Helpful Score: 5
THE ANUBIS GATES is a time travel story about one English professor, Brendan Doyle. He is hired in 1983 to accompany a trip of wealthy tourists back to 1810 in order to attend a lecture given by Samuel Coleridge. While there, Doyle is kidnapped by a cadre of Gypsies led by an Egyptian sorceror. Doyle becomes embroiled in stopping their plot to subvert the growth of the British Empire.
The book has a lot of stuff going for it, and there's a lot of it that's pretty fun. I really enjoyed how the story was fairly nonlinear. And I also liked the ending.
There were some things about it that I didn't enjoy about THE ANUBIS GATES, though. One of the biggest problems in the book is that Doyle, because of his interest in a certain obscure poet, has a fairly complete blueprint of his actions. There are some things that surprise him, but for the most part, he's able to predict everthing that's going to happen. The time loop grates especially because it is supposed to be a big *surprise,* but it's really obvious that it's going to happen long before the possibility is even suggested.
Also, I felt like some of the secondary characters weren't used all that well. Particularly the love interest. The copy on the back of the book promotes her as a major player in the story, but in reality her role was very small. She was an interesting character and I felt she deserved more page time.
All in all, the story is good, and I think it is an important read if you like urban fantasy or time travel stories. But I think the hype of the story is overstated. Don't go into it with your expectations incredibly high, and you'll likely find it an enjoyable read.
The book has a lot of stuff going for it, and there's a lot of it that's pretty fun. I really enjoyed how the story was fairly nonlinear. And I also liked the ending.
There were some things about it that I didn't enjoy about THE ANUBIS GATES, though. One of the biggest problems in the book is that Doyle, because of his interest in a certain obscure poet, has a fairly complete blueprint of his actions. There are some things that surprise him, but for the most part, he's able to predict everthing that's going to happen. The time loop grates especially because it is supposed to be a big *surprise,* but it's really obvious that it's going to happen long before the possibility is even suggested.
Also, I felt like some of the secondary characters weren't used all that well. Particularly the love interest. The copy on the back of the book promotes her as a major player in the story, but in reality her role was very small. She was an interesting character and I felt she deserved more page time.
All in all, the story is good, and I think it is an important read if you like urban fantasy or time travel stories. But I think the hype of the story is overstated. Don't go into it with your expectations incredibly high, and you'll likely find it an enjoyable read.
Helpful Score: 5
Not really what I expected - ancient Egyptian stuff barely figures in it. I guess, the sorcery in it is supposed to be of Egyptian origin, and it does have some scenes in Egypt - but overall the atmosphere is much more Dickensian than Egyptian, with a significant dash of horror. It's a time-travel romp with historical figures that keep popping up and the constant threat of grotesque mutilation. Oliver Twist meets The Mummy???
So - if you like evil clowns, this is a book for you!!! (personally, they really creep me out, soooo....)
So - if you like evil clowns, this is a book for you!!! (personally, they really creep me out, soooo....)
Helpful Score: 1
an intricate time travel tale, set in the near future and the early 19th century (with cameo appearances by literary figures of the period), with lots of adventure, a touch of romance, and a fair share of the paradoxes that typify this kind of novel
The Anubis Gates is the classic, Philip K. Dick Award-winning time travel novel that took the fantasy world by storme a decade ago. Only the dazzling imagination of Tim Powers could have assembled such an insane cast of characters: an ancient werewolf, a hideously deformed clown, a young woman disguised as a boy, a brainwashed Lord Byron, and finally, our hero, Professor Brendan Doyle. As for what happens next, only time will tell.
Tim Powers writes powerful books about ordinary people falling headlong into situations they would have dismissed as impossible or ridiculous. _The_Anubis_Gates_ is one of these, and the protagonist finds himself fighting for his life and for his soul against ordinary men and sorcerers in a past time, with only his knowledge of history to guide him.
Fans of Powers will notice that this early story ties together fewer of the many strands of myth and legend than later works, but it is recognizable Powers, and a feast for the imagination.
Fans of Powers will notice that this early story ties together fewer of the many strands of myth and legend than later works, but it is recognizable Powers, and a feast for the imagination.
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was intriguing, and the first few pages really drew me in. Unfortunately, the farther along in the book I read, the less I seemed to like it.
On a positive note, Powers handled the time travel aspects of the novel with expert skill. He managed to weave all of the moving parts together with seamless precision, and managed to do so without paradox. I frequently found myself flipping back into the story to put the pieces together, and to reconcile the early clues with the revelations that came later. In that sense, I was pleased.
What lost me was everything else. Powers constantly threw characters into the story, and many of them were hastily introduced, poorly described, or ignored for a hundred pages before making a half-hearted cameo somewhere down the line. And then, as if that wasn't enough to keep up with, the body switching began. The plot itself became painfully overloaded. There was simply too much going on, and not enough plausibility (even for a sci-fi time travel novel).
This book would have done well with a hefty helping of "less is more," and I'm sorry that such a fantastic concept ended up as a bloody pulp of wasted potential. This was my first Tim Powers book. It might be my last.
On a positive note, Powers handled the time travel aspects of the novel with expert skill. He managed to weave all of the moving parts together with seamless precision, and managed to do so without paradox. I frequently found myself flipping back into the story to put the pieces together, and to reconcile the early clues with the revelations that came later. In that sense, I was pleased.
What lost me was everything else. Powers constantly threw characters into the story, and many of them were hastily introduced, poorly described, or ignored for a hundred pages before making a half-hearted cameo somewhere down the line. And then, as if that wasn't enough to keep up with, the body switching began. The plot itself became painfully overloaded. There was simply too much going on, and not enough plausibility (even for a sci-fi time travel novel).
This book would have done well with a hefty helping of "less is more," and I'm sorry that such a fantastic concept ended up as a bloody pulp of wasted potential. This was my first Tim Powers book. It might be my last.
I have had this on my to be read shelf forever, it ended up being an okay read. It really wasn't what I was expecting. This book is supposed to be one of the main books that started the steampunk genre and it really doesn't have that much steampunk at all in it. It is more about time travel, Dickinson era London, literature, and the preservation of Egyptian supremacy.
This may have been better if I hadn't listened to it on audiobook. The book switches POV a lot and the narrator of the audiobook didn't really pause between POV changes. So it would take me a few sentences before I had figured out that we had switched characters; it made the book very confusing to follow at points.
I have also heard this called a YA book...it is absolutely not a YA read. The main character is a middle aged man and there are topics of torture, abuse, and rape. Although nothing gets too explicit, this does seem more geared toward adults.
Some parts of this book were very slow...part of that is because there are just too many different character points of view we read from. There is a lot in here that didn't actually seem to add much to the plot.
Like all time travel stories things get a bit twisted and turned, and there are places where things don't quite match up or make sense. There is some interesting irony in this book, especially towards the end and I enjoyed that quite a bit.
There were a few times when I almost stopped listening to this audiobook because I just could not pay attention to what was going on, it was just boring and not all that engaging.
Overall parts of this were okay but most of it was boring. There are some interesting twists and turns that the book takes which were enjoyable. I didn't really enjoy the characters all that much; there were just too many of them and the story switched between all their POVs too abruptly. If you are really into time travel stories you might enjoy this book. Otherwise I would look elsewhere. This is not a steampunk read.
This may have been better if I hadn't listened to it on audiobook. The book switches POV a lot and the narrator of the audiobook didn't really pause between POV changes. So it would take me a few sentences before I had figured out that we had switched characters; it made the book very confusing to follow at points.
I have also heard this called a YA book...it is absolutely not a YA read. The main character is a middle aged man and there are topics of torture, abuse, and rape. Although nothing gets too explicit, this does seem more geared toward adults.
Some parts of this book were very slow...part of that is because there are just too many different character points of view we read from. There is a lot in here that didn't actually seem to add much to the plot.
Like all time travel stories things get a bit twisted and turned, and there are places where things don't quite match up or make sense. There is some interesting irony in this book, especially towards the end and I enjoyed that quite a bit.
There were a few times when I almost stopped listening to this audiobook because I just could not pay attention to what was going on, it was just boring and not all that engaging.
Overall parts of this were okay but most of it was boring. There are some interesting twists and turns that the book takes which were enjoyable. I didn't really enjoy the characters all that much; there were just too many of them and the story switched between all their POVs too abruptly. If you are really into time travel stories you might enjoy this book. Otherwise I would look elsewhere. This is not a steampunk read.
Decent book. Not my favorite sci-fi but I have read it twice.
Book had a great premise but it was so bogged down by "weirdness" it was very hard to get through. This was my first book by Powers and I doubt I'll ever read another.
Very interesting, its nonlinear plot was a bit much for more, but I know others find it fascinating.
