Declare in The Alternative Worlds

Apr 12, 2008 Sandi rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 2008

I’m really torn about whether to give “Declare” 4 stars or 5. I enjoyed the story and I think Powers had some really great, innovative ideas and crafted them into a unique narrative that defies classification into traditional genres. It’s fantasy, but not fantasy as you normally think of it with dungeons and dragons and elves. It’s sort of a WWII/Cold War spy thriller, but the supernatural aspects prevent it being placed in that genre. It deals with faith and religion, politics and history.

I re I’m really torn about whether to give “Declare” 4 stars or 5. I enjoyed the story and I think Powers had some really great, innovative ideas and crafted them into a unique narrative that defies classification into traditional genres. It’s fantasy, but not fantasy as you normally think of it with dungeons and dragons and elves. It’s sort of a WWII/Cold War spy thriller, but the supernatural aspects prevent it being placed in that genre. It deals with faith and religion, politics and history.

I read a lot. I read a lot of difficult books. I was an English Lit major and I read a lot of even more difficult books than I’m reading now. I can’t think of any book I’ve read that’s been harder to read than “Declare” by Tim Powers. Not that it’s not worth the effort, it just takes extreme concentration to get through it without getting totally lost and confused. I tried to read it several years ago when I wasn’t reading as much as I am now and I didn’t have as much time to spend reading. I couldn’t make it through it.

The things that make “Declare” so difficult to read are the same things that make it so rich and complex. It’s a fantasy novel, so there is magic. But you don’t recognize it when you first see it. Instead, it starts off as a spy thriller; jumping from location to location and from year to year with mind-boggling transitions. I sometimes lost track of whether the setting was in the 1940’s or the 1960’s. The decade and locale would change in mid-chapter. To add to the confusion, Powers uses a lot of historical fact. One of the characters is Kim Philby, a real-life double agent working for the Soviets. In his author’s notes, Powers says that he worked this novel around what was really known about Philby’s life and career. He’s trying to come up with an explanation for some unaccounted time in Philby’s life. This blurring of fact and fiction makes this novel very complicated, but interesting. The protagonist, Andrew Hale, is a very believable character. He is a bona fide human being, not some cookie cutter spy. His actions reflect his humanity.

I think another thing that made this novel very difficult for me to read was its use of spy-thriller conventions. I have read very, very few spy novels in my life. Most of those were Reader’s Digest Condensed Books versions over 30 years ago. So, I’m not familiar with the conventions and pacing of the genre. The second half of the book does get easier as the timeline becomes less complex.

All in all, I’d say this is an excellent book. However, it’s not for the casual or the distracted reader. By the end, all the plots and sub-plots are tied up. But, nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. Reading this book is like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle. It’s worth reading if you have the time and concentration and are used to reading very challenging books. If you’re looking for a light, entertaining read, you won’t find it here.

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Jun 08, 2013 Dharmakirti rated it really liked it

This was a bit of a challenge for me. Mr. Powers wrote some rather long and quite dense sentences that took some effort for me to parse; it's not for the lazy reader or the skimmer. Another challenging aspect was moving between different time periods and keeping the characters and their alliances straight.

This book was well worth the challenge and time it took for me to read it. I really enjoyed the mixture of the spy story with the fantastic djinn/fallen angel elements. I do wish there was a li ...more

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