Mavranos y su padre adoptivo Ozzie, intentan salvar sus vidas y la de su hermana adoptiva Diana, candidata a Reina (avatar de Isis, Diosa Madre, Demeter).

Suena algo complicado y en realidad lo es, todos esos detalles del mito y las relaciones con las cartas y los juegos de azar se van descubriendo poco a poco, con bastante esfuerzo del lector quien además debe descubrir como Georges pasa de un cuerpo a otro cambiando de nombres y personalidades pero aderezado con algo que me pareció fascinante; las supersticiones, tan comunes en los jugadores, vistas como ritos mágicos de poder y defensa ante dioses y entidades del azar y el caos, los mismos que controlan las cartas y el juego. El tarot (y su heredero, el juego de cartas moderno) y el póquer como representaciones de los individuos que manejan y usan esas cartas. Todo conectado y todo representado en los naipes.

Muy buena novela en mi opinión más controlada y mejor construida que la famosa y desbocada Las puertas de Anubis, aunque comparten ese manejo "racional" de la magia que acostumbra a usar Powers.(less)

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Aug 09, 2012 Dustpuppy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I re-read it as often as I can without having it feel stale. It takes place "now"-ish (I think there's a specific year, but it could be "now"), and in a world that you begin to believe might be ours. It's a lot like ours, but with forces at work that most people won't or can't perceive.

I cannot do this book justice. Just go get it and read it and love it.

Possible spoilers below, do not read further if you don't like spoilers!
(I'll try not to give muc...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Arref Mak rated it 4 of 5 stars

Puzzling and exciting.

I had trouble putting this down and keeping my sleep hours. The characters are woven of strong stuff and the story is draped in the shortfalls and failures of these characters to keep to their own ideals and plans. Despite the glaring sunshine of the locales, I read this feeling that a dark horrible ending was the only outcome to be expected.

Even the characters look at each other at several points along the way and comment they've "already lost" and are "doomed". You believ...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Gene rated it 2 of 5 stars

My random introduction to Tim Powers was his 1997 fantasy novel The Anubis Gates. I picked it up completely by accident and ended up enjoying it very much. Subsequently I purchased a couple of his other books. This is the one I read next, but there is no need to summarize a plot in the 'review' of a book, so instead I would address other important aspects of the work. His work is sometimes labeled speculative fiction, however, that is a misnomer. In fact he is no Don Delillo. Powers writes fanta...more My random introduction to Tim Powers was his 1997 fantasy novel The Anubis Gates. I picked it up completely by accident and ended up enjoying it very much. Subsequently I purchased a couple of his other books. This is the one I read next, but there is no need to summarize a plot in the 'review' of a book, so instead I would address other important aspects of the work. His work is sometimes labeled speculative fiction, however, that is a misnomer. In fact he is no Don Delillo. Powers writes fantasy that doesn't admit, or shall I say, draw attention, to its being fantasy. Perhaps that is where the label comes in. Powers' writing is well conceived and well executed. His imaginative push is off the charts. Having said that, this is also were the problems come in.
By far the most frustrating thing about reading this book is not knowing what the hell is going on 85% of the time. The plot (all his plots) prepossesses a certain familiarity and rely heavily on the allure of 'mystery'. By far the biggest problem, though, is the characters aren't all that sympathetic, and you find you don't really cares what happens to them, so long as there's action and blood (for instance, the most compelling character in this story is a supporting one - the Coors-guzzling Arky - who's drive in the plot is to cure his cancer and somewhat less obviously to be a true friend, some irrational devotion, and he succeeds in what we deem to be character growth but do not forget he is largely a little joke in the larger story.) This being less of an obstacle, however, than the drive the follow the mystery - and it is quite compelling as a mystery - to the end, you read on.
The mystery drives the thing. A reader more used to that genre would be more forgiving. Eventually I got into the characters and overlooked a hiccup or two in the plot and achieved closure, more or less. The important thing is that the writing is fluid, the command of language is instinctive and colorful; fairly literary in fact, it paints an adequate picture and is pleasant and easy to read, besides the aforementioned frustration of plot. I read this on work downtime and it was the perfect thing. On a rating board of only 5 stars, some books will inevitably be left with one or two. Even so, I look forward to reading more Tim Powers in the future. (less)

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May 17, 2011 Patrick rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-fantasy

Several people of good judgment have told me to read Tim Powers, and after reading this I understand the regard that Mr. Powers has earned among fellow writers, but of all the books to which he's put his name, I suspect this was the wrong one to use as a calling card.

His dark tale of a card game gone wrong and a cross-country race against time with nebulously-defined redemption on the line left me cold. Cards are trying to make themselves whole, or demigods are trying to make themselves whole,...more

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Dec 11, 2008 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Powers had been on my list of authors to get to for ages. I'm glad I finally made it to him.

This wasn't quite like any other fantasy I've read: deeply invested in the iconography of magic and legend, literary but surprisingly brutal. It took awhile for me to get completely into, as there are quite a few characters and their identities and alliances remain obscure for a good portion of the book. This strikes me as a book that would reward re-reading. I think I might have missed the significance...more

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May 02, 2011 Steven Grimm rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

The epic tale of a bunch of small-time wannabes and nutcases battling incompetently over a supernatural prize of questionable value.

It's hard to put my finger on what I found frustrating about the story. Certainly the prose was very well-crafted, and the premise was creative and unique. Maybe it was a steady stream of plot developments that required not just one character, but pretty much *every* character, to make stupid, careless mistakes. Maybe it was the small stakes; the main character cert...more

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May 12, 2010 Bertrand rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural-fiction, horror, slipstream, fantastique

Emoustillé par la réputation de pape de la littérature fantastique qui précède Tim Powers, je m’étais fait une joie de rentrer dans un des romans les plus célèbres. Outre ce Poker d’âmes, on lui doit entre autres les Voies d’Anubis ou le Poids de son Regard.
Poker d’Âmes c’est une cavalcade sous le soleil de plomb de l’Ouest des Etats-Unis contre une machination implacable sur le thème des cartes, et du jeu de tarot en particulier. Scott Crane, le personnage principal, est victime d’une machinati...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Jay Daze added it · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned, fantasy

I set this aside after a very long 90 pages.

The underlying Carl Jung/Joesph Campbell archetype stuff, something like the 'skeleton of the universe', was interesting but I just couldn't latch on to any of the characters or their situations.

Perhaps it was something about the professional card player/grifter setting that didn't appeal. Though I was fine with that in Ondaatje's Divisadero and the writing in Last Call reminded me of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which I quite enjoyed.

I also wonder...more

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Sep 28, 2007 Betsey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lori

Shelves: fantasy, magicalrealism, fiction

This was a fun read. It wasn't too deep, but wasn't too shallow either. It was extra fun b/c Powers really worked knew his tarot and poker, and made his created world seem effortless and logical. I saw some other reviewers compare this to American Gods, but this difference is: it doesn't suck.

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Jan 17, 2010 Mcgyver5 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

I'm going to say it: If you read one Tim Powers book, you've read them all.
This one was zany and had some cool ideas and intricate plot twists, but nothing transcendent that makes it a must-read over his other books.
This is just as zany and convoluted as the other Tim Powers books I have read. It is depressing but effective to have the characters act out their compulsions for food, alcohol, gambling and murder. Like in his other books, Powers can make me laugh:

Every time he tried to initiate a d

...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Bill rated it 3 of 5 stars

The creatures in this book, being all of human form, physically, are no less strange and misshapen then your garden variety centaur or flying goat man.

Its a strange, expertly created, fantasy world; this Las Vegas that Powers has created. Where luck and magic are inseparable, where playing cards are totems to powerful 'gods'; archetypes which are themselves susceptible to human corruption.

A few of the gods are well known, but Powers demonstrates the innumerable of forms they can take by inventi...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Last Call is the second book I've read by Tim Powers, with the first being Anubis Gates. I enjoyed Anubis Gates a bit more, as the central time travel conceit was better suited to my interest than the Tarot/poker focus of Last Call. However, I must say that knowing nothing about poker or Tarot did not significantly detract from my enjoyment of the book.

If I had to liken Last Call to any other book that I've read, it would have to be Neil Gaiman's American Gods (though I believe Last Call was pub...more Last Call is the second book I've read by Tim Powers, with the first being Anubis Gates. I enjoyed Anubis Gates a bit more, as the central time travel conceit was better suited to my interest than the Tarot/poker focus of Last Call. However, I must say that knowing nothing about poker or Tarot did not significantly detract from my enjoyment of the book.

If I had to liken Last Call to any other book that I've read, it would have to be Neil Gaiman's American Gods (though I believe Last Call was published first). They have a similar tone and the journeys of the main characters over the course of the plot also bears similarities.

The way Powers blends mythological Gods, their mortal avatars, spiritual Kings and Queens, and concepts of succession, is interesting. However, having finished the novel, I still have only a vague idea of how things work in this particular universe. I don't know if this is intentional, or if this comes from my own ignorance in some of the concepts presented. Though, reading a little bit about the legend of the Fisher King sheds some light on the mechanics.

Regardless, I really liked Last Call and its main character, Scott Crane. Crane can be a bit frustrating at times, but it fits with his character. His progression through out the novel is natural and leads organically to the book's conclusion.

Crane is joined by an odd cast of ancillary characters, which was also a trait of Anubis Gates. One of the most peculiar characters was an assassin in which Powers blended a strange combination of sociopathic narcissism with deep seated self esteem issues, manifesting itself in the need that everyone he meets genuinely like him, including those he is about to kill. This need propels him into a situation that is way over his head and results in a most fitting end. There are several other characters that are also not the standard fare, which gives gives Last Call a distinctive personality.

Ultimately, I found Last Call to be a worthy read. I understand that it is part of a loosely connected trilogy, but at this point I do not feel the need to immediately read the sequels. Last Call seems pretty self-contained, with no real loose-ends that urge me to continue reading. I may get around to the related novels eventually, but my backlog of books is too great for me to insert these in any time soon. (less)

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Feb 29, 2012 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Like some others "Anubis Gates" was my introduction to Tim Powers. Although I enjoyed Anubis, it just left me feeling not quite satisfied with the totality of the book. "Last Call" had everything for me. I never, never, alright, hardly ever reread books and rarely more than twice. I've reread Last Call many times and still enjoy everything about this book. I've read everything else by Powers (although I've not read all the William Ashbless) and this is still the one I go back to. If you enjoy hi...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Joseph rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-magical-realism

If you're only going to read one Tim Powers book, this should probably be it. Of course, I would urge you to read several Tim Powers books, and possibly all of them.

Assuming it's your first outing with Powers, get ready for Grail Magic in Las Vegas, turning the new kingdom in the west into a very old kingdom in the west. Although Shane complains that the magic system is obscure and poorly explained, this is not a book that can be approached from a technical viewpoint as to the magic system. It's...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Elizabeth K. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Len

Shelves: 2010-new-reads

This is a three and a half stars. Urban fantasy, set in Las Vegas, where a grittier, American-style version of the Fisher King legend is playing out, driven by the mechanisms of the tarot, which of course is being fueled by the amount of card play going on at any given moment. The whole thing is framed as a poker game, but I confess that I'm bad enough at following normal poker and thus didn't try very hard to parse out the mystical poker so I can't speak to how convincing that aspect is.

This is...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Greg Pettit rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, fantasy, stopped-reading

Although I found the ideas and characters interesting, I just could not get into this book. Perhaps I just wasn't in the proper frame of mind to appreciate it, but I decided to stop reading about a third of the way into it.

The story follows characters who experience a form of magic through the manipulation of cards. Playing games of poker can provide insight into the future, as well as have strange consequences. They are converging in Las Vegas for basically the battle for one man's body and sou...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Richard Claypool rated it 4 of 5 stars

Magic, death, poker, soul swopping, what's not to like in this book?

The city of sin, supernatural subjugation, and Tim's interesting bits of fact tossed in. What's real superstition? Who knows, who cares? I know this, I'll be careful if I ever play poker, and I'll never play Assumption!

Oh, start looking for religous meanings through out the text. I saw a couple of them before, but I am going to reread this .. sometimes. I wish bard would digitize this, but old mysteries are more their thing.

If y...more

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Jun 06, 2009 John Onoda rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was one of those books that has been sitting unread on my shelf for years; and now I could shoot myself because I should have gotten to it immediately. It is fabulous -- brilliantly conceived and plotted, full of great characters and a very specific world of casinos and hotels and low-class dives.

Powers has a knack for creating entire mythologies and then slowly revealing them through big, complex stories. I've read several other of his books and they never disappoint. This is my favorite o...more

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