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The Bible Repairman
In California, a secret magical underground exists. Souls of the dead haunt electronic equipment. Bibles are cleansed of offending verses, and the blood of murderers stills the whispers of the dead. But, as always in Powers, magic comes at a price. Wizard Torrez, the bible repairman, has a soul tainted by murder, a dead child, a broken marriage, and an intellect leaking away. And a new client wants to take away what little he has left. While taking place in a world reminiscent of his novel Expiration Date, there is no secret history here, no grand conspiracies -- just a subtle tale of loss, sin, and sacrifice.
26 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2006
1 person is currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Tim Powers
167 books1,748 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 19, 2017
The work of Tim Powers has fascinated me for years - really ever since discovering The Anubis Gates in David Pringles 100 Modern fantasy titles. Since then have read a number (okay all of his books I could get my hands on) and I cannot say I have been disappointed with any of them.
I would say that however with the series of books collected together as the Fault Lines series he has been slowing building his own 20th century mythology (similar in some ways to some of Neil Gaimans work).
However rather than going all out he has been slowly building it up over time and you see this in his short story work (yes I know you were wondering when I was going to get on to this small book containing only half a dozen of his works) where you have a range of stories some connected to Fault Lines and other most clearly not.
Now I will admit that the earlier Tim Powers were standalone stories and as such you knew where you were, in later works it feels more like you are peeking in on a show which had already begun and these stories I feel fit in to this category.
Now I would recommend any work by Tim Powers but I would strongly suggest that you understand if some authors are great with characters, others with setting the scenery Tim Powers is amazing at making the bizarre seem not only real but expected.
I would say that however with the series of books collected together as the Fault Lines series he has been slowing building his own 20th century mythology (similar in some ways to some of Neil Gaimans work).
However rather than going all out he has been slowly building it up over time and you see this in his short story work (yes I know you were wondering when I was going to get on to this small book containing only half a dozen of his works) where you have a range of stories some connected to Fault Lines and other most clearly not.
Now I will admit that the earlier Tim Powers were standalone stories and as such you knew where you were, in later works it feels more like you are peeking in on a show which had already begun and these stories I feel fit in to this category.
Now I would recommend any work by Tim Powers but I would strongly suggest that you understand if some authors are great with characters, others with setting the scenery Tim Powers is amazing at making the bizarre seem not only real but expected.
October 27, 2023
I read this story last night before bed and it made me so angry!
It's TOO SHORT. The world that is created in these precious few pages, of wizard hostage negotiators who give up part of their souls as ransom to empathic ghost kidnappers (yes, read it again, that's what is happening) is so fascinating. I was excitedly settling in for a fantastical Powers magical battle, and then.....nope. The scene is meticulously set, but the curtain falls before the action really begins.
I complained about this frustrating ending to my friend who encouraged me to read Powers, and he suggested thinking of these stories more as uncanny koans than fully realized stories.
So I read it again, and enjoyed the journey without thinking about the destination.
And I realized that the thing I have most criticized about Powers is his overlong and overwrought magical battles!
Is this enlightenment? Maybe so.
PS the concept of "Bible repair" is hilarious and brutal. I love it.
It's TOO SHORT. The world that is created in these precious few pages, of wizard hostage negotiators who give up part of their souls as ransom to empathic ghost kidnappers (yes, read it again, that's what is happening) is so fascinating. I was excitedly settling in for a fantastical Powers magical battle, and then.....nope. The scene is meticulously set, but the curtain falls before the action really begins.
I complained about this frustrating ending to my friend who encouraged me to read Powers, and he suggested thinking of these stories more as uncanny koans than fully realized stories.
So I read it again, and enjoyed the journey without thinking about the destination.
And I realized that the thing I have most criticized about Powers is his overlong and overwrought magical battles!
Is this enlightenment? Maybe so.
PS the concept of "Bible repair" is hilarious and brutal. I love it.
November 21, 2016
My review is only for the title story, which is included in The Urban Fantasy Anthology. When I can find them separately listed on GoodReads, I try to review individual stories.
This was my introduction to Tim Powers, though I have three of his novels waiting on my virtual bookshelf. After reading this short story, I am pleased I had the presence of mind to grab those books when they dropped in price on Amazon.
This story includes all that I love best in good short fiction: a character you are compelled to like and know more about, a fast-paced interior that may or may not make a lot of sense since you are being drop-kicked suddenly into another time and place, and an ending that leaves you saying either "Wtf just happened?" or "Omg - wait! Where are you going?"
I'm good with either ending and this one was the latter. I wanted to run after Torrez, grab his sleeve, telling him, "Take me with you, you can't do this by yourself!"
Good job, Mr. Powers. You and I will meet again, hopefully soon.
This was my introduction to Tim Powers, though I have three of his novels waiting on my virtual bookshelf. After reading this short story, I am pleased I had the presence of mind to grab those books when they dropped in price on Amazon.
This story includes all that I love best in good short fiction: a character you are compelled to like and know more about, a fast-paced interior that may or may not make a lot of sense since you are being drop-kicked suddenly into another time and place, and an ending that leaves you saying either "Wtf just happened?" or "Omg - wait! Where are you going?"
I'm good with either ending and this one was the latter. I wanted to run after Torrez, grab his sleeve, telling him, "Take me with you, you can't do this by yourself!"
Good job, Mr. Powers. You and I will meet again, hopefully soon.
July 12, 2012
I liked these. Most importantly, well written, these were interesting little stories with a touch of the supernatural and he manages to convey a lot with economy of words. I haven't read any Tim Powers for years (since The Drawing of The Dark and The Anubis Gates) so I'm glad I picked this one up. I have to confess that the Trelawney novella was my least favourite of the stories in here as I found it a little too disjointed. I don't quite remember his other works (it's been too long) but i suspect i thought they were a little disjointed and felt a little remote for me. The short stories flow more easily and were somehow more human. I've bought two more books to read on the back of this.
May 9, 2010
A novel's worth of Tim Powers weirdness in convenient short-story form.
June 7, 2012
Everyday strangeness. The mysteries under the mundane. Ghosts, unexpected.
January 10, 2014
Los dos primeros cuentos son geniales.
April 30, 2014
Sin duda lo merece, cuatro relatos que me han hecho disfrutar muchísimo, que se leen rápido y sobretodo que rebosan talento y originalidad.
Si todavía no lo habéis hecho,leedlo, vale mucho la pena.
Si todavía no lo habéis hecho,leedlo, vale mucho la pena.
June 19, 2019
Se trata de un libro muy corto que reúne cuatro relatos de índole fantástica (hay uno de viajes temporales, pero el tratamiento que hace de la idea no permite considerarlo ciencia ficción).
El nivel de los relatos es similar, a excepción del último, "El reparador de biblias" (que da título al libro), el más breve y mejor construido y narrado de los cuatro.
En general los relatos son aceptables, si bien en los dos primeros la trama no está bien construida y la facilidad con que los protagonistas advierten qué está ocurriendo resulta demasiado forzada, restando interés y suspense (alargar las dudas iniciales, construir una serie de eventos más larga que aportara información de forma más paulatina los habría hecho más creíbles).
De todas formas, al ser relatos cortos, incluso con sus carencias se leen con facilidad, y el último relato consigue dejar un regusto agradable al acabar el libro.
El nivel de los relatos es similar, a excepción del último, "El reparador de biblias" (que da título al libro), el más breve y mejor construido y narrado de los cuatro.
En general los relatos son aceptables, si bien en los dos primeros la trama no está bien construida y la facilidad con que los protagonistas advierten qué está ocurriendo resulta demasiado forzada, restando interés y suspense (alargar las dudas iniciales, construir una serie de eventos más larga que aportara información de forma más paulatina los habría hecho más creíbles).
De todas formas, al ser relatos cortos, incluso con sus carencias se leen con facilidad, y el último relato consigue dejar un regusto agradable al acabar el libro.
March 1, 2021
Fun idea, but I want more.
That's my biggest take away from this story. It's a great proof of concept that I would love to dive deeper into, but the story itself doesn't really have a story in it. It's cool, but I want more. Way more.
If you find it in a used bookstore cheap (like I did) then pick it up, or if it's on sale digitally then give it a try
That's my biggest take away from this story. It's a great proof of concept that I would love to dive deeper into, but the story itself doesn't really have a story in it. It's cool, but I want more. Way more.
If you find it in a used bookstore cheap (like I did) then pick it up, or if it's on sale digitally then give it a try
December 20, 2017
Excelentes relatos.
February 8, 2023
Geniales estos relatos pero, especialmente en el último, parecen más un avance o una capítulo de una novela más amplia. Ojalá. Quiero más Tim Powers.
March 17, 2023
For me, Tim Powers is one of a small number of “automatic” authors: Anything he writes, I want to read. Still, while this slender collection of five short stories and an almost-novelette, all previously published in other small collections or as chapbooks, is enjoyable, it holds nothing remarkable. In fact, it’s a little uneven. The protagonist of the title story specializes in negotiating with kidnappers for the safe return of loved ones -- after their deaths. “A Soul in a Bottle,” which I think is the best thing here, is a spooky little number in which a rare book scout has to deal with a poetess who suicided a generation ago, and who wants to return, and her surviving sister, who didn’t and doesn’t. “The Hour of Babel” is a pretty lightweight piece about an alien visitation; it reminds me of the Circle’s visit in Flatland. “Parallel Lines” is also a story about a ghost who wants to return, this time to haunt her elderly twin sister, just as she did when she was alive. “A Journey of Only Two Paces” follows the apparent theme of the volume, being concerned with yet another attempted return from the grave, though this time the magic ritual required is reminiscent of the Earthquake Weather trilogy. Finally, there’s “A Time to Cast Away Stones,” the protagonist of which is Edward Trelawny, a supporting player in The Stress of her Regard
July 5, 2012
This slim volume contains six of Powers short stories, all of which have been published before. I picked it up because I thought Powers was a steampunk author (based on Anubis Gates) and discovered that steampunk is just a small part of his writing.
In this book we have a story about kidnapped ghosts; one about how a being that moves in five dimensions wrecks things when it moves around on earth; one where a twin sister hopes to run things from the grave; a tale of a funeral with cats attending; one set in 1825 Greece where rebels hope to raise up the old gods. But my favorite was ‘A Soul in a Bottle’, where the ghost of a poet comes to life again for a short time and hopes to get another chance at life. I loved the characters in that story, although it’s brief and although one is not a nice person at all.
All in all, these are tales set on a realistic earth, one we’d feel at home on right up until things seem to be warped a bit and things go to hell. One can almost believe that these things could actually happen.
In this book we have a story about kidnapped ghosts; one about how a being that moves in five dimensions wrecks things when it moves around on earth; one where a twin sister hopes to run things from the grave; a tale of a funeral with cats attending; one set in 1825 Greece where rebels hope to raise up the old gods. But my favorite was ‘A Soul in a Bottle’, where the ghost of a poet comes to life again for a short time and hopes to get another chance at life. I loved the characters in that story, although it’s brief and although one is not a nice person at all.
All in all, these are tales set on a realistic earth, one we’d feel at home on right up until things seem to be warped a bit and things go to hell. One can almost believe that these things could actually happen.
September 11, 2015
Reto de lectura #27. Un libro que puedes terminar en un día
Cuatro relatos son los que componen este libro que me ha gustado de principio a fin y que me han dejado confundida, interesada y deseosa de más conforme leía cada página.
Powers se ha encargado de mostrar mundos que ya se han visto antes (como el de los primeros tres relatos) y uno del que definitivamente me encantaría saber y ver más desarrollado.
Sin duda, un libro que no dudaría en leer otra vez.
Puedes encontrar las citas del libro aquí
Cuatro relatos son los que componen este libro que me ha gustado de principio a fin y que me han dejado confundida, interesada y deseosa de más conforme leía cada página.
Powers se ha encargado de mostrar mundos que ya se han visto antes (como el de los primeros tres relatos) y uno del que definitivamente me encantaría saber y ver más desarrollado.
Sin duda, un libro que no dudaría en leer otra vez.
Puedes encontrar las citas del libro aquí
August 12, 2013
First off, my bias -- I'd probably give Tim Powers's grocery list at least three stars, as I'm a big fan of his writings. If you've read and enjoyed THE STRESS OF HER REGARD, you will definitely enjoy this book, with the only disappointment being its slender length - at 170 pages, it's barely a tease for Powers's novels. The short stories included here are wonderful, but the longest section of the book is more-or-less a sequel to THE STRESS OF HER REGARD, and I recommend reading that first.
August 10, 2012
My only complaint is that I wish most of these short stories, esp. "The Bible Repairman" and "The Hour of Babel" in particular, were novellas at least, if not actual novels in their own right. In the real world, I despise anything that even hints of woo, never mind "reality" bullshit like "Ghost Hunters". But pasta preserve me, I love Powers' carefully crafted ghost stories.
June 7, 2014
Me han gustado bastante los relatos aunque el último se me ha quedado corto. La idea me encantaba pero me da la sensación de que estaba muy forzado para entrar en tan pocas páginas.
De los otros tres el primero es el que menos me ha gustado aunque probablemente porque lo leí en el trabajo y era un poco dificil seguir el hilo a tanto viaje temporal.
De los otros tres el primero es el que menos me ha gustado aunque probablemente porque lo leí en el trabajo y era un poco dificil seguir el hilo a tanto viaje temporal.
November 28, 2011
These stories were *really* fun to read -- inventive, creepy, and very entertaining. Some of the best ghost stories I've read in a while. I also really like it when the author writes a bit about how each story came about.
December 15, 2012
Brilliantly imaginative, a book of short stories from Mr Powers is often better than a full length novel from other writers.
May 15, 2017
I'd probably have appreciated this more if I had read The Stress of Her Regard first since the final story uses one of the characters from that book.
November 21, 2012
Couldn't find a Goodreads entry for the full anthology, but that's what I read. A big chunk of it I'd already read in the sequel to _The Stress of her Regard_. The rest was good.
March 7, 2013
This has to be one of the best collections of short stories that I've come across. I can't choose a favorite, but I can recommend them all.
June 25, 2013
This book reminds me how short stories can be so damn good.
October 19, 2014
Ressenya en català:
http://www.elkraken.com/Ressenyes_Cat...
reseña en castellano:
http://www.elkraken.com/Esp/R-esp/R-r...
http://www.elkraken.com/Ressenyes_Cat...
reseña en castellano:
http://www.elkraken.com/Esp/R-esp/R-r...
December 3, 2016
Cuatro relatos cortos, originales e imaginativos, que me han dejado con ganas de que el señor Powers escriba una novela de cada uno. Se lee de una sentada y sienta de maravilla.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews