Esencia oscura

by Tim Powers

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 8496208184

Brian Duffy, un soldado de fortuna, es contratado para actuar de guardián en una taberna de Viena, en la que se fabrica la fabulosa cerveza Herzwesten. Sin embargo, hay algo extraño en todo ello: ha sido guiado allí por criaturas de las antiguas leyendas que pretenden que él es el paladín de Occidente.

Esencia oscura es el título con el que Tim Powers empezó a labrarse la reputación de maestro de la fantasía histórica. En ella, mezcla con su coctelera particular los mitos del Rey Pescador, el ciclo artúrico y diversas leyendas árabes, sitúa la trama en el escenario del asedio de Viena por parte de los turcos, la condimenta con la presencia un grupo de vikingos y obtiene de todo ello una de sus inimitables novelas de aventuras.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Fantasy, Alternate History, Adventure

315 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

Timothy 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.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was home for Christmas I saw this on the shelf and couldn't help but pick it up and read it. Cost me some sleep even though I was already exhausted. I missed an entire night of sleep reading it.

As with anything written by Tim Powers, it's worth your time.

Fair warning, if you're looking for a driving plot, this might not be the book for you. But if you enjoy mystery and unique worldbuilding, you're in for a treat....

[Ian Tregillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Powers is a mad genius.

The siege of Vienna, Vikings, and the Fisher King. Oh, and Merlin, of course. I'm tired, and lazy as hell, so that's about all the plot summary I can muster. On one level this is a book about beer, as might be inferred (playfully) from the title. It's the secret history of what the Ottomans were really after when they marched on Vienna, and a forgotten chapter of Arthurian Legend.

This is one of Powers's early novels, and I found it a little more concise than some of his later works. The later books sometimes get a teensy bit saggy or unfocused in the middle (I say that as an ardent fan). Having read most of his work in random order, rather than the order in which it was written, I enjoyed coming to this late because it meant I could watch his first explorations of certain ideas that have become important recurring themes in his later work. The Fisher King, in particular, reappears in several of his other works, including (most notably) Last Call and Earthquake Weather. I think I might have also spotted an embryonic form of the "Jacks" from Last Call.

In Powers's later works, the Fisher King loses some of the more overt trappings of Arthuriana, and becomes a more unique Powers construct. His sense of magic becomes much more refined and subtle with each book, but the seeds of his characteristic style are all here. (I say it all the time, but seriously: if magic were real, it would work like it does in a Tim Powers novel.)

One of the things I enjoy most about Powers's secret histories is that I always come away wondering just which parts were fictional and which parts really happened. Did a Viking longship really show up on the Danube just before the Siege of Vienna? I'm not sure, but if Powers says so, I'm willing to buy it.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Drawing of the Dark
by Tim Powers
This book is a mix of myth, fantasy, a bit of history, blended with battle, lots of beer, magic, and a touch of romance. It's slow in a few places but overall it stayed moving and held my interest. The characters are interesting and the story is unique. I had never heard of this book before I came across it. I just found out recently that it is considered a classic by some. Where have I been? My book cover has a keg on it. Quite fitting for this book.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago ('79 or 80 I believe)...and forgot about it till it was resurrected as a "lost fantasy classic", which I agree it is.

This one predates the glut of Arthurian pastiches, adaptions and outright rip-offs that got so popular for a while. Here we start with the story of a 14th century "soldier of fortune" com adventurer who's traveled and been a rogue and mercenary (among other things), Brian Duffy. Faced with what might be termed "an affair of honor" (facing 3 men) he finds it "convenient" to take a job as "bouncer" at an inn/brewery that was once a monastery.

As might be expected things are not as simple as they seem and before it's over Duffy will meet people, beings and creatures out of myth and history and quite possibly hold the fate of not only "the West" but all of Christendom in his hands.

This was a story that stayed with me, I like/liked it and I remembered it as soon as I ran across the "re-release". I may actually re-buy it and put it back on my shelf as my older paperback copy is long gone.

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

”In the very oldest version of the story, it was beer, not fire, that Prometheus stole from the gods and brought to man.”

Tim Powers’s very first hidden history is about beer. More precisely, it’s about how the secret purpose of Suleiman the Magnificent’s late season siege of Vienna in 1529 was to destroy an ancient brewery that was the spiritual heart of the West — the brewery that produced magical beer that restored health to the Fisher King.

Brian Duffy, middle aged Irish mercenary, is a prototype of Powers protagonist to come. Competent, down on his heels, and hard drinking, Duffy is recruited to guard the Herzwesten brewery in Vienna. and is drawn into increasingly strange adventures that threaten his sanity and very identity.

The Drawing of the Dark has many of the elements present in later Powers hidden histories; the Fisher King, efreeti, ghosts. And while he had not yet honed his occult creations to the uncanny creepiness he eventually achieved, he was already using them to turn simple history into occult extravaganza. Bands of chimera monsters, a Viking ship out of legend, Merlin and Arthur, Bacchus, Charon, Gambrinus, and the ghost of Finn McCool — Powers works all these mythical elements into this captivating historical fantasy.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a book about beer. I don't think I've read a book where the characters are sitting around and quaffing their favorite brews as much as in this one. The title itself refers to the dark beer that was first created thousands of years ago. So a good reason for 5 stars right there! But, of course, this book is about a lot more than beer. It's about an historical event which occurred in 1529--the Siege of Vienna by the Turks (the Ottoman Empire). The Turks (who had conquered Constantinople in 1453) were expanding north along the Danube under their great military leader, Sultan Suleiman. Having conquered Hungary, Suleiman was preparing to take Vienna and present-day Austria next, thus threatening all Western Europe. Into this situation appears a most unlikely hero--Brian Duffy, an aged Irish mercenary hired by a mysterious old man in Venice to work as a bouncer in a tavern in Vienna. And, especially on his journey through the Alps to Vienna, Duffy begins to see there's more going on than meets the eye. The coming battle between East and West is more than a clash of sword, cannon, and harquebus, it is an all-out battle of contending sorcery. And who is that old man who hired him to be a bouncer??
I like this mix of history and fantasy, and Tim Powers is the best at doing this kind of thing. Great characters, and a lot of action mixed with humor, this book is not only a 5 star book, but one of my favorite books ( I had read it before but thought it was just the book I needed in this time of pandemic to reread!). OK, bitte, bitte, time to pass me a pint. Prost!

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE DRAWING OF THE DARK is Tim Powers at his most playful.

Sure, he drags a whole bevvy of archetypes on stage as is his wont, with Fisher Kings and wise men to the fore. But we also get drunk Vikings, enchanted swords, wild journeys with high magic through the mountains, more beer, and large-scale battle scenes.

The plot revolves around the secret history of Europe, and a brewery that conjures up the stuff that champions are made of. It's fantasy, Jim, but not as we know it.

It's early powers, so it's not as intricate or tight as his later work, and not as densely lyrical. But it's an awful lot of fun, especially after the Vikings turn up and the mayhem proper gets under way.

And did I mention that Merlin is in there too? And that he has a fondness for smoking dried snakes?

Powers invention is fully to the fore in this one, and also his way with a set piece, with the aforementioned trip through the mountains being a highlight, along with a descent deep into the bowels under the brewery with Merlin, where much that is hidden is revealed and the plot, and the beer, thickens.

A fantasy novel about beer, and Arthurian archetypes by one of the greatest novelists of our time? That'll do for me.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving "The Drawing of the Dark" a FIVE for nostalgic reasons. My friend Ron and I would judge other books by this fine book by Tim Powers, an author of amazingly inventive imagination and wonderful, if flawed execution. Still, a four at least, for all sorts of good literary and artistic reasons. Thank you, Tim Powers.

Brian Duffy was a great, skeptical, resistant hero, and I needed him way back in 1979 or whatever the year would have been.

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite Tim Powers book and one of few modern fantasy books i have read that was a truly great read.

I liked it cause of his style of writing, his characters ,the humour,action and the awesome blend of historical setting and the supernatural. His themes are very interesting.


A ripping yarn ! A great historical fantasy.

[Javir11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antes de nada, querría comentar que esta es una de las primeras reseñas que hago sobre un libro, así que no seáis muy duros al leerla. Prometo mejorar con el tiempo, o si no se da el caso os invito a una buena cerveza.

Y hablando de cerveza, os voy a empezar a hablar de Esencia Oscura. Una historia que si habéis leído la sinopsis de más arriba, ya sabréis que se enmarca dentro del periodo histórico donde los turcos asediaron la ciudad de Viena en el siglo XVI.

¿Y os preguntareis qué importancia puede tener la cerveza en esta historia? Pues la verdad que bastante más de lo que a primera vista pueda parecer.

Pero primero vamos a hablar un poco de Tim Powers. Para todos aquellos que no tengáis el placer de conocerle (os recomiendo que acudáis cuanto antes a una librería o biblioteca y consigáis alguna de sus obras , “ Las Puertas de Anubis” es la más conocida ) os diré que esta fue la primera novela que sacó al mercado nada más y nada menos que en 1979, y como en la mayoría de sus otras historias, el autor estadounidense nos introduce como escenario dentro de un marco histórico reseñable, en este caso el ya comentado asedio de Viena, al que añade una pizca de magia, elementos sobrenaturales y dándole un pequeño giro de tuerca a viejas leyendas como la del Rey Pescador, el Ragnarok, o el ReyArturo, crea la trama de esta fantástica novela.

Hablando ya de la historia en sí, nos encontramos como protagonista a Brian Duffy, un veterano soldado de origen irlandés que malvive en Venecia, al que un viejo de aspecto y modales turbadores llamado Aureliano (junto a Duffy el otro gran protagonista de la historia), le ofrece sin conocerle (o eso le hace creer a Duffy) un suculento trabajo como guardia en una famosa cervecería de la ciudad de Viena.

A Duffy a pesar de las suspicacias que le produce la oferta, le es imposible rechazarla, primero debido al buen salario que el enigmático Aureliano le promete, y segundo y no menos importante, porque en Viena se encuentra el amor de su juventud y en su foro interno el viejo irlandés todavía cree que pueda tener cabida para el amor dentro de su corazón.

Pero lo que Aureliano no le explica a Duffy, es que a partir del momento en que acepta el trabajo y se encamina hacia Viena, e incluso una vez consigue llegar a la ciudad, su vida no va a dejar de correr un peligro tras otro viéndose obligado a hacer uso de su espada de forma más habitual de lo que desearía, al verse arrastrado sin su consentimiento a tomar parte en una histórica lucha entre las fuerzas del bien y las del mal, mucho más importante de lo que nadie, ni el mismo irlandés, pudiera llegar siquiera a imaginarse.

El final de la historia y el porqué la cerveza es tan crucial dentro de la trama, ya os lo dejo para que seáis vosotros mismos quien lo averigüéis leyendo este magnífico libro.

http://fantasiascifiymuchomas.blogspo...

[Liam Mulvaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

From now on, the first song that will come to mind whenever I think about this book is Queen's famous track from the 1986 movie Highlander: It's a Kind of Magic.

This book spells magic in a way that brings the 80s romp in fantasy gems at full speed. I'm incredibly disappointed that this story didn't receive its adaptation in a decade where movies like Highlander (oops, mentioned it again), Conan, Big Trouble in Little China, Legend, Princess Bride, and Labyrinth hit the big screen. I would have watched it, and it's that good!

Picture a grey-haired, battle-tested, scarred, yet funny world-weary Irishman who's a mercenary living in Venice. Brian Duffy is hired by a weird-ass older man (Aurelianus) who smokes snakes—to become a bouncer of a converted inn in Vienna in 1529, months before the first Ottoman-led Siege of Vienna. The inn is known as the Zimmerman Inn (a former monastery), and it's a fantastic place where the famous Herzwesten beer is brewed.

Now it might sound like a bizarre plot, but the beer has magical properties. And since the most excellent drink ever made by men is the central plot of this masterpiece, and I, too, relish it, I went full-on reading mode to enjoy it.

The book is comical at times but becomes mature later as the stakes become high, and more details are revealed by the mysterious Aurelianus (a rather difficult name to pronounce). The book follows many established Norse legends, such as Ragnarok and the Legend of Sigmund. I'll not give away more for fear of ruining this book.

The ending was abrupt. The novel could've benefitted if it were a few pages long. That's the reason why I gave this novel a four-star rating.

I would suggest reading this book if you are all Abercrombie fans and enjoy characters like Bayaz and Logen Ninefingers.

I also enjoyed the appearance of the Ottomans. The Ottomans played a large part in my country's history and imagining the Janissaries storming the walls of Vienna sent a shiver of excitement up my spine.
Is Brian Duffy likeable?

I would say so. Duffy is different from other heroes I've read about, and he is no Rand al' Thor or Conan, and he's a weary man trying to make a living and has to suffer through dire consequences.
So why the song?

The novel is somewhat comic, and the characters are cheery and optimistic. The book reminds me of older days when movies and books were plain old fun; spells were cast accompanied by fantastic music. I kept imagining Christopher Lambert as Brian Duffy.

[James Debruicker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about the Crusades and magic beer. That's going to either sell you on the novel or not.

[Hotspur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rare five-star classic, a book I would review to anyone. Tim Powers (a colleague and conspirator with James Blaylock) often lapses into the mythic using "fantasy reality" tropes. This book, and perhaps the more famous ANUBIS GATES, treat the fantastic as part of a perfectly understandable world, which makes for an interesting writing style.

Duffy is an aged soldier on the road to the Siege of Vienna, where he hopes to achieve some employment as a defender of the city. Along the way he seems to wander in and out of Faerieland; he certainly receives hints of a higher purpose for himself. The ensuing story has a little bit of everything thrown in to it- turks, mongols, magick, King Arthur, the Siege of Vienna, seedy Vikings, nuns, cannons, and most of all, BEER (the title references the annual drawing of the "Dark Batch" of Bock Bier at a particular bar in Vienna, which figures large into this plot).

The Drawing of the Dark is a romp-- unapologetically throwing everything AND the kitchen sink into the mix and achieving wondeful results. I recommend it to anyone.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about beer. It's also about love and loss and luck (and mythology and magic and Merlin), and the conflict (both philosophical, cultural, and ideological) between Eastern and Western cultures. Drinking wine and smoking snakes have their place, the Fisher King is a character, but mostly, as the title suggests, it's about the drawing of the dark.

[Maggie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but there was a bit of a mish-mash of stuff, and a couple things didn't ring true for me, but I still give it a 3.5

Brian Duffy is a bit of an Irish Jack of all Trades, and when he is offered a job in a famous brewery in Vienna, he decides it's the perfect opportunity to look up his old love he had never forgotten....

He gets there and reconnects with her almost immediately, but as he starts his new job at the brewery, strange things start to happen...

I don't mind a spiritual mish-mash, I do think most gods are just different interpretations of each other. And I'm okay with reincarnation, as I beleive it happens in some form or another. But some of how this all played out didn't feel right to me, especially the parts surrounding Brian's lost love, and the resolution to that. It's hard to say without spoilers, but he cared for her much more than that.

anyway, it's still an interesting story, which is the point of fantasy books after all! and it's about magical beer! What's not to like?

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, they wrote them dense, back in the day.

There's a lot I enjoyed here--in particular, Brian's disgruntled, determined ignorance in the face of the supernatural--but not quite enough for me to love. The racial politics of the inscrutable Evil Muslim East battling the Good West in a literal clash of civilizations made me raise an eyebrow a bit. And the side plot with the protagonist's love interest was, uh, well, that was a thing that happened. Yep.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writer Tim Powers first book and it was a fantastic historical fantasy. Set against the Historical event of the siege of Vienna by Suleiman the Great and the Ottoman Turks, Powers weaves an interesting tale. A reincarnated King Arthur, Merlin, a boat load of old Vikings and the Fisher King must defend the West against the forces of the East. All this revolves around the brewing of a vat of 700 year old mystical beer. Excellent story and plot, highly recommended.

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Начи, мръсна завист ме гризеше през цялото време, докато четях книгата. Тук не става въпрос за онова "Ей така искам да пиша." Става въпрос за онова чувство, че никога няма да стигнеш това ниво на литература.
Не съм се забавлявал така от "Последният сребърник" на Блейлок насам и не е случайност, че анотацията започва точно с негови думи.
Тим Пауърс ни забърква една фетъзийна алтернативна/крипто историческа бира, в която не спираш да се чудиш къде свършва историята и къде започва фантазията.
Запознайте се с Брайън Дъфи, застаряващ ирландски наемен войник, който обикаля европа в началото на шестнадесети век. След неприятен сблъсък с няколко млади парвенюта във Венеция му се налага бързичко да изчезне и точно тогава един ексцентричен старчок му предлага да стане охрана в пивоварна във Виена. Годината е 1529 и войските на Сюлейман се гласят точно да почукат на портите на империята. Дъфи скоро ще разбере, че задачата му е повече от необикновена. Всъщност разбира го още по пътя през Алпите, когато мит и действителност започват да се размиват в съзнанието му.
Иначе това е една книга за бира, дори заглавието е каламбур за приготвянето на онова магическо тъмно пиво. Иначе това е една книга за един от големите военни конфликти, който е дал образа на съвременна Европа. Пък и е книга тясно свързана с Артуровите легенди, разгледани по един необикновен начин. И най-вече е книга, която се чете на един дъх и с подцвилвания от кеф.
Ще напрепоръ1чвам, усещам.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never have I read a novel infused with so much drinking of beer! I could not turn a page, it seemed, when the protagonist Duffy doesn't quaff yet another tankard of ale. The very title itself refers to the drawing of the special, dark brew of beer that is performed once every few hundred years in order to invest the agents of the west with its magical, life enhancing properties.

Punctuating the relentless beer drinking is plenty of action; Duffy is beset by antagonists at every turn trying to thwart him and the cause that he is at first not even aware of. The author seems quite at home constructing action scenes that are well described and prevent boredom ever setting in.

So, those are the things I liked about the book. What I didn't like so much is the premise; of an age old struggle between east and west, this time manifesting itself in a crucial battle for Vienna by the Turks in the fifteenth century that, if successful, could lead to the ultimate triumph of east over west. Duffy get swept up in events, not because he's particularly interested in who wins, but because he is the latest incarnation of the great western hero who has been King Arthur (among others) in a previous life. Manipulated and coaxed by Merlin into taking part in the battle for Vienna, he reluctantly goes along with it.

There is an underlying humour to it all that occasionally made me chuckle and helps glue the narrative together, moving things along quite nicely but it didn't help the fact that I was still left feeling that the plot ambled along often without much direction and going down seeminglessly pointless digressions.

I did enjoy reading this book but overall I felt it was a bit too long and should have been a tad more focused. I'll leave you with the opening quotation from Tim's fictional poet William Ashbless that pretty much sums up what this book's all about:

"If but we christians have our beer, nothing's to fear."

[Dorian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Tim Powers' work, way back in about 1990 or thereabouts. I don't recall now what attracted me to it (it can't have been the bloody awful cover art) - perhaps the notion of a fantasy hero working as a bouncer; back then, the notion of the fantasy hero not being a Big Shiny Hero was new and exciting to me. Anyway, I've just been rereading it for the first time in some years...

...and it's stood up reasonably well under the passing years.

Brian Duffy is a middle-aged mercenary in 16th-century central Europe. As the book opens, he takes a job as bouncer in an inn in Vienna. This may prove to be a bad move, as the Turkish army is advancing on the city (never mind Duffy's personal issues), but as a bunch of aging Vikings, a sorceror, reincarnation, and various attempts at blackmail and bribery come into play, things become very complicated for Duffy indeed.

Brian is a well-drawn character, though neither heroic nor especially nice (but then, would you expect a 16th-century mercenary to be nice?). His refusal to accept what's really going on does get a bit tiresome after a while, though. The other characters are more lightly sketched in, and the only female character gets a thoroughly raw deal, which is annoying.

The plotline is based on the idea that there is magical stuff going on underneath the real, historical events of 1529 in Vienna, and the author weaves his fantastical bits well into the history, and does a good job of portraying a thoroughly unromantic view of mercenary soldiers of the time (without making them utterly unsympathetic).

The prose is at times clunky (he seems to have taken to heart the writing "rule" about not naming your character too often, and epithets such as "the Irishman", "the magician", "the hunchback", "the captain", etc. abound), but mostly serviceable if nothing more.

Overall, despite the testosterone-heavy feel, it's still a good read.

[D.D. Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest novels I’ve read. One of the things that most impressed me about it is the way it condenses a story that is very large and epic in scope within a short amount of pages (only about 320); the story is the one that concerns the fate and survival of western civilization, but yet the events of the story specifically concern one city in the European country of Austria (Vienna) and one inn in that city and beneath that inn one particular brewery and in that brewery a special type of beer on which the fate of the world hinges. And it is in that city and inn where the most epic events of the novel take place. This novel is an alternative history that takes place in 1529 and the central event of the story is the Siege of Vienna where the battle lines are drawn between east and west, with the west fighting for the survival of western civilization against the invading Ottoman Turks. As Powers likes to do with his alternative histories, he mixes historical narrative twists with magic and myth and the result is a brilliantly conceived eclectic bend. Here, he partially bases the premise for the book on the Arthurian legend of the Fisher King, with several of the characters apparently having been central characters of Arthurian legend in previous lives and the result is fun and humorous. I’ve read two other books by Tim Powers before – Stress of Her Regard and On Stranger Tides - but this one was by far the most enjoyable. You don’t have to know much about the history of Medieval Christian Europe or the Ottomans, or even Arthurian legends to enjoy the one heck of a fun rump this book is. Get me another keg of that Herzwestern beer!

[Shaitarn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

From the back cover:

When Brian Duffy, an aging soldier of fortune, is recruited in Venice by a strange old man to work as a bouncer in Vienna at an inn where the fabulous Herzwesten beer is brewed everything seems straightforward.
But his journey is far from it.
Pursued and attacked from all sides, guarded and guided by creatures of myth, Duffy is no sooner in Vienna than the city is besieged by the Turkish armies of Suleiman. And it becomes apparent that Duffy's presence is no accident and that it is up to him to preserve the West until the drawing of the Dark...

I'm not going to try building on that description because I run the risk of seriously spoiling the story for you. I'll just say this is the 1529 Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire with fantastical underpinnings that include a mysterious beer, vikings and Merlin.

I would argue it's a fantastical rather than a fantasy story and if you like fantasy epics that take place an another world or modern urban fantasy heavy on the questing, you may not like this novel. If you like fairly slow novels with well-done characterization and unusual plots you may enjoy this. As you can see from my rating, I enjoyed it. I read Powers The Anubis Gates years ago, and I like his writing style. No doubt I'll be reading more of his fiction in the future.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Drawing of The Dark, it isn't you, it's me. I just don't like fantasy. Much like beer. Ad this book has way too much of both. Thing is I'm not sure why it's even necessary here, because to me at least history is fascinating, intriguing and bizarre enough without the interventions of sorcery. Siege of Vienna by Ottoman Empire in 1529 is at the center of the story and it's an event of incredible historical import. Essentially it checked the progress of Ottoman Empire in central Europe and redirected it toward the Mediterranean. It was essentially a crazy political play that announced to the world a major power player and set in motion over 150 years of military unrest. It really is interesting enough without magical adornments, but then again the point of the book was probably how cleverly Powers weaved them in with known facts. So there is magic and wizardry and sorcery and mythological creatures and reincarnated legends and beer, lot of beer, and it just didn't really grab me. I finished it because I tend to do that and Powers is a good writer and even occasionally funny, but at no point did the book wow me or made it seem particularly worth the time. Fans of fantasy would most likely love it though.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I *LOVED* this book - it was so well written! I'm envious! I wish I had written it! A 16th century Irish mercenary is recruited by a mysterious mystic while in Venice to travel to Vienna to help run a tavern/brewery where a very special beer is brewed. As he travels over the Alps, he has mysterious encounters that lead him to believe something magical and sinister is going on; he arrives in Vienna as it is preparing for the historical Muslim siege. It is revealed to be part of a mystical clash of civilizations, West vs. East, and the dark beer will soon be ready to be drawn . . . and maybe it can heal the Fisher King and the West . . .

[Jack Haringa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an early Powers novel that sat on my shelf for far too long, and I regret waiting so long to read it. while it's not as intricate and layered as his mature work, The Drawing of the Dark shows plenty of Powers' signature wit, characterization, and world building. It also marks his first foray into the mythology that forms the foundation of several of his best and best-loved books, including one of my favorites, Last Call.

[Fantasy boy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers is a historical fantasy book, weaved with King Author’s mysteries and the battle with Turks. Magics and gargoyles like creatures that make the story enigmatic to read. Zimmerman Inn’s brewery in Vienna is the place where the enemy wanted to take over owing to its dark secrets of the imbued essence of the ghost Fin Mac Cool. This pseudo-historical fantasy is full of mysteries and its seemingly parallel historical elements in the story that makes the story intricate. This is the part of the book I like the most, for me its battlefields and duel scenes aren’t as compelling as the make up details of mythologies in the story. The plots in the second part somehow aren’t as interesting as the first half part of the story; it becomes more predictable and concludes the story not as good as the premise of the story. It’s interesting to see the history events are mixed up in 1529. I like the ideas of the story that concocts multiple elements such as Vikings and its mythology, King author’s myths, Turkey empire versus the Vienna the western countries. However, like Viking and Merlin parts which they aren’t developed well, I am able to see the conveniency in plots. It is a shame not to develop them further after introducing Duffy the reluctant hero who was actually the reincarnated of King Author, the parts of the story became less interesting.

Aurelianus who was Duffy’s employer but he was actually Merlin, his part might be the most disappointing to me. His battle with the Turkish wizard and finding the secrets of Duffy and the enemy that doesn’t bring a climax to the end of the story or foreshadow the story in a good way.

In a nut shell, it is still a book worth to read but definitely not for everyone; Its historical details and pseudo histories mix mythologies would confuse readers at some points.

[Miguel Angel Pedrajas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una de las primeras novelas de Tim Powers que tenemos traducida al castellano. No está mal. Estilo directo, con una trama entretenida y, en ocasiones, bastante original. Sin demasiados artificios para no alargarla más de lo necesario, el estilo temprano de Powers es asequible y aporta toques novedosos al género de la fantasía.

No sé qué obsesión tiene este hombre con el alcohol. Ya me llamó mucho la atención en Las puertas de Anubis, donde los protagonistas beben como posesos. Aquí ocurre lo mismo. Pero es que, además, la trama potencial gira sobre una cerveza muy especial. No contaré nada más para no estropear la trama. Pero no me digáis que alguien que mezcla espadachines mercenarios, la guerra entre Occidente y el Imperio Otomano del siglo XV, reencarnaciones, seres y criaturas mitológicos, vikingos, el mito del rey Arturo y cerveza, mucha cerveza… ¿no es original?

La novela engancha nada más empezar. Luego pierde un poco de ese ritmo. Cuando nos hemos dado cuenta, quedan veinte páginas para que acabe y uno no sabe si logrará resolverse. Pero sí, lo hace rápido y sin contratiempos. Interesante y muy recomendada para los lectores de fantasía y aficionados a la cerveza artesanal. En serio.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I finally got around to reading my first novel by Tim Powers, it being this one. I had read his short story collection a few years ago, and found it interesting enough to read more of his work, but wasn't so bowled over by it. His writing skills seemed better suited for novels.

From the Amazon.Com review, here is a rundown on the plot:

It is the year 1529 and Brian Duffy, a soldier of fortune, finds himself in Venice. A late-night confrontation with three brothers over a matter of honor convinces Brian to find greener pastures. After a chance meeting with an old monk named Aurelainus, Brian finds himself hired on to be the bouncer at the famous Herzwesten brewery and inn (formerly a monastery) located in Vienna. During Brian's voyage from Venice to Vienna, he crosses the Dolomite Mountains, only to meet assassins who attack him. Dwarves and creatures Brian knew only from mythology assist him in vanquishing his attackers.

The mythical Fisher King is a central character in The Drawing of the Dark, and cameos by the Roman god Bacchus, the Lady of the Lake, reincarnations of King Arthur and Sigmund from Norse mythology, Merlin, and hosts of soldiers, including Vikings and Swiss mercenaries, add to the otherworldly feel. The legendary heroes are allied against legions of soldiers from the Turkish Ottoman Empire under Suleiman and his wizard Ibrahim, who try to repeat the successes of their 1521 and 1526 invasions of eastern Europe by laying siege to Vienna. But just what is their objective? The city or the beer?

This is one of those books that I read at the wrong time. Two reasons for this. First: My second son was born while reading it. I raced through the more then half of this book in anticipation to not having much reading time. After he was born, it was a struggle to finish due to lack of time and sleep. Second: I want beer! Early in the book they keep talking about the Bock that is brewed at the Zimmerman Inn, and it kept making me want Victory's Moonglow Weizenbock.

My true feelings of this book really can't be measured right now. I lost my train of thought halfway through the book. But I can tell you that it was very good. I found out that this was originally published back in 1979. It doesn't show it's age. In today's world of fantasy literature, this rates up there with the rest of them. The use of historical facts, fantastical ideas, and myth, this is the kind of thing that writers are doing these days. The only difference between this book and what you can find published these days is that it's probably shorter in length. Though honestly, it probably makes it better because of that. (Though that's not to say there aren't smart authors out there that know when to stop a story, or keep descriptions of scenes to a minimum.)

The only real issue that I had was some moments, and most where early, where we get to hear Duffy's thoughts. These times were used to give the reader background information on the characters and Duffy's life. They were very awkward. It was done with more thought on information instead of sounding like what one would really be thinking. But it wasn't enough to put me off. It's just a matter of a writer learning his craft better.

Powers proved my thoughts that he would be a good novel writer after reading his hit-or-miss short story collection a few years back. Given the ideas behind this story, it would appeal to many that I know. And that's not just because of the usage of beer. Problem is that I think I will have to re-read it, because of the situation that I encountered to truly appreciate it.

[Melissa McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

My opinion (and rating) hasn't changed since the first time I read this: it's a decent but uninspired novel, with a straightforward plot and excellent writing craftsmanship. You can see the beginnings of the kind of story Tim Powers has since become famous for, even though it's your basic Arthur/Merlin story with some unique touches.

The fundamental message is that beer is the foundation of Western civilization and has the power to change the world, but I'm sure beer drinkers everywhere already knew that. Distilling the book's theme that far makes it seem as ridiculous as any book does when its plot is reduced to essentials, but although it isn't that ridiculous, it is a little pedestrian in places. Irishman Brian Duffy accepts a job to work as "bouncer" at an inn in Vienna, but he's really part of a larger battle between good and evil, between the true king of the West (the Fisher King) and his Eastern counterpart (never identified). The goal is to keep the inn from being destroyed by Suleiman's forces before October 31, when the rich and magical Dark Herzwesten beer can be tapped and its power used. Since Duffy learns these facts at Eastertime, the book drags in the middle as we wait out the months until All Hallows' Eve. Ultimately, Powers's skills with the written word and excellent descriptive powers keep The Drawing of the Dark from being merely average; to me, it serves mainly as the promise of the extraordinary brilliance of The Anubis Gates.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of Tim Powers's early novels and the first of his secret histories: several books with the shared premise that something supernatural is going on behind the scenes of history as we know it. It is set before and during the 1529 Siege of Vienna. Irishman Brian Duffy is working as a "bouncer" at an inn there when the siege begins. The first few chapters really drew me in, but the middle drags a bit (it is much shorter than Declare but doesn't feel like it) and the book as a whole didn't really come together for me. I might give The Anubis Gates another try (I didn't finish that one) and I want to try The Stress of Her Regard at some point. I was much more impressed with Declare.