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Vickery and Castine #1
Alternate Routes
Something weird is happening to the Los Angeles freeways—phantom cars, lanes from nowhere, and sometimes unmarked offramps that give glimpses of a desolate desert highway—and Sebastian Vickery, disgraced ex-Secret Service agent, is a driver for a covert supernatural-evasion car service. But another government agency is using and perhaps causing the freeway anomalies, and their chief is determined to have Vickery killed because of something he learned years ago at a halted Presidential motorcade.
Reluctantly aided by Ingrid Castine, a member of that agency, and a homeless Mexican boy, and a woman who makes her living costumed as Supergirl on the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theater, Vickery learns what legendary hell it is that the desert highway leads to—and when Castine deliberately drives into it to save him from capture, he must enter it himself to get her out.
Reluctantly aided by Ingrid Castine, a member of that agency, and a homeless Mexican boy, and a woman who makes her living costumed as Supergirl on the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theater, Vickery learns what legendary hell it is that the desert highway leads to—and when Castine deliberately drives into it to save him from capture, he must enter it himself to get her out.
277 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2018
108 people are currently reading
785 people want to read
About the author
Tim Powers
172 books1,733 followersTimothy Thomas Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare.
Most of Powers's novels are "secret histories": he uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters.
Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959.
He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, where he first met James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks" in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton.
Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) is dedicated to him.
Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates, which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.
Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts where his friend, Blaylock, is Director of the Creative Writing Department. Powers and his wife, Serena, currently live in Muscoy, California. He has frequently served as a mentor author as part of the Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop.
He also taught part time at the University of Redlands.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Most of Powers's novels are "secret histories": he uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters.
Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959.
He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, where he first met James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks" in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton.
Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) is dedicated to him.
Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates, which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.
Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts where his friend, Blaylock, is Director of the Creative Writing Department. Powers and his wife, Serena, currently live in Muscoy, California. He has frequently served as a mentor author as part of the Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop.
He also taught part time at the University of Redlands.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
October 12, 2020
Having read a number of Tim Power books, I knew enough to expect some RATHER interesting juxtapositions of ideas turned into a huge worldbuilding conceit and a wide exploration of possibilities.
A big mix of mythologies, history, and even poetry? Yep. Ovid, Daedalus, and Dryden mix with a ghost uprising directly tied to the American highway system, and underneath it all, we have an incursion of unreality, the Minotaur's Labyrinth, and a pretty traditional UF hidden beneath these layers.
UF? Well, I don't normally associate Tim Powers with UF, but this is definitely one. I usually thought of him as a proto-UF writer, influencing the later writers with similar ideas.
Honestly, I think I would have preferred a traditional Tim Powers novel. He IS very strong with quirky characters, but quirkiness doesn't always equate to emotionally satisfying characters. But he IS also very strong with ideas, so it's not like I'm complaining about the quality of the book. It's a rich book.
I spent a lot more time figuring out the magic system and its rules than getting into the MC's dynamic. It is what it is! :)
I DID make some heavy connections between this book and Chuck Wendig's Miriam Black series and Seanan McGuire's Ghost Roads series.
A big mix of mythologies, history, and even poetry? Yep. Ovid, Daedalus, and Dryden mix with a ghost uprising directly tied to the American highway system, and underneath it all, we have an incursion of unreality, the Minotaur's Labyrinth, and a pretty traditional UF hidden beneath these layers.
UF? Well, I don't normally associate Tim Powers with UF, but this is definitely one. I usually thought of him as a proto-UF writer, influencing the later writers with similar ideas.
Honestly, I think I would have preferred a traditional Tim Powers novel. He IS very strong with quirky characters, but quirkiness doesn't always equate to emotionally satisfying characters. But he IS also very strong with ideas, so it's not like I'm complaining about the quality of the book. It's a rich book.
I spent a lot more time figuring out the magic system and its rules than getting into the MC's dynamic. It is what it is! :)
I DID make some heavy connections between this book and Chuck Wendig's Miriam Black series and Seanan McGuire's Ghost Roads series.
November 19, 2023
The collected works of Tim Powers can be read as a haunted universe. From the haunted 19th century London of The Anubis Gate, to the haunted 18th century Caribbean of On Stranger Tides, to the haunted 20th century Las Vegas of Last Call (and all books in between), Powers signature is his unique, creepy host of ghosts. They play greater or smaller parts from novel to novel, but as Keith Richards provides that special something that immediately identifies a Rolling Stones song, Powers' ghosts are what marks a book with his distinct style.
Alternate Routes is driven by its ghosts; they are what propel the plot from first chapter to last. Powers LA is fleshed out with a car service for people avoiding ghosts, and highway gypsies who are familiar with their ways. Though the live characters in this novel don't seem to be as fully fleshed as in some of his other works, the concentration on this ghostly world with all of its uncanny quirks and amenities will be a pleasure for any Powers fan.
This shouldn't be your first Powers book. If you have yet to read him, read Last Call, and perhaps a couple of others first. To fully appreciate this offering, you should already be introduced to the mechanisms of the ghostly Powers' universe.
Alternate Routes is driven by its ghosts; they are what propel the plot from first chapter to last. Powers LA is fleshed out with a car service for people avoiding ghosts, and highway gypsies who are familiar with their ways. Though the live characters in this novel don't seem to be as fully fleshed as in some of his other works, the concentration on this ghostly world with all of its uncanny quirks and amenities will be a pleasure for any Powers fan.
This shouldn't be your first Powers book. If you have yet to read him, read Last Call, and perhaps a couple of others first. To fully appreciate this offering, you should already be introduced to the mechanisms of the ghostly Powers' universe.
June 22, 2024
I don’t write reviews.
There was a smorgasbord of interesting stuff in this one. Powers is amazing at balancing intense supernatural experiences with mundane everyday life. The disembodied spirits and their afterlife dementia were McDowell-style creepy. Bettlejuice kooky. Vickery and Castine weren’t as annoying as I anticipated them to be. I was expecting X-Files pastiche and I’m glad that’s not what I received.
I did get hang gliding in a tornado of ghosts. Don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler. It’s more of a reason the story didn’t meet its full potential: heavy-handed foreshadowing. Also, there was a bit too much “and just when there were no options left, he was saved by…” It wasn’t terrible, but not necessary. I guess the “villain” and his motives could’ve been fleshed out a bit more, since I still don’t understand why.
There was a smorgasbord of interesting stuff in this one. Powers is amazing at balancing intense supernatural experiences with mundane everyday life. The disembodied spirits and their afterlife dementia were McDowell-style creepy. Bettlejuice kooky. Vickery and Castine weren’t as annoying as I anticipated them to be. I was expecting X-Files pastiche and I’m glad that’s not what I received.
I did get hang gliding in a tornado of ghosts. Don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler. It’s more of a reason the story didn’t meet its full potential: heavy-handed foreshadowing. Also, there was a bit too much “and just when there were no options left, he was saved by…” It wasn’t terrible, but not necessary. I guess the “villain” and his motives could’ve been fleshed out a bit more, since I still don’t understand why.
May 11, 2018
Review: ALTERNATE ROUTES by Tim Powers
There is no author equivalent to Tim Powers. Mr. Powers and John Connolly are the two authors I consistently count on to "take me away," to transport me to a realm at first seemingly like ours, but a realm undergirded and overtoned by a truly magical realism (surrealism) in which anything can happen and rules never apply.
In ALTERNATE ROUTES (the subtitle reads "The Ghosts of the Freeway are Rising"), L.A. exists side by side with a bizarre form of Afterlife, and both dimensions increasingly bleed through. Twisting the natural laws of physics, ghosts in the Afterlife can communicate, and a secret Federal agency, the Transportation Utility Agency, has charge of those communications. It's L.A. head has a specific agenda, and if he succeeds, the Other dimension will expand and consume L.A...and beyond.
There is no author equivalent to Tim Powers. Mr. Powers and John Connolly are the two authors I consistently count on to "take me away," to transport me to a realm at first seemingly like ours, but a realm undergirded and overtoned by a truly magical realism (surrealism) in which anything can happen and rules never apply.
In ALTERNATE ROUTES (the subtitle reads "The Ghosts of the Freeway are Rising"), L.A. exists side by side with a bizarre form of Afterlife, and both dimensions increasingly bleed through. Twisting the natural laws of physics, ghosts in the Afterlife can communicate, and a secret Federal agency, the Transportation Utility Agency, has charge of those communications. It's L.A. head has a specific agenda, and if he succeeds, the Other dimension will expand and consume L.A...and beyond.
August 22, 2018
Once again, I find myself wishing for half stars or a sliding scale on Goodreads. This could be anywhere between a 3 and a 4 depending on how much you love the books of Tim Powers.
I am a big fan and did enjoy this novel, but it fell short in some key areas for me. The biggest was the characters - the two main characters never really come alive in the way that his leads usually do, and the villain of the book almost seemed like a quick sketch.
One very-Powers-fanesque complaint I have is that the connection between the supernatural elements and our world's history also feels a little underexplored or underdeveloped.
In all, I'd say that this is worth reading for all Powers fans, but new readers should look elsewhere in his back catalog.
I am a big fan and did enjoy this novel, but it fell short in some key areas for me. The biggest was the characters - the two main characters never really come alive in the way that his leads usually do, and the villain of the book almost seemed like a quick sketch.
One very-Powers-fanesque complaint I have is that the connection between the supernatural elements and our world's history also feels a little underexplored or underdeveloped.
In all, I'd say that this is worth reading for all Powers fans, but new readers should look elsewhere in his back catalog.
August 28, 2018
This book was Tim Powers fanfic written by Tim Powers. It was everything about him turned up past when it's interesting and on to being self-parody without knowing it. He's done great things, go reread them instead.
January 16, 2019
Well its been a while since I have dipped myself in the alternate histories of Tim Powers. It appears he has a knack for his own kind of strangeness - where he is able to create a whole technicolour world of myths and practices and make it sound like we are seeing some modern rendition of ancient rites and magics
I will admit ever since I read Earthquake weather I have struggled to properly explain (even to myself) Tim Powers unique take on the metaphysical work, the way he can take almost random ideas and concepts and describe them and make it all sound like there is some hidden logic to it all that if you are careful and pay attention you too can see and master.
Well Alternate Routes is another entry in to this world and its just as creative as the others but now linked to a fast paced adventure reminiscent of the classic buddy movies. And I must admit its pretty additive. Now the GoodReads site says its book number 1 - are we seeing the birth of a new series. If so it will be interesting where it all goes. In the mean time I will sit and try and decipher the hidden techniques and lore surrounding his hidden world.
I will admit ever since I read Earthquake weather I have struggled to properly explain (even to myself) Tim Powers unique take on the metaphysical work, the way he can take almost random ideas and concepts and describe them and make it all sound like there is some hidden logic to it all that if you are careful and pay attention you too can see and master.
Well Alternate Routes is another entry in to this world and its just as creative as the others but now linked to a fast paced adventure reminiscent of the classic buddy movies. And I must admit its pretty additive. Now the GoodReads site says its book number 1 - are we seeing the birth of a new series. If so it will be interesting where it all goes. In the mean time I will sit and try and decipher the hidden techniques and lore surrounding his hidden world.
January 26, 2020
Tim Powers used to write books with characters who were engaging, quirky, and sometimes magical. The protagonists here are more than a bit wooden. And back in the day, it was a pleasant surprise to get a new Powers book and find out that some of those characters had returned (Earthquake Weather, where the casts of Expiration Date and Last Call make (mostly) common cause.) Here, the fact that this book is advertised up front as 'Vickery and Castine #1', feels more like a threat.
Granted, this one is better than Powers' prior effort, Medusa's Web--there are deeper connections with Greek mythology, a livelier Southern California magical subculture, and a villain of (eventually) mythical proportions. Still, I would probably not spend the time to read the sequel, and that's sad.
Granted, this one is better than Powers' prior effort, Medusa's Web--there are deeper connections with Greek mythology, a livelier Southern California magical subculture, and a villain of (eventually) mythical proportions. Still, I would probably not spend the time to read the sequel, and that's sad.
September 15, 2018
I hate giving Tim Powers a two star review but I hangglide and that part of the story was ridiculous, could have been researched a tiny bit. But the whole last half of the story was a slog to get through. Should have just reread Declare.
March 21, 2020
I dunno. It's chaotic, difficult to get into, but ties everything and offers a satisfying ending. I need to think about it.
December 14, 2023
Tim Powers is an author that comes recommended to me by my favorite author Christopher Ruocchio, who claims he is among the most underrated AND underknown authors of his caliber and career-length in publishing right now. Judging by his average star ratings here on Goodreads, that might very well be the case, but I'm not 100% sure I agree with just this book for sample size.
To be fair, Ruocchio always recommends The Anubis Gates and The Stress of Her Regard as good starting places, and also recommended this one and On Stranger Tides to me personally when I asked him about the work.
Alternate Routes is a rather interesting novel with some fun ideas bordering on and relating to the supernatural, and the way that supernatural element evolves alongside the deepening references to ancient authors and poets and familiar aspects of Greek Mythology is certainly cool, especially in how the "mechanics" of them work in the "real world" setting of the novel as well. There's some portal fantasy elements to this that were good in thought, though perhaps a little overused in this the first book of the Vickery and Castine trilogy. More on that a little later.
My favorite part of the book was the first act. Though a little confusing and hard to get into for the first chapter while you learn just what in the world the supernatural elements mean - and while you wonder if they're figurative or literal, because it takes a little while for it to become clear what they are - once I got into the narrative surrounding this little bit of the world, I found the adventure to be very intriguing.
My least favorite part was the second act, which I think has a bit too much repetition. The journeys back and forth on and to and from certain areas happens altogether far too often and a bit too many times for my liking, even if they subtly build up to the insanity that is the third act.
The third act is the weirdest part. Lots of crazy stuff that I couldn't even begin to explain without just spoiling what I remember. Things got weird, and it admittedly put me off a little bit. I totally respect the play, but I'm not 100% sure I was sold on how balls-deep Powers went on this when this is only a book one...
...to be fair (again), I'm not entirely sure I would have been able to tell that this was meant to be a trilogy just based on this first book. It could totally be a quasi-episodic trilogy, and not one focused primarily on the overarching plotting, in which case, going ham at the end of this is fine, because that's the entire point that it was building to. Again, I respect the decisions, but it has definitely taken some growing on me to properly accept. Though part of this problem could have been plowing through the whole final act basically yesterday alone, but that's kind of hard not to do on audio (firstly) and when the book is so short (secondly).
Either way, I found much of the plot and characters and especially the worldbuilding on display in Alternate Routes engaging and interesting, if not the best I've experienced. I plan to continue the trilogy, but not entirely sure when I'll have time to start the second one. Maybe as early as January but also probably not.
I think my most major complain however beyond what I've already expressed has to do with the way the "mechanics" of the supernatural are handled. It feels strangely a little TOO concrete to be believable, sure, but I can forgive this; really, it's the fact that basic math has a big part to play in this and so becomes a forefront element in conscious thought and dialogue of the characters particularly in the third act and it just feels cheesy and weird.
Also, one final point: the thematic aspects of the story weren't handled the most eloquently in my opinion either. Much of it was okay in the first act, but again by the third act, plenty of it became a little bit too preachy, as if we had heard that lesson already in the story, and in most cases where I noticed this, we had, and it hadn't been so obvious about it. Themes and morals could have used a little more subtlety in my opinion.
Not my favorite read in the world, not my least favorite either, but I do look forward to trying more Tim Powers in the future. Once I'm done with Vickery and Castine's trilogy, I'll move on to a few of the stand-alones after that.
Ruocchio praises Tim more for his historical fiction work, and so I want to try some of that out before I make any solid opinions on the author for myself. By then, I'll have a few of his titles under my belt, so I'll feel a little better about it haha
To be fair, Ruocchio always recommends The Anubis Gates and The Stress of Her Regard as good starting places, and also recommended this one and On Stranger Tides to me personally when I asked him about the work.
Alternate Routes is a rather interesting novel with some fun ideas bordering on and relating to the supernatural, and the way that supernatural element evolves alongside the deepening references to ancient authors and poets and familiar aspects of Greek Mythology is certainly cool, especially in how the "mechanics" of them work in the "real world" setting of the novel as well. There's some portal fantasy elements to this that were good in thought, though perhaps a little overused in this the first book of the Vickery and Castine trilogy. More on that a little later.
My favorite part of the book was the first act. Though a little confusing and hard to get into for the first chapter while you learn just what in the world the supernatural elements mean - and while you wonder if they're figurative or literal, because it takes a little while for it to become clear what they are - once I got into the narrative surrounding this little bit of the world, I found the adventure to be very intriguing.
My least favorite part was the second act, which I think has a bit too much repetition. The journeys back and forth on and to and from certain areas happens altogether far too often and a bit too many times for my liking, even if they subtly build up to the insanity that is the third act.
The third act is the weirdest part. Lots of crazy stuff that I couldn't even begin to explain without just spoiling what I remember. Things got weird, and it admittedly put me off a little bit. I totally respect the play, but I'm not 100% sure I was sold on how balls-deep Powers went on this when this is only a book one...
...to be fair (again), I'm not entirely sure I would have been able to tell that this was meant to be a trilogy just based on this first book. It could totally be a quasi-episodic trilogy, and not one focused primarily on the overarching plotting, in which case, going ham at the end of this is fine, because that's the entire point that it was building to. Again, I respect the decisions, but it has definitely taken some growing on me to properly accept. Though part of this problem could have been plowing through the whole final act basically yesterday alone, but that's kind of hard not to do on audio (firstly) and when the book is so short (secondly).
Either way, I found much of the plot and characters and especially the worldbuilding on display in Alternate Routes engaging and interesting, if not the best I've experienced. I plan to continue the trilogy, but not entirely sure when I'll have time to start the second one. Maybe as early as January but also probably not.
I think my most major complain however beyond what I've already expressed has to do with the way the "mechanics" of the supernatural are handled. It feels strangely a little TOO concrete to be believable, sure, but I can forgive this; really, it's the fact that basic math has a big part to play in this and so becomes a forefront element in conscious thought and dialogue of the characters particularly in the third act and it just feels cheesy and weird.
Also, one final point: the thematic aspects of the story weren't handled the most eloquently in my opinion either. Much of it was okay in the first act, but again by the third act, plenty of it became a little bit too preachy, as if we had heard that lesson already in the story, and in most cases where I noticed this, we had, and it hadn't been so obvious about it. Themes and morals could have used a little more subtlety in my opinion.
Not my favorite read in the world, not my least favorite either, but I do look forward to trying more Tim Powers in the future. Once I'm done with Vickery and Castine's trilogy, I'll move on to a few of the stand-alones after that.
Ruocchio praises Tim more for his historical fiction work, and so I want to try some of that out before I make any solid opinions on the author for myself. By then, I'll have a few of his titles under my belt, so I'll feel a little better about it haha
July 3, 2019
Alternate subtitle: “The Deep State Goes Deeper Than You Think”.
This is not Declare. This is Tim Powers writing a movie, right down to one-liner quips. The narrative and the magic are less intricate, the rabbit-holes fewer. It could almost be an RPG adventure. It’s a very fast read for a Tim Powers novel.
Hell is superimposing itself on Los Angeles—specifically the freeways. Most people can’t tell the difference because LA freeways are pretty much hell to begin with. But those with access to weird science or weird magic can detect it and make use of it. What they don’t seem to realize is the extent to which it makes use of them.
Like many of his books, it takes place in the Los Angeles area, and most of what I thought he had to be making up is real. There’s even a Bandini Boulevard, which I thought had to be a nod to Ask the Dust; more likely, Fante got Arturo Bandini’s name from the Boulevard.
This is not Declare. This is Tim Powers writing a movie, right down to one-liner quips. The narrative and the magic are less intricate, the rabbit-holes fewer. It could almost be an RPG adventure. It’s a very fast read for a Tim Powers novel.
Hell is superimposing itself on Los Angeles—specifically the freeways. Most people can’t tell the difference because LA freeways are pretty much hell to begin with. But those with access to weird science or weird magic can detect it and make use of it. What they don’t seem to realize is the extent to which it makes use of them.
Like many of his books, it takes place in the Los Angeles area, and most of what I thought he had to be making up is real. There’s even a Bandini Boulevard, which I thought had to be a nod to Ask the Dust; more likely, Fante got Arturo Bandini’s name from the Boulevard.
August 20, 2020
Have to admit that by half way through this novel I’d lost interest in the story and characters and was simply going through the motions. Perhaps Tim Powers books are not for me. I found The Anubis Gates grueling and unimpressive as well. From this one I was hoping for some sort of X-Files type story, unfortunately I just found myself repeatedly turning to the end of the book to see how many more pages I had left. Definitely not a fan of Powers yet.
May 27, 2020
I'm really up in the air on this one between a very low 4 and a high 3 stars. The concept and reveal are well done in the classic Powers style - I've had a problem with his recent stories as they either seemed unambitious or (in the case of Medusa's Web) poorly realized. Alternate Routes combines ghosts (What Powers' novel doesn't?), the Los Angeles freeway, the legend of the Minotaur, Ovid's Metamorphosis, probabilities and perception, the Labyrinth of Daedalus, the destruction of Thera, and more. It also features various individuals and organizations (including the Transportation Utility Agency - which contacts ghosts for the US government), all with pieces of the big picture and with their own agendas. There's plenty of action and things are revealed at a good pace, so there are many surprises but the reader isn't left exclaiming "What the hell is he talking about?" either. I liked most of the characters but felt that the main villain was less interesting that those you usually see in Powers' stories. Also, while very enjoyable, Alternate Routes isn't as good as many of his older novels - but IS better than many of his recent ones. I'll be charitable and give this a very low 4 stars.
December 5, 2019
This is definitely not on the caliber of a typical Powers novel. This seems more like Peter Clines book actually. Meaning it would make a great syfy movie script. Not as rich and deep nor as mind bending and twisted as a typical powers novel. But I found it highly successful in terms of being a fun and energetic adventure with some of those crazy mythological mysteries we expect from Powers. I feel like like he is trying something different here creating a sort of x files type buddy adventure except in a strange Powers secret reality conspiracy thing. The biggest sin is that the female companion was not well developed and needs work. The mythos will expand and get more Powers like as he expands the series.
I will add that I walked away from a Tim Powers book wanting more, which is rare. Normally after a Powers book I need really long nap or rehab due to exhaustion.
I will add that I walked away from a Tim Powers book wanting more, which is rare. Normally after a Powers book I need really long nap or rehab due to exhaustion.
September 5, 2018
I was lured into this story by it's synopsis! Ghosts showing up around the Los Angeles freeways because the of the currents produced by traffic! it's a good story, very offbeat, but the odd twists and turns were confusing at times! The two main characters, Vickery an ex-Secret Service agent and Castine, a TUA agent, are being chased by this oddball government agency, the TUA, who want them dead for hearing ghosts!
August 18, 2018
Yes another quirky Tim Powers novel with odd systems regarding the supernatural. Quite enjoyable. While having his framework this novel stands on it own story wise. There are also Catholic elements to the story I also enjoyed.
May 1, 2022
Alternate Routes (Vickery and Castine 1) by Tim Powers
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
This book is archetypal Tim Powers' fare. The book sets a fantasy within an urban, hyper-modern setting. In this case, the setting is the freeways of Los Angeles. You probably did not know that when a being possessed of a will goes past another being with a will, a force is generated much like electricity is generated when a magnet is spun around a wire or vice versa. The force permits some short-term vision into the past or future. This effect is normally not large, so you need locations where there are a lot of moving "beings with wills" going past stationary "beings with wills."
Like freeways, for example,
You also were probably unaware that the ramifications of this field is to expand possibilities such that at the margins of these fields, or, say, close to freeways, it is easy to reach out into other possibilities to talk with beings who think they are the same people as people who have died in this world.
Likewise, you probably didn't know that there was an obscure government agency, known as the Transportation Utility Agency (the "TUA") whose job is to interview ghosts - or "deleted persons" - in order to get intelligence on otherwise unknown things for the government.
All this is true in Tim Powers' world.
Sebastian Vickery was a Secret Service agent who stumbled onto these truths while on the job. When the TUA tried to kill him, he shot first and is now an outlaw surving on the margins among those who have turned the "current" into profit. His existence is up-ended when a TUA agent from his past - Ingrid Castine - warns him that the TUA have a lock on him through the ghost of his dead wife and are about to terminate him with extreme prejudice.
From that point on, we have slambang action on the highways of Los Angeles and intrigue among both the marginal grifters who work with the "current" and the TUA bureaucracy. The action is fun and exciting, but, for me, the real charm was in seeing the marginal world that Powers creates and the rules he imagines for those trafficking in ghosts.
But, of course, being Tim Powers, the story could not be told without extra helpings of obscure mythology. This time we get Daedulus, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur. Interestingly, Powers, who is a Catholic, put a number of gratuitous Catholic references in the story. Thus Vickery goes to Latin Mass. There was an abacus that became a rosary. I am not sure what that was all about, except it probably was another layer of symbolism for literary critics to unravel.
Honestly, I enjoyed the portions of the story set in our world. I live imagining that there is a deeper world just behind our own. When the story shifted to the other world, it lost me. The other reality was not very interesting. Likewise, the ending set in the fantasy world of myth was hackneyed and silly compared to the real-world struggle. I certainly understand that Powers is fascinated by Jungian archetypes, but the shift from freeways to minotaurs interrupted my willing suspension of disbelief as a reader.
That said, I am going to read the next volume in the series because I did enjoy this one.
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This book is archetypal Tim Powers' fare. The book sets a fantasy within an urban, hyper-modern setting. In this case, the setting is the freeways of Los Angeles. You probably did not know that when a being possessed of a will goes past another being with a will, a force is generated much like electricity is generated when a magnet is spun around a wire or vice versa. The force permits some short-term vision into the past or future. This effect is normally not large, so you need locations where there are a lot of moving "beings with wills" going past stationary "beings with wills."
Like freeways, for example,
You also were probably unaware that the ramifications of this field is to expand possibilities such that at the margins of these fields, or, say, close to freeways, it is easy to reach out into other possibilities to talk with beings who think they are the same people as people who have died in this world.
Likewise, you probably didn't know that there was an obscure government agency, known as the Transportation Utility Agency (the "TUA") whose job is to interview ghosts - or "deleted persons" - in order to get intelligence on otherwise unknown things for the government.
All this is true in Tim Powers' world.
Sebastian Vickery was a Secret Service agent who stumbled onto these truths while on the job. When the TUA tried to kill him, he shot first and is now an outlaw surving on the margins among those who have turned the "current" into profit. His existence is up-ended when a TUA agent from his past - Ingrid Castine - warns him that the TUA have a lock on him through the ghost of his dead wife and are about to terminate him with extreme prejudice.
From that point on, we have slambang action on the highways of Los Angeles and intrigue among both the marginal grifters who work with the "current" and the TUA bureaucracy. The action is fun and exciting, but, for me, the real charm was in seeing the marginal world that Powers creates and the rules he imagines for those trafficking in ghosts.
But, of course, being Tim Powers, the story could not be told without extra helpings of obscure mythology. This time we get Daedulus, the Labyrinth, and the Minotaur. Interestingly, Powers, who is a Catholic, put a number of gratuitous Catholic references in the story. Thus Vickery goes to Latin Mass. There was an abacus that became a rosary. I am not sure what that was all about, except it probably was another layer of symbolism for literary critics to unravel.
Honestly, I enjoyed the portions of the story set in our world. I live imagining that there is a deeper world just behind our own. When the story shifted to the other world, it lost me. The other reality was not very interesting. Likewise, the ending set in the fantasy world of myth was hackneyed and silly compared to the real-world struggle. I certainly understand that Powers is fascinated by Jungian archetypes, but the shift from freeways to minotaurs interrupted my willing suspension of disbelief as a reader.
That said, I am going to read the next volume in the series because I did enjoy this one.
March 13, 2022
Alternate Routes by Tim Powers is the first in a series about disgraced former LA cop and Secret Service agent John Woods, now hiding as drifter Sebastian Vickery. In the ever-shifting Los Angeles scene of transients and transit, ghosts haunt the sites of their deaths, especially on the freeways, where mysterious ephemeral offramps lead to the beyond. Because he once heard something dangerous, the sinister Transportation Utility Agency sends Ingrid Castine to kill Vickery, but she balks and becomes a reluctant ally. Soon they are plunged deeper into the world of ghosts and shamans, as well as off-the-books federal enforcers. Eventually they land literally in the labyrinth/whirlwind facing the Minotaur, armed occasionally with automatic weapons, but often with nothing stronger than math they can do on a ten-bead abacus and the poetry of Ovid.
As usual, Powers delivers with beautiful prose, fascinating characters, and difficult moral dilemmas. As a bonus, he throws in enough references to literary classics to extend my to read/re-read list by several dozen. Bronson Pinchot's narration is excellent. But there are enough unresolved loose ends that I will be glad to read the sequel.
This is the third Powers book I have read, and in each there has been an obvious error, in this case, one of continuity (changing the name of a church). Each time, I have the feeling he's sending a coded message, but I have no idea what it is.
As usual, Powers delivers with beautiful prose, fascinating characters, and difficult moral dilemmas. As a bonus, he throws in enough references to literary classics to extend my to read/re-read list by several dozen. Bronson Pinchot's narration is excellent. But there are enough unresolved loose ends that I will be glad to read the sequel.
This is the third Powers book I have read, and in each there has been an obvious error, in this case, one of continuity (changing the name of a church). Each time, I have the feeling he's sending a coded message, but I have no idea what it is.
March 19, 2022
I probably would have liked this novel better had I read it before the COVID outbreak, and the possible threat of major-power military action, in that I'm in the emotional space where a story trading on looming existential threat has a lot of hurdles to get over. Still, the high concepts that Powers offers you are never less than interesting, and the climax of this story, involving a metaphysical labyrinth with the potential to seriously damage the reality of the characters, was actually pretty good. Maybe my problem boils down to how I'm not sure that Powers has ever created a female POV character that has really impressed me, and I needed more from Ingrid Castine; to be fair, my reading in Powers' backlist is not all it could be.
I gave this novel 3.5 stars over at Library Thing (I know, the classic cop-out rating) but, as time allows, I'll probably give the follow-up books a chance.
I gave this novel 3.5 stars over at Library Thing (I know, the classic cop-out rating) but, as time allows, I'll probably give the follow-up books a chance.
November 21, 2023
Took me a disproportionately long time to finish, and I really LIKE Powers' writing! Sadly, this is a sub-par performance, starting with the oddly perfunctory bloodshed, moving on to the weirdly undeveloped antagonist (for a guy named Terracotta he's definitely half-baked), and the mostly handwaved issue of where the "alternate routes" lead to. There's the wise ol' man serving as a literally lame information dispenser (how does he know all that he knows? NEVER MIND, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG), who, being Jewish, naturally deals with Vatican (lolwut), and plenty of other stuff thrown in, making the whole story dense, but mostly for no very good reason. (Also, don't know why, but the Greek name for Icarus is consistently misspelled. Way to go, Baen, way to go).
July 1, 2019
Fun, fast read about ghosts in Los Angeles -- and nobody does Southern California and ghosts better than Powers. While not as hefty as "Earthquake Weather," "Expiration Date," or "Last Call," there's some wonderful side characters. Here's hoping the haunted pine cone makes a reappearance in the next Vickery and Castine adventure.
August 22, 2019
Powers takes you down impossible roads
Tim Powers has, possibly, the most unique vision of all. His ghosts make his worlds very different. That, and I always mourned Icarus, too.
Tim Powers has, possibly, the most unique vision of all. His ghosts make his worlds very different. That, and I always mourned Icarus, too.
February 8, 2019
I frequently love books by Tim Powers, but these characters never grabbed me and ultimately I didn't care for this despite the cool setting.
March 23, 2019
I always like Tim Powers' books and I enjoyed this one, although I wouldn't rank it among his best books. I do generally prefer it when he's writing in a historical setting, although there were still some 'secret history' elements in the backstory the modern-day Los Angeles setting wasn't as interesting as the settings of some of his other books. One of the things Powers does well is to take a bizarre supernatural premise and make it feel strangely plausible, for most of this book he manages that, although it maybe gets a bit too surreal right at the end. The book doesn't waste any time in establishing the premise and characters and then keeps the momentum going throughout, with the stakes rising as the story progresses. I thought the two main characters were likeable, although Vickery did maybe feel a bit too reminiscent of the protagonists of some of Powers' other books. Overall, it doesn't really compare to the likes of "The Anubis Gates" or "Last Call", but it's still an entertaining book to read.
April 6, 2020
The last third of this book got lost in the labyrinth and by the time it got out I had lost interest. It is Tim Powers and was full of some nice conceits but it was also, to me at least, mawkish.
April 29, 2025
This book starts out with a great concept and a blast of an opening, but about halfway through it runs out of momentum and falls apart. I admire how much backstory the characters have and how quickly we get to know them and their problem, a villain compellingly similar to C.S. Lewis’s Doctor Frost.But then it seems like Powers doesn’t know what to do. He loses track of how his ghosts and their world work and what his characters want. I gave up about halfway through.
June 7, 2018
This was a strange modern fantasy, the only one I can remember where the world's oldest freeway plays a role.
If there are supernatural powers in the world, would a government agency wanting to utilize them really surprise you? The only real shock is just how crazy one of the government bureaucrats has become, possibly from his brushes with what's on the other side of death. Ghosts that seem to be semi-sentient echoes of what the person had been, along with ways to and from the other side of the life-death barrier, combine with freeways, taco trucks, weird ways to deflect ghosts, and a bunch of other things. The main story is about people who have suffered real losses, but some of those losses are made worse by continued contact with the things that claim to be your lost loved ones...or loved ones who never existed in the first place.
Shifting realities, shifting roadways, shifting alliances...this is a cool adventure story with ghosts who can talk on the telephone or the radio, or show up cosplaying their favorite stories, or a host of other odd things.
If there are supernatural powers in the world, would a government agency wanting to utilize them really surprise you? The only real shock is just how crazy one of the government bureaucrats has become, possibly from his brushes with what's on the other side of death. Ghosts that seem to be semi-sentient echoes of what the person had been, along with ways to and from the other side of the life-death barrier, combine with freeways, taco trucks, weird ways to deflect ghosts, and a bunch of other things. The main story is about people who have suffered real losses, but some of those losses are made worse by continued contact with the things that claim to be your lost loved ones...or loved ones who never existed in the first place.
Shifting realities, shifting roadways, shifting alliances...this is a cool adventure story with ghosts who can talk on the telephone or the radio, or show up cosplaying their favorite stories, or a host of other odd things.
September 27, 2018
5 Stars for Narration
4 Stars for Story
Mini-Review:
Tim Powers has become one of my favorite authors. I really enjoy the way he weaves various myths, fables, legends, religion, philosophies, history and more into a surreal world that is close to home. It's here.
Oddly enough, this book is not as dense in complexity as some of the other stories I have listened to. The lines between the physical world and the realm of leftover spirits is starting to fray apart. Persistent experiments to understand this other plane has caused holes that let in ghosts and snatches away the living into an undead realm.
Sebastian - An ex-agent on the run. He has a muddled past of regrets.
Ingrid - An agent with a conscience. She ends up saving Sebatian's life & ends up on the run.
They wind up on a tangled web of wishes of the living and the spirits rioting into war. The might have been tend to stay as illusive dreams of what if. What happens when the intangible becomes real?
4 Stars for Story
Mini-Review:
Tim Powers has become one of my favorite authors. I really enjoy the way he weaves various myths, fables, legends, religion, philosophies, history and more into a surreal world that is close to home. It's here.
Oddly enough, this book is not as dense in complexity as some of the other stories I have listened to. The lines between the physical world and the realm of leftover spirits is starting to fray apart. Persistent experiments to understand this other plane has caused holes that let in ghosts and snatches away the living into an undead realm.
Sebastian - An ex-agent on the run. He has a muddled past of regrets.
Ingrid - An agent with a conscience. She ends up saving Sebatian's life & ends up on the run.
They wind up on a tangled web of wishes of the living and the spirits rioting into war. The might have been tend to stay as illusive dreams of what if. What happens when the intangible becomes real?
November 3, 2018
IMHO, Tim Powers is one of the most exciting and unique writers of speculative fiction around. I've been reading his work for quite some time and have never failed to be amazed by his work.
For some reason, however, "Alternate Routes" just didn't quite click for me.
- As a reader, I felt that I was scrambling for purchase from the first chapter to understand what I was reading. Never really felt grounded.
- The characters, while fascinating, were...distant, somehow. I wanted to know their agency, their virtues and flaws. To a degree, I almost felt as though the characters were behind glass walls.
- The pace is fantastic and the plot remarkable.
- The worldbuilding is completely unique and subtle as hell.
- Really BIG questions are raised without ever being addressed.
In the end, "Alternate Routes" is a great book which never really came together for me.
For some reason, however, "Alternate Routes" just didn't quite click for me.
- As a reader, I felt that I was scrambling for purchase from the first chapter to understand what I was reading. Never really felt grounded.
- The characters, while fascinating, were...distant, somehow. I wanted to know their agency, their virtues and flaws. To a degree, I almost felt as though the characters were behind glass walls.
- The pace is fantastic and the plot remarkable.
- The worldbuilding is completely unique and subtle as hell.
- Really BIG questions are raised without ever being addressed.
In the end, "Alternate Routes" is a great book which never really came together for me.
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