Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. ICon is an Israeli Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan convention held annually in the Tel Aviv Cinemateque during the Sukkot holiday Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare. The World Fantasy Awards are annual international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of Fantasy. Last Call ( 1992) is a Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It was published in New York by Harper Collins in 1996 with ISBN 0-380-72846-X Declare ( 2001) is a Supernatural spy novel by Tim Powers. It presents a Secret history of the Cold war in which an
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. A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real (or known History which is claimed to have been deliberately
Typically, Powers strictly adheres to established historical facts. He reads extensively on a given subject, and the plot develops as Powers notes inconsistencies, gaps and curious data; regarding his award-winning 2000 novel Declare, Powers stated[1],
"I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar - and then I tried to figure out what momentous but unrecorded fact could explain them all. "
—Timothy Thomas Powers
Contents |
Biography
Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959. Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State.
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"[2] in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. The term English literature refers to Literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by Writers not necessarily from California State University Fullerton, commonly known as CSUF, CSU Fullerton, or Cal State Fullerton, is currently the largest California State James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950 is an American Science fiction and horror Author known for his literary writing style dark themes and paranoid unsympathetic Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and Speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s Cyberpunk is a Science fiction genre noted for its focus on " High tech and low life. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton. William Ashbless is a fictional poet invented by fantasy writers James Blaylock and Tim Powers.
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. Philip Kindred Dick (December 16 – March 2) was an American Science fiction Novelist and Short story Writer. VALIS is a 1981 Science fiction novel by Philip K Dick. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968 by Philip K Dick, is a Science fiction Novel about Rick Deckard, a Bounty hunter Blade Runner is a 1982 American Science fiction Film, directed by Ridley Scott.
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. The Anubis Gates ( 1983) is a Time travel Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. The Philip K Dick Award is a science fiction award given annually at Norwescon sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005 supported
Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Blaylock directs the Creative Writing Conservatory, and Chapman University, where Blaylock teaches. Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA colloquially called "OH-sha" is a 7th through 12th grade public Charter school located in downtown Santa Ana Creative writing is considered to be any writing Fiction or Non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, Journalistic, Chapman University is a private nonprofit university located in the city of Orange in Orange County, California, USA
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. The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands California.
He is not to be confused with Los Angeles stand-up comic Tim Powers.
Bibliography
Novels
- The Skies Discrowned
- also published as Forsake The Sky: a science fiction adventure novel.
- An Epitaph in Rust
- also published as Epitaph in Rust.
- Powers of Two, (2004)
- re-release of Skies Discrowned and Epitaph in Rust.
- The Drawing of the Dark (1979)
- The siege of Vienna was actually a struggle between Muslim and Christian magicians over the spiritual center of the West, which happens to be a small inn and brewery in Vienna. The Drawing of the Dark is a Historical fantasy Novel by Tim Powers published in 1979 by Del Rey Books. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth The "dark" is a beer that has been brewing for centuries, which the Fisher King will eventually drink. The Fisher King or the Wounded King figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail.
- The Anubis Gates (1983)
- A time travel story set mostly in 1810, featuring a brainwashed Lord Byron, magic, Egyptian gods and a werewolf. The Anubis Gates ( 1983) is a Time travel Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. This article details time travel itself For other uses see Time Traveler. Year 1810 ( MDCCCX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt from the predynastic period until the adoption of Christianity See also Lycanthropy (disambiguation Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to
- Dinner at Deviant's Palace
- Unusually for Powers, this is set in the future, in a postatomic America in which an extraterrestrial psychic vampire is slowly taking over. An energy vampire or psychic vampire is a being said to have the ability to feed off the " Life force " (often also called Qi, Prana,
- In 2001 the group Cradle of Filth released a song in entitled "Dinner at Deviant's Palace" that was simply the Lord's Prayer backmasked. The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater noster, is probably the best-known Prayer in Christianity. Backmasking (also known as Backward masking) is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be
- On Stranger Tides
- moves to the 18th century Caribbean; with pirates (many of them real characters, primarily Blackbeard), voodoo, zombies, Juan Ponce de Leon, and a strangely quantum-mechanical Fountain of Youth. On Stranger Tides is a 1988 Fantasy novel written by Tim Powers. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Edward Teach (tɛtʃ c 1680 – November 22, 1718) better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English Pirate in the Caribbean zombie is a reanimated human corpse Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled Juan Ponce de León ( IPA: /xwan'ponʒedele'on/ (1460 – July 1521 was a Spanish Conquistador. Quantum mechanics is the study of mechanical systems whose dimensions are close to the Atomic scale such as Molecules Atoms Electrons The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters
- The Stress of Her Regard
- concerning the dealings of the Romantic poets—Byron and Shelley are major characters—with vampire-like beings from Greek mythology. The Stress of Her Regard is a 1989 horror / Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4 1792 – July 8 1822 ˈpɝːsɪ ˈbɪʃ ˈʃɛlɪ was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance
- Fault Lines series
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- Last Call
- a professional poker player finds out that he lost far more than he won in a poker game played with Tarot cards two decades ago. Last Call ( 1992) is a Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It was published in New York by Harper Collins in 1996 with ISBN 0-380-72846-X Poker is a type of Card game in which players bet on the value of the card combination (" hand " in their possession by placing a bet into The tarot (also known as tarocchi, tarock or similar names is typically a set of seventy-eight cards comprised of twenty-one trump cards, one
- Expiration Date
- a boy possessed by the spirit of Thomas Edison is hunted through Los Angeles by people wanting to consume the ghost he carries. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented
- Earthquake Weather
- sequel to both Last Call and Expiration Date, involving the characters of both: two fugitives from a psychiatric hospital, the magical nature of multiple personality disorder, and the secret history of wine production in California. Dissociative Identity Disorder ( DID) as defined by the American Psychiatric Association 's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice
- Declare (2001)
- a Cold War espionage thriller which evokes Lovecraftian horror and the Epic of Gilgamesh, involving Kim Philby, djinn and the Ark on Mount Ararat. Declare ( 2001) is a Supernatural spy novel by Tim Powers. It presents a Secret history of the Cold war in which an Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The thriller is a broad Genre of Literature, Film, Gaming and Television. Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy Horror fiction is broadly Fiction in any medium intended to scare unsettle or horrify the audience The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby or HAR Philby ( OBE: 1946-1965 ( 1 January, 1912 – 11 May, 1988) GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange was an online service Noah's Ark, according to the Book of Genesis (chapters 6-9 is the story of a large vessel built at God 's command to save Noah, his family Mount Ararat (see section Names for other names is the tallest peak in Turkey.
- Three Days to Never (2006)
- time travel, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, and more. Three Days to Never is a 2006 Fantasy novel by Tim Powers. As with many Powers novels it proposes a Secret history in which real Albert Einstein ( German: ˈalbɐt ˈaɪ̯nʃtaɪ̯n; English: ˈælbɝt ˈaɪnstaɪn (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955 was a German -born theoretical
Short story collections
- Night Moves and Other Stories
- On Pirates (with James Blaylock)
- The Devils in the Details (with James Blaylock)
- Strange Itineraries: 2005, published by Tachyon Publications of San Francisco, California
Other published work
- The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night (1986) Joke pamphlet cowritten by James Blaylock and published by Cheap Street Press; features in The Anubis Gates
- A Short Poem by William Ashbless (1987) Another joke chapbook written by Phil Garland which Tim Powers and James Blaylock went along with. Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books Cheap Street Press was a small publishing company started up and operated by the husband-wife duo George and Jan O'Nale in New Castle Virginia. Published by The Folly Press.
- The Bible Repairman (2005) A chapbook containing an original short story. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such Published by Subterranean Press.
- Nine Sonnets by Francis Thomas Marrity (2006) A chapbook containing nine sonnets "written" by one of the main characters in Three Days to Never. The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe. Published by Subterranean Press and given away with the collectors' edition of Three Days To Never.
- A Soul in a Bottle (2007) A ghost story about a poetess largely based on American poet Edna St Vincent Millay. A ghost story may be any piece of Fiction, or Drama, that includes a Ghost, or simply takes as a Premise the possibility of ghosts or the belief Edna St Vincent Millay ( February 22, 1892 &ndash October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright and the first This novella published by Subterranean Press. A novella is a written, Fictional Prose Narrative longer than a Novelette but shorter than a Novel.
- Three sonnets by Cheyenne Fleming (2007) Printed loose and inserted into the collectors' edition of A Soul in a Bottle.
References
- ^ Powells.com Interviews - Tim Powers
- ^ Nova Express, Volume 6, Number 1, "An Interview with Tim Powers," Page 9.
External links
- The Works of Tim Powers - this is the author's "official" internet presence and includes a very long interview
- Tim Powers at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Stranger Tides - fan site with FAQ and book descriptions
- Die Tore zu Anubis Reich - German Homepage with Bio, Bibliography, Interviews, Artwork, Extracts
- Science Fiction Studies interviews Tim Powers by Fiona Kelleghan
- January 2001 interview at Powell's City of Books by Dave Weich
- February 2005 interview at Strange Horizons by Lyda Morehouse
- June 2006 interview at Emerald City by John Shirley
- September 2006 interview at JimmyAkin.Org by Jimmy Akin
- Tim Powers Yahoo! Group (Electronic mailing list)
- Interview about Anubis gate on Actusf
- Interview about Three Days to Never on Actusf[link titlelink title]
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