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Salvage and Demolition
Salvage and Demolition, the astonishing new 21,000 word novella by Tim Powers, begins when Richard Blanzac, a San Francisco-based rare book dealer, opens a box of consignment items and encounters the unexpected. There, among an assortment of literary rarities, he discovers a manuscript in verse, an Ace Double Novel, and a scattering of very old cigarette butts. These commonplace objects serve as catalysts for an extraordinary--and unpredictable--adventure.
Without warning, Blanzac finds himself traversing a 'circle of discontinuity' that leads from the present day to the San Francisco of 1957. Caught up in that circle are an ancient Sumerian deity, a forgotten Beat-era poet named Sophie Greenwald, and an apocalyptic cult in search of the key to absolute non-existence. With unobtrusive artistry, Powers weaves these elements into something strange and utterly compelling. The resulting story is at once a romance, a thriller, and the kind of intricately constructed time travel story that only the author of The Anubis Gates--that quintessential time travel classic--could have written. Ingenious, affecting, and endlessly inventive, Salvage and Demoliton is a compact gem from the pen of a modern master, a man whose singular creations never fail to dazzle and delight.
Without warning, Blanzac finds himself traversing a 'circle of discontinuity' that leads from the present day to the San Francisco of 1957. Caught up in that circle are an ancient Sumerian deity, a forgotten Beat-era poet named Sophie Greenwald, and an apocalyptic cult in search of the key to absolute non-existence. With unobtrusive artistry, Powers weaves these elements into something strange and utterly compelling. The resulting story is at once a romance, a thriller, and the kind of intricately constructed time travel story that only the author of The Anubis Gates--that quintessential time travel classic--could have written. Ingenious, affecting, and endlessly inventive, Salvage and Demoliton is a compact gem from the pen of a modern master, a man whose singular creations never fail to dazzle and delight.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2013
About the author
Tim Powers
141 books1,792 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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
February 19, 2015
For those of you who have never tried reading Tim Powers you could pick a worse place to start than this story.
It's just a short work, about 21,000 words. And because of that, it's less complex and intricate than his longer books, but I think it gives a good taste of his style.
If you'd rather jump in with both feet and read some of his best stuff, you might want to try Declare or Last Call instead. They're brilliant works that I've been meaning to re-read for some time.
But as I've said, if you're looking for a short taste of his style, this brief novella is a good place to start.
It's just a short work, about 21,000 words. And because of that, it's less complex and intricate than his longer books, but I think it gives a good taste of his style.
If you'd rather jump in with both feet and read some of his best stuff, you might want to try Declare or Last Call instead. They're brilliant works that I've been meaning to re-read for some time.
But as I've said, if you're looking for a short taste of his style, this brief novella is a good place to start.
June 15, 2018
Cool plot concept, liked the lit nerdiness and the art panels. I think it could have used a little more development, especially of the villains: they were awfully determined and active for random fellows whose motive is simply .
I didn't feel that the writing was as good as the prior Powers I'd read, but it had been years, maybe I'm just pickier.
I didn't feel that the writing was as good as the prior Powers I'd read, but it had been years, maybe I'm just pickier.
July 9, 2017
Now lets see how well this works as I am typing this up on an aging laptop while I try and find a somewhere that is cool enough for me to think
So what do you do when its too hot to concentrate on a book and you are feeling ill, simply (or at least in my case simple) find something else to read that is not so mentally demanding. Enter the latest Tim Powers novella (okay chapbook is anyone recognises the name). This time we are weighing in at 172 pages - so not exactly a heavy read and certainly not when you have illustrations and double spaced lines
However for all this padding the story is well rounded fast paced and yes threw up a few ideas that really had me thinking (god shaped hole anyone). Now I will admit that is something that has not happened to me in a while - no not the whole - throwing up and ideas that caught me out and me stop and think so well played Mr Powers however thinking about it he had here material for a full length novel rather than an over priced collectors novella.
And I think that is the problem (okay a little one as I do love his work) in that you have some short stories which I think have been drawn out far too much and novellas which I think could have benefited from being full blown novel - this being a point in case,
So what do I think - well I did really enjoy the story and this for me is a return to form for Tim Powers where an incredibly unique and different idea gives way to a great adventure. I just want more and I guess for any author that is exactly how you want to leave them with the door open to further adventures and stories to tell
So what do you do when its too hot to concentrate on a book and you are feeling ill, simply (or at least in my case simple) find something else to read that is not so mentally demanding. Enter the latest Tim Powers novella (okay chapbook is anyone recognises the name). This time we are weighing in at 172 pages - so not exactly a heavy read and certainly not when you have illustrations and double spaced lines
However for all this padding the story is well rounded fast paced and yes threw up a few ideas that really had me thinking (god shaped hole anyone). Now I will admit that is something that has not happened to me in a while - no not the whole - throwing up and ideas that caught me out and me stop and think so well played Mr Powers however thinking about it he had here material for a full length novel rather than an over priced collectors novella.
And I think that is the problem (okay a little one as I do love his work) in that you have some short stories which I think have been drawn out far too much and novellas which I think could have benefited from being full blown novel - this being a point in case,
So what do I think - well I did really enjoy the story and this for me is a return to form for Tim Powers where an incredibly unique and different idea gives way to a great adventure. I just want more and I guess for any author that is exactly how you want to leave them with the door open to further adventures and stories to tell
July 8, 2016
I freely admit to two biases in reviewing Salvage and Demolition, and both come from years of working in a used book shop. The first is a fondness for that trade, the arcana of dust jackets and dusty paperbacks, sifting through collections and sharing the love of precious books.
The second is due to being a longtime Powers fan. Around 1987 I started with The Anubis Gates, one of the best time travel yarns of all time, and a copy of which I treasure, having been rebound specially for me by a gifted friend. I raced on through the rest of Powers' stories of history and love, doom and magic. Friends and I shared William Ashbless jokes, knew how important it is that the king be unblemished, and shuddered sympathically at the inevitable heroic sacrifices. We also became fans and collectors of Powers' pals, the cheerier James Blaylock and the darker K.W. Jeter.
All of which is to say Salvage and Demolition appeared on my Kindle as a treat, even a love offering from the past.
And that's very appropriate, because the story is really all about time travel and old books.
It's impossible to discuss more than ten pages of the thing without spoilers, since it's that kind of manic adventure, so I'll begin with top-level observations, then shield the rest behind tags.
Spoiler-less: Salvage and Demolition is about a rare book dealer who gets mixed up in a time travel story. It brings in a bunch of Powers tropes beyond time travel, including the Romantic poets, smoking and drinking, logical puzzles, a love of historical details, and desperate action. It moves very quickly, and ends on a well-achieved emotional note.
I suspect it was written on a dare, or with a single prompt, since it begins with a very precise, concrete image. The protagonist discovers a box with some old books, a manuscript, and specific detritus... and the action leaps off from there. If my guess is right, well done, Mr. Powers!
It's a fast novella, rarely pausing for anything. You really can't miss a page, and won't want to.
The J.K. Potter illustrations are excellent as ever, small as they appeared on my phone's Kindle reader. Although the cover is really wrong.
Spoiler time:
Recommended, especially if you have a few hours to read at one sitting. If you can, settle down with a smoke and/or brew. And sit near a bunch of old books, preferably old science fiction paperbacks.
The second is due to being a longtime Powers fan. Around 1987 I started with The Anubis Gates, one of the best time travel yarns of all time, and a copy of which I treasure, having been rebound specially for me by a gifted friend. I raced on through the rest of Powers' stories of history and love, doom and magic. Friends and I shared William Ashbless jokes, knew how important it is that the king be unblemished, and shuddered sympathically at the inevitable heroic sacrifices. We also became fans and collectors of Powers' pals, the cheerier James Blaylock and the darker K.W. Jeter.
All of which is to say Salvage and Demolition appeared on my Kindle as a treat, even a love offering from the past.
And that's very appropriate, because the story is really all about time travel and old books.
It's impossible to discuss more than ten pages of the thing without spoilers, since it's that kind of manic adventure, so I'll begin with top-level observations, then shield the rest behind tags.
Spoiler-less: Salvage and Demolition is about a rare book dealer who gets mixed up in a time travel story. It brings in a bunch of Powers tropes beyond time travel, including the Romantic poets, smoking and drinking, logical puzzles, a love of historical details, and desperate action. It moves very quickly, and ends on a well-achieved emotional note.
I suspect it was written on a dare, or with a single prompt, since it begins with a very precise, concrete image. The protagonist discovers a box with some old books, a manuscript, and specific detritus... and the action leaps off from there. If my guess is right, well done, Mr. Powers!
It's a fast novella, rarely pausing for anything. You really can't miss a page, and won't want to.
The J.K. Potter illustrations are excellent as ever, small as they appeared on my phone's Kindle reader. Although the cover is really wrong.
Spoiler time:
Recommended, especially if you have a few hours to read at one sitting. If you can, settle down with a smoke and/or brew. And sit near a bunch of old books, preferably old science fiction paperbacks.
February 11, 2013
I really enjoyed this! I read it in a sitting, and found myself marvelling at the structure -- like a Penn & Teller show, it manages to tell you everything there is to know about the trick involved while skillfully performing the mystery. It's a very dextrous novella, which, for all that it retreads some old ground for Powers -- poetry-magic, rare book dealers, and time travel shenanigans -- does it so well and so enjoyably that I was totally captivated.
July 3, 2013
Salvage and Demolition is a Tim Powers gem! Noir, plus shades of Lovecraft, plus time travel - what’s not to love?
The story begins with Powers favorite protagonist trope - a chain smoking, alcoholic Everyman in the rare book trade. After acquiring a box of miscellany once belonging to a forgotten Beat poet, his quiet, ordinary life is shattered by unexpected and incomprehensible events. He’s summoned by an imperious old woman, pursued by mysterious agents, and caromed inexplicably through time. Soon he’s involved with a charming poet who died before he was born, and together they must escape a fanatical cult dedicated to a mysterious god who disappeared before time. At the center of it all is a translated manuscript of an arcane and eldritch Sumerian poem with the power to invoke the negation of time.
The story is fun, exciting, passionate, sad, and fast moving. It’s a short tale that packs a wallop that will hit you in ways you won’t soon forget. This is Powers genius in concentrated form.
The story begins with Powers favorite protagonist trope - a chain smoking, alcoholic Everyman in the rare book trade. After acquiring a box of miscellany once belonging to a forgotten Beat poet, his quiet, ordinary life is shattered by unexpected and incomprehensible events. He’s summoned by an imperious old woman, pursued by mysterious agents, and caromed inexplicably through time. Soon he’s involved with a charming poet who died before he was born, and together they must escape a fanatical cult dedicated to a mysterious god who disappeared before time. At the center of it all is a translated manuscript of an arcane and eldritch Sumerian poem with the power to invoke the negation of time.
The story is fun, exciting, passionate, sad, and fast moving. It’s a short tale that packs a wallop that will hit you in ways you won’t soon forget. This is Powers genius in concentrated form.
December 18, 2012
Originally posted at Fanlit.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Richard Blanzac is a 40-year-old rare books dealer in San Francisco. While examining the contents of a few old boxes someone brought in, he discovers a manuscript with some poetry written by a little known San Francisco Beat poet named Sophie Greenwald who died in 1969. Shortly after, he is summoned to the bedside of an old lady in a nursing home. She’s the executor of the poet’s estate and insists that Richard burn the manuscript. After he leaves the nursing home, Richard discovers that there are others who want that manuscript, too. It gets really weird later when Richard is at home reading the poetry and is suddenly magically transported to a bar in 1957 San Francisco!
When Richard stumbles into the bar, he’s immediately met by Sophie Greenwald who insists that this is actually his second trip to 1957 today — he’d first arrived a few hours before and had just left before he arrived again. Richard thinks it’s a big joke, but when he goes outside and sees 1957 San Francisco, he becomes disturbed and overwhelmed. Sophie takes him home and fills him in on everything that happened earlier during their first meeting (when she didn’t believe he was from 2012) and she tells him about the manuscript. It’s something that she’d been translating for a job before she realized how dangerous it was. Now she’s hiding from the doomsday cult that wants the manuscript back.
Richard isn’t sure he understands or believes any of this, but when he arrives back in 2012, he realizes that what Sophie said must be true. Now he knows he must be going back to meet Sophie earlier in the day, and if he doesn’t do everything right, he fears he may obliterate himself with a time paradox. And, he has to make sure the guys from the cult don’t get their hands on that manuscript.
Tim Powers’ story gets even weirder from here. It’s a lot of weirdness to pack into a 160-page novella and it works really well. Richard and Sophie’s reactions to time travel are believable and Powers doesn’t ignore the problems of time paradoxes, but uses their potentiality to make us think about free will, determinism, and how small single events might affect our entire future. Powers has also provided an intriguing twist on a time-travel plot; when Richard meets Sophie the first time, it’s the second time for her but when he meets her the second time, it’s the first time for her. Here Tim Powers demonstrates how well he can craft a plot — it’s really tight and very impressive.
I didn’t quite believe in the romance between Richard and Sophie — they know each other for only a few hours during which one of them thinks the other is either crazy or a liar. But if we decide to believe, we see that Powers has created quite a tragic romance! He emphasizes this with a lovely repetitive motif in the plot, the imagery, and the poetry. (This is something I’ve never said before: I wish there had been more poetry!)
Salvage and Demolition is being released by Subterranean Press. There are interior illustrations by J.K. Potter (whose work I don’t much care for). This is an impressive novella that I’m sure to recommend and read again.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Richard Blanzac is a 40-year-old rare books dealer in San Francisco. While examining the contents of a few old boxes someone brought in, he discovers a manuscript with some poetry written by a little known San Francisco Beat poet named Sophie Greenwald who died in 1969. Shortly after, he is summoned to the bedside of an old lady in a nursing home. She’s the executor of the poet’s estate and insists that Richard burn the manuscript. After he leaves the nursing home, Richard discovers that there are others who want that manuscript, too. It gets really weird later when Richard is at home reading the poetry and is suddenly magically transported to a bar in 1957 San Francisco!
When Richard stumbles into the bar, he’s immediately met by Sophie Greenwald who insists that this is actually his second trip to 1957 today — he’d first arrived a few hours before and had just left before he arrived again. Richard thinks it’s a big joke, but when he goes outside and sees 1957 San Francisco, he becomes disturbed and overwhelmed. Sophie takes him home and fills him in on everything that happened earlier during their first meeting (when she didn’t believe he was from 2012) and she tells him about the manuscript. It’s something that she’d been translating for a job before she realized how dangerous it was. Now she’s hiding from the doomsday cult that wants the manuscript back.
Richard isn’t sure he understands or believes any of this, but when he arrives back in 2012, he realizes that what Sophie said must be true. Now he knows he must be going back to meet Sophie earlier in the day, and if he doesn’t do everything right, he fears he may obliterate himself with a time paradox. And, he has to make sure the guys from the cult don’t get their hands on that manuscript.
Tim Powers’ story gets even weirder from here. It’s a lot of weirdness to pack into a 160-page novella and it works really well. Richard and Sophie’s reactions to time travel are believable and Powers doesn’t ignore the problems of time paradoxes, but uses their potentiality to make us think about free will, determinism, and how small single events might affect our entire future. Powers has also provided an intriguing twist on a time-travel plot; when Richard meets Sophie the first time, it’s the second time for her but when he meets her the second time, it’s the first time for her. Here Tim Powers demonstrates how well he can craft a plot — it’s really tight and very impressive.
I didn’t quite believe in the romance between Richard and Sophie — they know each other for only a few hours during which one of them thinks the other is either crazy or a liar. But if we decide to believe, we see that Powers has created quite a tragic romance! He emphasizes this with a lovely repetitive motif in the plot, the imagery, and the poetry. (This is something I’ve never said before: I wish there had been more poetry!)
Salvage and Demolition is being released by Subterranean Press. There are interior illustrations by J.K. Potter (whose work I don’t much care for). This is an impressive novella that I’m sure to recommend and read again.
April 30, 2013
This is a long short story but, as one might expect from Tim Powers, it is packed full of food for thought. Oh, and it's an interesting time travel story where anonymous men with guns hunt for a translation that may have unexpected powers. That's why you read it. For the story which is arresting. The food for thought is extra.
September 29, 2015
I liked this a lot. It's very Hollywood in some ways--with its relentless pace, secret societies, conspiracy theories, and deterministic treatment of time travel--but I liked how quick and engaging the story felt. It's a very simple story, but it makes me curious to check out The Anubis Gates, which sounds much more complex, and I really enjoyed the hour or so I spent reading this.
November 13, 2023
This is a Tim Powers story of the time travel variety rather than the ghost variety, and so I loved it less.
It is about old books and Beat poets and San Franciso in the late 50s, so I loved it more.
Some of the dialog is kind of sloppy, and some of the exposition is a bit on the nose, so I loved it less.
It's also about an ancient nihilistic god and a secret society trying to bring about universal destruction through a poem, so I loved it more.
I could keep going (loved the female protagonist, kinda disliked the male; loved the mechanics of the time travel but really hated one detail that felt way too clever clever), but I'll just say that I vacillated between 3 stars and 5 stars and finally settled on 4.
Tim Powers fans will love it, but it is not one I'd recommend as an introduction to his work.
It is about old books and Beat poets and San Franciso in the late 50s, so I loved it more.
Some of the dialog is kind of sloppy, and some of the exposition is a bit on the nose, so I loved it less.
It's also about an ancient nihilistic god and a secret society trying to bring about universal destruction through a poem, so I loved it more.
I could keep going (loved the female protagonist, kinda disliked the male; loved the mechanics of the time travel but really hated one detail that felt way too clever clever), but I'll just say that I vacillated between 3 stars and 5 stars and finally settled on 4.
Tim Powers fans will love it, but it is not one I'd recommend as an introduction to his work.
February 13, 2013
Nice, concisely written novella. Has elements of a gritty 1950's pot boiler detective story set in San Francisco. The central object of the story is the translation of a mystical manuscript. Too hard to say much more here without giving away secrets, and the secrets are the star of this story.
July 13, 2016
A good story involving time-travel that, as far as I can tell, makes sense (and coherently illustrates a couple of the possibilities allowed by David Lewis's model of time travel).
November 21, 2018
So most of it was executed really well and was sort of a science-fiction time-traveling story where the guy meets the girl at several points, but backwards in sequence for him while forwards for her. The symmetry and the interaction was enjoyable. But then the love interest just seemed far too cavalier to be meaningful and the resolution (while indeed a resolution) wasn't the best payoff for the build-up. Not a bad read though.
May 5, 2021
I found this in the "Never Read" display at the library. If that's accurate that's a shame. This is short book that is a mixture of romance, time travel, science fiction and ancient history mixed together. It a fast, easy, entertaining and relaxing book. This is my first book by Tim Powers and I will be reading others. I highly recommend reading this - let's get it off the "Never Read" displays where it shouldn't be!.
August 9, 2016
Tim Powers! This is one of my favorite authors. I don't follow him on the same level as I do Neil Gaiman or Stephen King, but whenever he has a new book come out, I pay attention. I found Salvage and Demolition on sale and added it to my Kindle collection. When I found myself killing time before a meeting, I pulled this up and started reading. Just a few hours later, I finished it. (And yes, I did make it to the meeting.)
The story is about Richard Blanzac, a rare book dealer who is given a box of books and papers on consignment. He finds a couple of collector's items, some Ace double science-fiction novels, and a handwritten manuscript of verse. He also discovers that the box somehow has the ability to send him back in time, to San Francisco in 1957, where he meets the author of the manuscript, Sophie Greenwald.
The story has some similarities to The Anubis Gates, which isn't a bad thing, though the story made me want to go back and re-read that book. Powers brings his clever style to bear here, with the time travel forming a closed loop that maintains the entire story. The story lacks the complexities of his book-length work, but it doesn't suffer for it; in fact, this would be a good place for someone who hasn't read Powers' fiction before, as it encapsulates what makes his work unique. This book is a novella, just over 150 words, so it would only take a couple of hours to finish it.
Powers has a style unlike any other author I've read. His characters seem bland, uninteresting, but once they're thrown into something extraordinary, they take on new life. I think it speaks to how well Powers develops his characters to be likable regardless of how interesting they are. The manuscript in question is a macguffin, there just to keep Richard and Sophie moving forward (and backward) through the story. His narrative is unobtrusive, but not uninteresting. In fact, he reminds me a bit of Connie Willis, in that the story looks effortless, even as it has a profound effect on you.
I've said before that Powers' complex plots are best suited to his long-form fiction, but he can still write an effective story with more limited space. I'm surprised with how much I responded to the main characters of this piece, even as I wondered if I believed how close they became in such a short time. Regardless, it works, and it's Tim Powers. It was a good read.
The story is about Richard Blanzac, a rare book dealer who is given a box of books and papers on consignment. He finds a couple of collector's items, some Ace double science-fiction novels, and a handwritten manuscript of verse. He also discovers that the box somehow has the ability to send him back in time, to San Francisco in 1957, where he meets the author of the manuscript, Sophie Greenwald.
The story has some similarities to The Anubis Gates, which isn't a bad thing, though the story made me want to go back and re-read that book. Powers brings his clever style to bear here, with the time travel forming a closed loop that maintains the entire story. The story lacks the complexities of his book-length work, but it doesn't suffer for it; in fact, this would be a good place for someone who hasn't read Powers' fiction before, as it encapsulates what makes his work unique. This book is a novella, just over 150 words, so it would only take a couple of hours to finish it.
Powers has a style unlike any other author I've read. His characters seem bland, uninteresting, but once they're thrown into something extraordinary, they take on new life. I think it speaks to how well Powers develops his characters to be likable regardless of how interesting they are. The manuscript in question is a macguffin, there just to keep Richard and Sophie moving forward (and backward) through the story. His narrative is unobtrusive, but not uninteresting. In fact, he reminds me a bit of Connie Willis, in that the story looks effortless, even as it has a profound effect on you.
I've said before that Powers' complex plots are best suited to his long-form fiction, but he can still write an effective story with more limited space. I'm surprised with how much I responded to the main characters of this piece, even as I wondered if I believed how close they became in such a short time. Regardless, it works, and it's Tim Powers. It was a good read.
April 25, 2015
With all the jumping between locations and times that happen in this story it is difficult to be sure which, if any, is the true timeline. The manuscript at the centre of the novella appears to have mystical powers, affecting all associated with it. To some it is evil, to others it is the answer to their dreams, to Richard Blanzac, the central character, it is a literary curiosity that could be worth publishing. Has the manuscript really been destroyed or not? If not, what will happen if it is found? Will the outcome be dependent on who finds it?
I couldn't put this little book down until I had finished it. With so many unanswered questions there could be potential for retelling the tale from many different points of view.
I very much enjoyed this simple yet intriguing book.
I couldn't put this little book down until I had finished it. With so many unanswered questions there could be potential for retelling the tale from many different points of view.
I very much enjoyed this simple yet intriguing book.
July 24, 2015
In Salvage and Demolition, our protagonist comes upon a lost manuscript and is quickly transported through time as a number of interested parties have different plans for the manuscript and push and pull against everything as a result.
The book sounds more confusing than it is, but this quick novella really does a good job balancing the science fictional time travel with a discovery/mystery/thriller angle that made for a fast and fun read.
Nothing you need to think too hard about, but it was a pretty great quick hit.
The book sounds more confusing than it is, but this quick novella really does a good job balancing the science fictional time travel with a discovery/mystery/thriller angle that made for a fast and fun read.
Nothing you need to think too hard about, but it was a pretty great quick hit.
March 15, 2013
It's a Tim Powers book, so to review it by stating plot would be to court spoilers. So instead I'll just list a few of the plot's elements that struck me, that made me smile. A suicidal ancient god, a lost manuscript from a forgotten Beat poet, a nihilistic cult, time travel and the truth of Chatterton's madness. It contains all of that, but in the end, it's a love story, and like the best of them, it's exhilarating and sad, simultaneously. Recommended.
June 1, 2013
4.5 Stars
This is a fun and well written novella by Tim Powers. It plays out like a disjointed mystery novel with a touch of science fiction in it. I enjoyed it and can accept how Richard and Susan would have felt drawn to each other. This is a short read that most readers could find something that they liked about it. Perfect for an afternoon read in the shade.
This is a fun and well written novella by Tim Powers. It plays out like a disjointed mystery novel with a touch of science fiction in it. I enjoyed it and can accept how Richard and Susan would have felt drawn to each other. This is a short read that most readers could find something that they liked about it. Perfect for an afternoon read in the shade.
April 16, 2015
A very fun little book that only takes about 90 minutes to read. Maybe not even that long.
It has time travel, love, and a pretty fast paced narrative. It's basically a mystical thriller.
Not a lot to say. This is the first thing I've read by Powers and I think it's a perfect way to meet an author: reading one of their novellas.
It has time travel, love, and a pretty fast paced narrative. It's basically a mystical thriller.
Not a lot to say. This is the first thing I've read by Powers and I think it's a perfect way to meet an author: reading one of their novellas.
August 12, 2013
This was a very enjoyable time travel novella that has got me ready to read Anubis Gates!
August 25, 2016
By far the best time-travel-occult-romance-noir novella I've ever read.
April 10, 2015
quite nice. and reminds me that maybe I can still write something.
May 25, 2017
This was a fairly random grab from the local library. I am trying to flesh out the breadth of my science fiction experience. Being a novella with some positive reviews made it an accessible addition.
Powers depicts a concise time travel rather successfully within the scope of 155 pages while allowing for some limited character development. As described on the book jacket there is a bit of a love story compounded with a sci-fi thriller.
I think my only contention is that, as this book is a novella, the characters do not have enough time to develop their relationship as it was implied. I think a little more "longing" and less "profound love" would have been borne better in the story.
Powers depicts a concise time travel rather successfully within the scope of 155 pages while allowing for some limited character development. As described on the book jacket there is a bit of a love story compounded with a sci-fi thriller.
I think my only contention is that, as this book is a novella, the characters do not have enough time to develop their relationship as it was implied. I think a little more "longing" and less "profound love" would have been borne better in the story.
June 27, 2017
This short novella is a quick read, and I think sci-fi fans will really enjoy it. I normally read in other genres, and look for good character development, along with social and psychological insight. That's not what the author was aiming for with this book. This is more of a mind-bending tale of time travel, with a focus on our perception of time and how logic and reason depend on the assumption that time moves in one direction. The most interesting thing about this book is that the sequence of the main character's time travels make the unfolding of events both logically impossible and logically necessary. If you're looking to spend a couple of hours having your brain twisted around, pick this one up.
September 30, 2017
A light work for this author (who I love). The novella still showcases Powers's amazing alternate-world-building, mixing supernatural elements with extremely well-researched actual history, has interesting characters and a potentially world-shattering conflict, but in this case it's all wrapped around a star-crossed (well, time-crossed) romance and the resolution is never really in doubt. I did wish he could have thrown in at even some mumbo-jumbo explanation for why the protagonist travels through time at all, but otherwise worth the (short) reading investment. But first go get The Anubis Gates for a hit of undiluted Powers if you're not already familiar with his work.
June 19, 2019
Time travel at its twistiest
Powers always delivers a tight tangled plot, and this short piece delivers one that plenty of authors would have sounds into a full novel. To say much of anything would be spoiling the surprises that start immediately. So ignoring the finely drawn cast of characters, the rainswept picture of San Francisco in 1957 that has you (like our hero) smelling the raindrops, and the quiet hints of an elder pantheon that leave Cthulhu and his buds looking downright beneficent by contrast, let's just call this little gem another ho-hum time-travel literary action romance with the fate of humanity at stake, as only Tim Powers could give it to us.
Powers always delivers a tight tangled plot, and this short piece delivers one that plenty of authors would have sounds into a full novel. To say much of anything would be spoiling the surprises that start immediately. So ignoring the finely drawn cast of characters, the rainswept picture of San Francisco in 1957 that has you (like our hero) smelling the raindrops, and the quiet hints of an elder pantheon that leave Cthulhu and his buds looking downright beneficent by contrast, let's just call this little gem another ho-hum time-travel literary action romance with the fate of humanity at stake, as only Tim Powers could give it to us.
September 30, 2020
A rare book dealer finds himself going back in time from 2012 to 1957, meeting the author of a translated ancient manuscript, and together they must prevent a cult from stealing it to use for other means.
This was very readable and even though it essentially uses tropes that have been done many times before, there was something still fresh about it. I think it was that the characters were well done – likeable and realistic, and the time travel aspect was also quite well constructed.
Still, being a relatively short story there's only so much detail that can be used, so as long as those expectations are met it's a good read.
This was very readable and even though it essentially uses tropes that have been done many times before, there was something still fresh about it. I think it was that the characters were well done – likeable and realistic, and the time travel aspect was also quite well constructed.
Still, being a relatively short story there's only so much detail that can be used, so as long as those expectations are met it's a good read.
October 31, 2020
This book was my Halloween read in 2020. I've been a Tim Powers fan for about 6 years, and when I saw this on the library shelf I couldn't resist. The concepts in this book are top notch. It has a more cohesive narrative than almost any time travel movie that's ever come out of Hollywood, with nary a plot hole to be found. But it's too short for its own good. You barely get any time to be invested in... well... anything. This makes a lot of the parts that really should work fall flat. If this novella had been turned into a novel, it would be one that stuck with me for a long time. As a novella, it's a great idea that just lacked in execution.
October 28, 2022
A light-hearted noir with time travel. Not my usual type of thing to read but I found it on my Kindle and gave it a go. A fun over-the-top story of a rare books dealer in 2012 who finds himself in 1957 with a woman, a poet, who he has inadvertently saved from being kidnapped. Appears a group of end-of-the-worlders wants her translation of a Sumerian text they requested but when she discovers its meaning she doesn't want it to go public. An intricate far-fetched story with a noir atmosphere was a fun novella.
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