false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172704949m/209690.jpg 209690 7 <p>Enchantingly dark and compellingly real, the World Fantasy Award-winning novel <i>Last Call</i> is a masterpiece of magic realism from critically acclaimed author Tim Powers. </p><p>Set in the gritty, dazzling underworld known as Las Vegas, <i>Last Call</i> tells the story of a one-eyed professional gambler who discovers that he was not the big winner in a long-ago poker game . . . and now must play for the highest stakes ever as he searches for a way to win back his soul.</p> 2720323 1992 Last Call total:680|5:296|4:246|3:105|2:23|1:10| 680 2835 953 78 5 2 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 15 12:28:09 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 01 10:40:25 -0800 2009 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 compar...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 18 05:44:37 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 30 13:20:22 -0800 2007 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 g...more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Aug 17 12:25:45 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 12:32:34 -0700 2008 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...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jul 30 10:20:20 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 10:20:26 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 06:33:49 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 10:24:07 -0800 2008
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 ther...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 28 09:57:20 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 28 09:59:45 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Sat Jun 06 15:12:51 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 06 15:16:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 13:10:04 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 18:18:02 -0700 2009 3+ more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 07 00:10:39 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 00:47:07 -0700 2009 Declare as Tim Powers' best work to date, Last Call is, among other things, an occult history of Las Vegas. After the sudden death of his wife, Scott Crane finds himself drawn back into the world of professional gambling. On the road to Las Vegas, he reunites with his foster family ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 13 22:23:15 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 22:28:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 10:19:57 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 06:35:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 15:46:43 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 16:12:25 -0700 2007 Earthquake Weather many years back; however, it was only very recently that I read the two books set earlier in the same timeline and universe: Last Call and Expiration Date.

Last Call presents the story of the Fisher King, set in Las Vegas and Los Angeles from the 4...more...]]> 4 0 true false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Nov 06 06:11:08 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:12:50 -0800 2009 But ultimat...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jul 29 21:48:14 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 21:51:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 11 10:24:51 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 09:29:50 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Sun Aug 16 14:22:57 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 14:33:06 -0700 2009 3 more...]]> 4 0 false true Thu Aug 17 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Jan 23 21:23:38 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 21:33:05 -0800 2009 2 more...]]> 1 1 false false Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 09:22:33 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 10:12:02 -0700 2008
...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 11:09:28 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 07:19:26 -0700 2008 Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. I can't believe this won a World Fantasy Award. If you're into archetypes and Norse gods, try American Gods or The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

An...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Oct 09 19:15:58 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 14 12:49:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=209690