Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Ace Trade (1997), Reprint, Paperback
Pages
387
Description
Take a dazzling journey through time with Tim Power's classic, Philip K. Dick Award-winning tale... "There have been other novels in the genre about time travel, but none with The Anubis Gates' unique slant on the material, nor its bottomless well of inventiveness. It's literally in a class by itself, a model for others to follow, and it's easy to see how it put Powers on the map."--SF Reviews Brendan Doyle, a specialist in the work of the early-nineteenth century poet William Ashbless, reluctantly accepts an invitation from a millionaire to act as a guide to time-travelling tourists. But while attending a lecture given by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1810, he becomes marooned in Regency London, where dark and dangerous forces know about the gates in time. Caught up in the intrigue between rival bands of beggars, pursued by Egyptian sorcerers, and befriended by Coleridge, Doyle somehow survives and learns more about the mysterious Ashbless than he could ever have imagined possible...… (more)
Awards
Philip K. Dick Award (Winner — 1983)
British Science Fiction Association Award (Shortlist — Novel — 1985)
Gigamesh Award (1989)
Geffen Award (2001)
Prix Apollo (1987)
Locus All-Time Best (Fantasy Novel — 14 — 1998)
Horror: The 100 Best Books (1983)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1983-12
Physical description
387 p.; 8.2 inches
ISBN
0441004016 / 9780441004010
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User reviews
LibraryThing member elenchus
The Anubis Gates offers a complicated time travel story with Weird infusions of body-switching and Victorian demimonde hustle. Powers combines intricate plotting with arcane cultural history, the resulting story amounting to a juggernaut conspiracy-cum-secret history of Western civilisation (at
The setting is primarily 1810 London with an influential strain of Egyptian magic at play, supplying the occult influence over Western civilisation. (The London setting gives a strong Victorian vibe despite nominally being Georgian / Regency, I had to check this online as I've always been fuzzy on British history). It is interesting that two camps, each powerful in its own right, are essentially at odds with one another without direct confrontation. This arrangement allows Powers to avoid the cliche of Good versus Evil on the level of superheroes and villains, though perhaps in this case it would be Evil vs Evil, seemingly thwarted by an Everyman.
Ashbless as a fictional poet is as intriguing a creation as the story at large, as is his poem "Twelve Hours of the Night". There exists a chapbook from 1985, produced in connection with a panel presentation by Powers & J Blaylock. That said, Byron and Coleridge have brilliant cameos here, I suspect even more impressive the more familiar the reader is with their specific biographies.
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least, through 1983). The resulting read is a romp, with action and memorable characters galore: this in itself is enough to commend another Powers novel when the mood hits. (Declare especially looks promising). My overall experience, however, was more than just a fun diversion: detailed morsels from history were the reason, with Powers as wide-ranging in his selection as he is meticulous in his excavation. The setting is primarily 1810 London with an influential strain of Egyptian magic at play, supplying the occult influence over Western civilisation. (The London setting gives a strong Victorian vibe despite nominally being Georgian / Regency, I had to check this online as I've always been fuzzy on British history). It is interesting that two camps, each powerful in its own right, are essentially at odds with one another without direct confrontation. This arrangement allows Powers to avoid the cliche of Good versus Evil on the level of superheroes and villains, though perhaps in this case it would be Evil vs Evil, seemingly thwarted by an Everyman.
Ashbless as a fictional poet is as intriguing a creation as the story at large, as is his poem "Twelve Hours of the Night". There exists a chapbook from 1985, produced in connection with a panel presentation by Powers & J Blaylock. That said, Byron and Coleridge have brilliant cameos here, I suspect even more impressive the more familiar the reader is with their specific biographies.
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LibraryThing member Eat_Read_Knit
After agreeing to act as a time-travelling tour guide to an 1810 lecture by Coleridge, academic Brendan Doyle is marooned in the past - and captures the interest of some distinctly odd characters.
A great thriller, with splendidly grotesque characters, manic pacing and a surprising and complex plot.
A great thriller, with splendidly grotesque characters, manic pacing and a surprising and complex plot.
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By the end it seemed to be getting a bit repetitive, though; although the ending was good I thought it was a little too drawn out. Very readable, very clever and very macabre. A bit like a Tom Clancy thriller crossed with an Umberto Eco novel and something hallucinogenic. Show Less
LibraryThing member SulfurDog
Ho Hum, for me barely readable, was almost put down at several pts. This is the first bk of this type I have read in quite some time and now I know why. If you like Saturday morning TV then this is for you other wise skip it.
LibraryThing member ghilbrae
Though I have finished this book I've had to struggle my way through it. The plot and the premise are very interesting and very promising in the beginnig. In fact, that has been what have kept me reading when I've been tempted to stop.
One of the problems for me is the main character, Brennan Doyle,
Although the writing is good, the way the author keeps changing from place to place is somewhat annoying. It is not that he changes without warning from a set of characters to another but that he frequently describes places or characters as if they were already known. So you read through several paragraphs before realizing that this is a new set of people which will interact briefly with one character and will never appear again.
So I am rather disappointed with this one, it has not been as action packaged as I expected and certainly not as entertaining.
One of the problems for me is the main character, Brennan Doyle,
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he is just dull and quite 'slow', he seems to stumble from one situation to another without really atempting anything by himself. Almost all of the other characters are far more interesting and actively seek a way out of the problems in which they are thrown, if they are not the cause themselves.Although the writing is good, the way the author keeps changing from place to place is somewhat annoying. It is not that he changes without warning from a set of characters to another but that he frequently describes places or characters as if they were already known. So you read through several paragraphs before realizing that this is a new set of people which will interact briefly with one character and will never appear again.
So I am rather disappointed with this one, it has not been as action packaged as I expected and certainly not as entertaining.
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LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
The Anubis Gates is the second novel I've read by Tim Powers, and I found it somewhat inferior to the first (Declare). It was gory and tended to telegraph its plot twists, as well as to emphasize them after the fact in a way that made me think that Powers didn't trust the perceptions of the reader.
I did enjoy the centrality of English Romantic literature and the prominence of Coleridge in the story. In what must reckoned an odd coincidence, it is my second read this year to contain a nested time-travel episode with magical and political intrigue in London during a seventeenth-century Frost Fair. (The other was Moorcock's The Gathering Swarm).
The story's time-travel theory was technologically novel, but narratively and structurally unsophisticated. A welcome additional layer of complexity was afforded by a couple of further magical mechanisms for displacing identity and one persistent disguise. I know this book has a significant following, but I won't be ranking it among my favorites.
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They were similar genre efforts in terms of what I reference as "logical fantasy," i.e. "real world" stories with rationalized supernatural elements, but the well-executed espionage dimension of Declare was merely a hapless-professor-swept-up-in-intrigue sort of tale here. I did enjoy the centrality of English Romantic literature and the prominence of Coleridge in the story. In what must reckoned an odd coincidence, it is my second read this year to contain a nested time-travel episode with magical and political intrigue in London during a seventeenth-century Frost Fair. (The other was Moorcock's The Gathering Swarm).
The story's time-travel theory was technologically novel, but narratively and structurally unsophisticated. A welcome additional layer of complexity was afforded by a couple of further magical mechanisms for displacing identity and one persistent disguise. I know this book has a significant following, but I won't be ranking it among my favorites.
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LibraryThing member RandyStafford
My reactions to reading this novel in 2002. Spoilers follow.
This was an elaborate, intricate, action-packed mélange of Byron and Coleridge's poetry, secret societies in Jacobean and Georgian London, time travel, lycanthropy, transvestism (the typical young girl disguised as a boy though, here,
From what I've read, this is the second of Powers' secret histories (the first being The Drawing of the Dark) where he mixes history -- cultural and political -- with mythology to reveal the real story and motives behind famous events. The opening epigraphs of some chapters show this: a letter from Byron, where he remarks about how some thought they saw him in London when he was, in fact, in Greece; another epigraph has mention of the Italian physician, here the Egyptian sorcerer Romanelli, who talked the Pashah into massacring the Mamelukes -- an event our hero Brendan Doyle aka William Ashbless barely escapes in his Mameluke disguise.
Standard Powers' elements show up: magic described in physics terms, particularly in electromagnetic terms since the Anateus Brotherhood ground their boots to negate Romany and Fife's spells; bodyswitching -- a lot of bodyswitching here with Fife in his Dog-Face Joe incarnation forcing a lot of personalities to be evicted from their body; criminal undergrounds engaged in occult pursuits much like the hideous Horrabin clown here who mutilates people in his underground caverns; beggars; imbecilic immortals, and maiming. He uses a thriller format with scenes using not only his protagonist as a point of view character but also scenes built around his villains and minor characters. He often describes a startling or strange scene and then backtracks to give the setup for it. Humor shows up frequently, particularly, here, the ghastly dialogues with Horriban's Mistakes in the basement of the Rat's Castle.
There are differences here, though, between this and other novels I've read. Not only does Powers mix fantasy and sf (with a tenuous justification for time travel), but his exchanges of dialogue are much longer here than in the Western America Fisher King books. The action is much more furious here.
Still, I'm impressed how Powers always uses certain images in each novel for thematic significance. Here it is the image of the river used, in its ice covered form, as a metaphor for time travel (an image probably taken from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine) and life's journey including a passage through the Underworld of Egyptian myth). I'm also impressed how much emotion Powers develops through just brief mentions of Doyle's dead wife and the poignancy of living with the knowledge of the hour and manner, as Ashbless, of his death.
I particularly liked the closed timeloop of William Ashbless and his work. His work springs from nothing since 20th century literary scholar Brendan Doyle, after not meeting him, begins to recreate his work in the 19th century and, eventually, becomes Ashbless -- not a creator of Ashbless' work but a caretaker, as he notes. It was a pleasant surprise as, at the end, Powers wraps up the loose plot end of Doyle's ka and gives Ashbless a new, uncharted life to look forward to. I liked using Coleridge's opium-addled sojourns in Horribans dungeon and his conversations with Horriban's Mistakes (which he views as manifestations of his own mind and character) as the explanation for Coleridge's later, more obscure poems (which I'm not that familiar with).
I also liked the not original idea of having a time traveler who thinks he's going to use his historical knowledge to live well getting a comeuppance. Villain Darrow is able to do so, but the hapless Doyle barely escapes death and poverty several times. (He finds an aptitude for being a beggar.) I also liked Doyle, in his Ashbless body, boldly facing dangers because he believes he will survive them since Ashbless' biography says he will -- until, after blood is drawn to make a ka of him -- he begins to realize that maybe the ka will survive and not him.
Powers also is able, through sheer narrative drive and inventive bizarreness, to make me overlook his convenient coincidences (here not rationalized magically as in Last Call): when Brenner's bullet hits the gun around Doyle's neck and Fike just happening to jump into Darrow's body after the later has been shot to death. Some of the details of his magic seemed a little vague. Specifically, why Fike becomes Dog-Face Joe and why Romanelli is so worn out after traveling from Egypt to London.
Still, a very impressive and delightful book.
This was an elaborate, intricate, action-packed mélange of Byron and Coleridge's poetry, secret societies in Jacobean and Georgian London, time travel, lycanthropy, transvestism (the typical young girl disguised as a boy though, here,
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engaged in the atypical quest for vengeance for her dead boyfriend, killed by a werewolf), Egyptian mythology, literary studies, beggars, and gypsies. From what I've read, this is the second of Powers' secret histories (the first being The Drawing of the Dark) where he mixes history -- cultural and political -- with mythology to reveal the real story and motives behind famous events. The opening epigraphs of some chapters show this: a letter from Byron, where he remarks about how some thought they saw him in London when he was, in fact, in Greece; another epigraph has mention of the Italian physician, here the Egyptian sorcerer Romanelli, who talked the Pashah into massacring the Mamelukes -- an event our hero Brendan Doyle aka William Ashbless barely escapes in his Mameluke disguise.
Standard Powers' elements show up: magic described in physics terms, particularly in electromagnetic terms since the Anateus Brotherhood ground their boots to negate Romany and Fife's spells; bodyswitching -- a lot of bodyswitching here with Fife in his Dog-Face Joe incarnation forcing a lot of personalities to be evicted from their body; criminal undergrounds engaged in occult pursuits much like the hideous Horrabin clown here who mutilates people in his underground caverns; beggars; imbecilic immortals, and maiming. He uses a thriller format with scenes using not only his protagonist as a point of view character but also scenes built around his villains and minor characters. He often describes a startling or strange scene and then backtracks to give the setup for it. Humor shows up frequently, particularly, here, the ghastly dialogues with Horriban's Mistakes in the basement of the Rat's Castle.
There are differences here, though, between this and other novels I've read. Not only does Powers mix fantasy and sf (with a tenuous justification for time travel), but his exchanges of dialogue are much longer here than in the Western America Fisher King books. The action is much more furious here.
Still, I'm impressed how Powers always uses certain images in each novel for thematic significance. Here it is the image of the river used, in its ice covered form, as a metaphor for time travel (an image probably taken from H.G. Wells' The Time Machine) and life's journey including a passage through the Underworld of Egyptian myth). I'm also impressed how much emotion Powers develops through just brief mentions of Doyle's dead wife and the poignancy of living with the knowledge of the hour and manner, as Ashbless, of his death.
I particularly liked the closed timeloop of William Ashbless and his work. His work springs from nothing since 20th century literary scholar Brendan Doyle, after not meeting him, begins to recreate his work in the 19th century and, eventually, becomes Ashbless -- not a creator of Ashbless' work but a caretaker, as he notes. It was a pleasant surprise as, at the end, Powers wraps up the loose plot end of Doyle's ka and gives Ashbless a new, uncharted life to look forward to. I liked using Coleridge's opium-addled sojourns in Horribans dungeon and his conversations with Horriban's Mistakes (which he views as manifestations of his own mind and character) as the explanation for Coleridge's later, more obscure poems (which I'm not that familiar with).
I also liked the not original idea of having a time traveler who thinks he's going to use his historical knowledge to live well getting a comeuppance. Villain Darrow is able to do so, but the hapless Doyle barely escapes death and poverty several times. (He finds an aptitude for being a beggar.) I also liked Doyle, in his Ashbless body, boldly facing dangers because he believes he will survive them since Ashbless' biography says he will -- until, after blood is drawn to make a ka of him -- he begins to realize that maybe the ka will survive and not him.
Powers also is able, through sheer narrative drive and inventive bizarreness, to make me overlook his convenient coincidences (here not rationalized magically as in Last Call): when Brenner's bullet hits the gun around Doyle's neck and Fike just happening to jump into Darrow's body after the later has been shot to death. Some of the details of his magic seemed a little vague. Specifically, why Fike becomes Dog-Face Joe and why Romanelli is so worn out after traveling from Egypt to London.
Still, a very impressive and delightful book.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
I gave it 100 pages & really didn't care about what was going on, so I quit. It could have been interesting, I think. The problem for me was I just didn't get any feeling for any of the characters or the situation. I wanted to, felt I should, but every time I picked up the book it was a chore & I
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found my mind wandering. Show Less
LibraryThing member galacticus
I am not a fan of time travel adventures but this book is the exception. This is one of my favorite all time Sci-Fi books. It is definitely not steam punk. Much like his work On Stranger Tides, the origin of Pirates of the Caribbean, this book is populated by the most enticing characters. The
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premise is a return to the London, England of the Romantic Poets, Coleridge, Byron and others. Mixed throughout the plot are beggar guilds, thieves, gypsies, secret societies, body snatchers, indescribable creatures living in sewers and even egyptian magicians. No spoiler alert needed: this book has so many twists and turns I would not dare venture a summation. Slight patience may be required but once you pick up the cadence of the book you can not turn the pages fast enough. I just finished reading this for the second time - I originally read this in the 80's - and I definitively give it five stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member JackMassa
Quirky, imaginative and fabulously unpredictable Grand Guignol science fantasy. I loved the epic scope, the sinister villains, the ingenious blending of tropes: Romantic literary figures, time travel, Egyptian magic, Dickensian underworld Londoners, gypsies, body-snatching. Think Doctor Who meets
The prose I found less felicitious, with it's tendency toward overly long and complex sentences that were frequently hard to follow--especially in action sequences. A book this frothy should be easier to read.
I learned in college that a work of art can be judged in terms of complexity, intensity and profundity. This one lacks only the former. There is nothing profound either in deep ideas or in deep emotional response to the characters.
Still, two out of three ain't bad.
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the Mummy in the age of Jane Austen. The prose I found less felicitious, with it's tendency toward overly long and complex sentences that were frequently hard to follow--especially in action sequences. A book this frothy should be easier to read.
I learned in college that a work of art can be judged in terms of complexity, intensity and profundity. This one lacks only the former. There is nothing profound either in deep ideas or in deep emotional response to the characters.
Still, two out of three ain't bad.
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
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
So - if you like evil clowns, this is a book for you!!! (personally, they really creep me out, soooo....)
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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....)
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LibraryThing member Razinha
This came highly recommended, and was quite disappointing. Pinpointing where is hard because there are too many problems. It's like three books in one: a historical novel, a time-travel novel, and a supernatural novel. And I think that's at least one novel too many for Powers. The time travel part
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was rather inconsequential, so pegging it as such a novel is not quite right. The history was okay, but the supernatural bit could have been left out and a better book would have resulted. I've read other books that didn't take themselves so seriously and pulled off the time travel or fantastic elements better. Adding to the uneven flow (particularly in the last quarter of the book), the characters were thin and I couldn't latch on to any of them. Show Less
LibraryThing member Amelia_Smith
This was quite a good book, though maybe not as awesome as I'd hoped it would be. It mixed horror, adventure, and time travel. Two things really bothered me while reading it, though. I found it idiotic that the main character guy (by whatever name) took so freakin' long to figure out that Jacky was
Still, a clever and lively adventure. If it's a bit confused towards the end, I presume that's by design.
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a Jacqueline. Surely he should have clued in to that at some point... or maybe he was just too drunk all the time. The other thing I noticed, especially at the beginning of the book, was that he drinks constantly. Still, a clever and lively adventure. If it's a bit confused towards the end, I presume that's by design.
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LibraryThing member tundranocaps
A bit... loose, it feels, like at times there are too many threads going about.A very satisfying read though.
LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
If there is a central message in The Anubis Gates it is that evil always sows the seeds of its own destruction. Brendan Doyle, hapless biographer of the poets Coleridge and Ashbless, travels back in time to the England of King George III where he gets caught up in the affairs of a band of
This is Powers's third novel, and his first really successful one. All of the elements of historical fantasy and the supernatural that are the hallmark of later novels like the Fisher King series, Declare and Three Days to Never are present. The plot is tight and well paced, with no left-over bits. All of the actions, even if they don't seem to relate at the time, are pulled back in as the plot comes full circle. This is a terrific introduction to Powers, and a book that I've loaned out so often that I've purchased a copy just for lending (and occasionally re-purchased).
It is also worth noting that the poet William Ashbless is the creation of Powers and James P Blaylock when they were in college. Pieces of Ashbless's poetry appear in novels by both authors, and several collections of Ashbless poetry and prose have appeared in chapbooks. The Anubis Gates is probably the closest there is to a story of the life of the poet, although the character and personality of the poet is much more congenial in this book than in later appearances.
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Egyptian-era magicians trying to bring about the restoration of the old magic and the old gods. In the course of simply trying to survive and find a way to return to the 20th century Doyle joins up with a band of beggars, accidentally travels even further into history, battles a sort of werewolf serial killer, and takes an involuntary side trip to Egypt. He plays out the hand fate has dealt him just trying to make it to the next chapter of his new life along the way consistently triggering events that lead to the downfall and destruction of the magicians.This is Powers's third novel, and his first really successful one. All of the elements of historical fantasy and the supernatural that are the hallmark of later novels like the Fisher King series, Declare and Three Days to Never are present. The plot is tight and well paced, with no left-over bits. All of the actions, even if they don't seem to relate at the time, are pulled back in as the plot comes full circle. This is a terrific introduction to Powers, and a book that I've loaned out so often that I've purchased a copy just for lending (and occasionally re-purchased).
It is also worth noting that the poet William Ashbless is the creation of Powers and James P Blaylock when they were in college. Pieces of Ashbless's poetry appear in novels by both authors, and several collections of Ashbless poetry and prose have appeared in chapbooks. The Anubis Gates is probably the closest there is to a story of the life of the poet, although the character and personality of the poet is much more congenial in this book than in later appearances.
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LibraryThing member lewispike
This book needs a rating system that goes beyond 5 stars. The story is engaging and quick paced, pulling out all kinds of snippets of history and folklore and combining them into a glorious whole. The sotry has its quirks and twists but handles time travel and foreknowledge really nicely even if,
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occasionally, divine intervention of the biggest kind is required. A real gem of a book that even rereading again 15 years on holds its place. Show Less
LibraryThing member paganpaul
The start of this book was interesting. The concept is intriguing as well.
I stopped reading this book after about 150 (ebook)pages, as I just could not take the attitude of the main character.
I am sure the book goes on in a wonderful way, but Doyle just got to me too much.
I stopped reading this book after about 150 (ebook)pages, as I just could not take the attitude of the main character.
I am sure the book goes on in a wonderful way, but Doyle just got to me too much.
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
Brendan Doyle agrees to go back in time on a time-travel-tourism trip, but while he is there he is kidnapped by a magician who is part of a big conspiracy to change world history because reasons.
There were some interesting parts... time travel stories are always fun, the focus on 19th century
But there were lots of things I didn't care for. Many of the characters were extremely disturbing for no good reason, and my suspension of disbelief was stretched way past its limits. Brendan Doyle isn't a particularly interesting or likable person. There is a grand total of one female character, and her storyline is underdeveloped and downright abandoned for a lot of the book. The connection with Egypt was tenuous at best, and didn't really play much of a part in the story. The plot was very rambling, and a lot of it just didn't make much sense.
So, all in all, I was pretty disappointed by this.
There were some interesting parts... time travel stories are always fun, the focus on 19th century
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British literature was interesting, and there were a few somewhat interesting characters. But there were lots of things I didn't care for. Many of the characters were extremely disturbing for no good reason, and my suspension of disbelief was stretched way past its limits. Brendan Doyle isn't a particularly interesting or likable person. There is a grand total of one female character, and her storyline is underdeveloped and downright abandoned for a lot of the book. The connection with Egypt was tenuous at best, and didn't really play much of a part in the story. The plot was very rambling, and a lot of it just didn't make much sense.
So, all in all, I was pretty disappointed by this.
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LibraryThing member williemeikle
Time travel, body swapping, Ancient Egyptian blood magic, lycanthropy, mutant beings in the sewers of early 19th C London, and a meeting with Coleridge. Yep, it was Tim Powers time again, and a reread of his classic THE ANUBIS GATES.
The Powers imagination is on full throttle in this one right from
He keeps everything just on the cusp of falling apart into incoherence, driving set piece after set piece at you until you give in, go with the flow and get carried along by the sheer manic exuberance of the thing.
It's a wonderful feat of imagination, a wonderful bit of writing and, in the Zeisling Press hardcover I've got, a wonderfully presented package all round, with an intro by Ramsey Campbel for good measure.
It's a favorite thing of mine, and one I recommend to everyone who asks what I think they should read. So, go and read it if you haven't. It's truly magical.
The Powers imagination is on full throttle in this one right from
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the start, and it's a wild ride through the aforementioned tropes, with Powers jugging a variety of characters, plots, sub-plots and timelines in a riotously entertaining romp.He keeps everything just on the cusp of falling apart into incoherence, driving set piece after set piece at you until you give in, go with the flow and get carried along by the sheer manic exuberance of the thing.
It's a wonderful feat of imagination, a wonderful bit of writing and, in the Zeisling Press hardcover I've got, a wonderfully presented package all round, with an intro by Ramsey Campbel for good measure.
It's a favorite thing of mine, and one I recommend to everyone who asks what I think they should read. So, go and read it if you haven't. It's truly magical.
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LibraryThing member cameling
If you were given an opportunity to travel back in time, to meet someone you've been fascinated with and on whom there is very little documented information, would you jump at the chance to do so? What if you were inadvertently left behind and didn't make it back to present day? What would you do?
These are questions that are cleverly considered in this story. The considerations are subtly woven into an action packed story as we follow the main character Doyle as he's invited to join a group of people on a time travel through a particular gap, from America to London. As a mild mannered researcher, he finds himself shockingly beaten and kidnapped just when he is on his way to the spot where he expects to return to 20th century America with the rest of the group.
Magic allows a man and his clone to communicate across long distances. A horrifying clown on stilts appears to rule the underworld of beggars, spies and thieves. Lord Byron is introduced .. or is he? A werewolf terrorizes the city and lives by exchange one host body for another. And who is that young boy who has a hidden secret and a determination to seek vengeance? And just who is this Master who seems to be orchestrating the chaos and what does he want?
This story is filled with great surprises and will hold your attention like no other.
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How easy or hard do you think it would be to fit into life in a different century? What would be the impact on the future because your mere presence in this time zone will have an impact on some people and some situations?These are questions that are cleverly considered in this story. The considerations are subtly woven into an action packed story as we follow the main character Doyle as he's invited to join a group of people on a time travel through a particular gap, from America to London. As a mild mannered researcher, he finds himself shockingly beaten and kidnapped just when he is on his way to the spot where he expects to return to 20th century America with the rest of the group.
Magic allows a man and his clone to communicate across long distances. A horrifying clown on stilts appears to rule the underworld of beggars, spies and thieves. Lord Byron is introduced .. or is he? A werewolf terrorizes the city and lives by exchange one host body for another. And who is that young boy who has a hidden secret and a determination to seek vengeance? And just who is this Master who seems to be orchestrating the chaos and what does he want?
This story is filled with great surprises and will hold your attention like no other.
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LibraryThing member reika33
Overall this is a very creative, well-written book. While the various pieces may seem disparate, anachronistic, maybe even jarring, it all works without trouble. His research and use of historical detail is impeccable. In addition, with the time travel, there appears to be no anomalies. However,
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with that said, I feel that the author played it safe and I was able to easily anticipate various plot points which was rather disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
The Gates of Anubis is found in the Sci-fi section, but leans way more toward the fantasy side. You'll see why after you read it. I absolutely loved this book...and it is one I would definitely recommend. The action literally never stops from one page to the next, and it is all so entertaining that
A brief synopsis: Brendan Doyle is an expert in the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and as our story opens, we find him in the air flying to London to interview for a position as a consultant on STC for one of the world's richest men. The rich man is also very eccentric; he has promised Doyle $20,000 for his brief stay if he gets the job, but guarantees $5,000 just for coming to the interview. So Doyle, it seems, can't lose. So he interviews, gets the position (not a spoiler, you find this out right away), and the next thing you know, he finds himself back in 1810 London, waiting for Samuel Taylor Coleridge to start his lecture. Doyle has been hired to make explanatory remarks to a group of millionaires who have each paid $1 million to jump back through time, attend the lecture and return back to the present. But their arrival back in time is seen by someone who wants to know how they did it, so Brendan is captured and the rest of the time-traveling group returns back to the present. Doyle is in the clutches of a very strange Egyptian magician, and this is just the beginning of a very long and very strange story. He will eventually encounter a deformed & twisted clown, a creature who can shift bodies and automatons which come alive to do various nefarious deeds. Will Doyle ever make it back to the present? And what happens to him while he tries? I can't even begin to go into this story because any more would totally ruin it for the reader.
Just go with me on this one...if you like this sort of thing, you will be richly rewarded. I couldn't put the book down and did so grudgingly when I had to sleep.
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you won't want to put it down. I VERY highly recommend it if you like sci-fi/time travel/fantasy stories.A brief synopsis: Brendan Doyle is an expert in the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and as our story opens, we find him in the air flying to London to interview for a position as a consultant on STC for one of the world's richest men. The rich man is also very eccentric; he has promised Doyle $20,000 for his brief stay if he gets the job, but guarantees $5,000 just for coming to the interview. So Doyle, it seems, can't lose. So he interviews, gets the position (not a spoiler, you find this out right away), and the next thing you know, he finds himself back in 1810 London, waiting for Samuel Taylor Coleridge to start his lecture. Doyle has been hired to make explanatory remarks to a group of millionaires who have each paid $1 million to jump back through time, attend the lecture and return back to the present. But their arrival back in time is seen by someone who wants to know how they did it, so Brendan is captured and the rest of the time-traveling group returns back to the present. Doyle is in the clutches of a very strange Egyptian magician, and this is just the beginning of a very long and very strange story. He will eventually encounter a deformed & twisted clown, a creature who can shift bodies and automatons which come alive to do various nefarious deeds. Will Doyle ever make it back to the present? And what happens to him while he tries? I can't even begin to go into this story because any more would totally ruin it for the reader.
Just go with me on this one...if you like this sort of thing, you will be richly rewarded. I couldn't put the book down and did so grudgingly when I had to sleep.
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LibraryThing member Jim53
The Anubis Gates is a fun read for the most part, although Powers seems to get into a rush in the last 60 pages. It's not just that the pace picks up; the descriptions are much sketchier, and he seems to expect us to know which of his switched bodies and minds are present.
The story centers around
Overall a mostly fun, sometimes frustrating read.
The story centers around
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Brendan Doyle, 20th-century academic who is recruited to serve as a subject-matter expert for a group of rich folks who are travelling back to Coleridge's time through a "time gate." Doyle is left behind and must find a way to survive and to return to his own time. He is recruited by competing bands of beggars, one of whch is linked to the Egyptian magic that facilitated his time travel. Quite a bit of chaos ensues.Overall a mostly fun, sometimes frustrating read.
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LibraryThing member dreamingtereza
My initiation into Tim Powers, this novel was a load of fun. My one complaint is that Powers seems to be working too hard at a few points to keep things going at the breakneck pace he has established: at times he piles complications so high that I couldn't help thinking how ridiculous the
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predicament had grown for the characters in question. But overall, bravo! Show Less
LibraryThing member mrtall
The Anubis Gates wins a couple of stars for the sheer wacky exuberance of its time travel + underground-dwelling mutant monsters + cool Egyptian magic stuff + werewolves + dashing poet gets the girl plot. Oh, and it’s got some elements of historical fiction, too, as most of the book takes place
And I’ll add a half-star for a couple of very fun characters.
But this is a badly-written book. Yes, the unbelievably complicated plot does get sorted out in the end, but lordy, could Tim Powers have used a competent editor. He exerts little control over the pacing of the scenes and vignettes that ultimately constitute the vast, vast, vast sweep of his broader narrative. Some are quite good, especially at the beginning of the book, but later on they get shorter and shorter, as his desire to develop them seems to flag in the need to keep the giant plot machine churning, and eventually reach an ending.
There are just too many of these vignettes on display here. They get repetitive. How many times does our hero escape a fix by floating out in a stream/river/sewer/other body of flowing water? How many times does a confrontation in a public house descend into a chaotic brawl?
Sometimes less is more, even in all-for-fun fantasy fiction like this.
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in early 19th-century London. And I’ll add a half-star for a couple of very fun characters.
But this is a badly-written book. Yes, the unbelievably complicated plot does get sorted out in the end, but lordy, could Tim Powers have used a competent editor. He exerts little control over the pacing of the scenes and vignettes that ultimately constitute the vast, vast, vast sweep of his broader narrative. Some are quite good, especially at the beginning of the book, but later on they get shorter and shorter, as his desire to develop them seems to flag in the need to keep the giant plot machine churning, and eventually reach an ending.
There are just too many of these vignettes on display here. They get repetitive. How many times does our hero escape a fix by floating out in a stream/river/sewer/other body of flowing water? How many times does a confrontation in a public house descend into a chaotic brawl?
Sometimes less is more, even in all-for-fun fantasy fiction like this.
Show Less
LibraryThing member yarmando
Diverting novel of ancient Egyptian magics which open portals through time. Brendan Doyle, hired as a tour guide on a time trip, becomes trapped in the early 19th century, and then trapped in another body.