Earthquake Weather [Hardcover]

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did The Anubis Gates and Declare, which is not to say that it isn't an excellent book, I just thought the overs were better. Set in and around San Francisco in 1995 it has many of the hallmarks of Powers' other books; magic existing around everyday life, powerful beings with their own rules, antagonists who amorally use the supernatural for their own ends, and protagonists who are simply trying to set something right. In this book the supernatural is brought up and discussed much more matter-of-factly than in his other works that I've read. All the characters besides (apparently) Cochran have well-established backgrounds in dealing with magic, ghosts and the supernatural. The magic in this book is much to do with ghosts, which are not only spirits of the recently deceased, but also parts of people's consciousness. The magic seemed weirder and more freaky than in the 3 other Powers books I've read, but those were all historical so there was already a sense of a world at a remove. There is also a powerful background being of the type seen in Declare, it is Dionysus, come to America with the Californian vines.There are many references to Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and types of wine; I'm not familiar with any of these things but still found the book intriguing and enjoyable.
I quite liked the characters and was glad that Plumtree (or parts of her, at least) proved to be a major player in the plot. I'd noticed that the main female character in On Stranger Tides was really passive and even in Declare (Eliza?) was mostly a love interest.

The age old legend of the Fisher King that is so popular with Tim Powers is revisited here in what is the conclusion to a trilogy of books which began with Last Call, and then continued with Expiration Date. Learn the fates of Scott Crane, who became the new King of the West in Last Call, and of Kootie Parganas, the young child being groomed as next King in Expiration Date.
The land has been in decline for some time, and now finally Scott Crane has been murdered. Like the ancient legend goes, the land needs a King for it to stay healthy and fertile, so how can Scott Crane be brought back? This is what his loyal friend and modern day knight Arkie Mavranos from Last Call must find out. Or is it now time for young Kootie to become the new King?
Amid this decline, the god Dionysus appears on New Year's Day amid a large earthquake. The vineyards growing his sacred wine are quickly being destroyed by a nasty strain of parasite. Through various events the ailed King's acolytes are chosen and brought together, and by paying a debt to Dionysus that he wants, they must eventually drink from a special type of Zinfandel known as "pagadebiti" which will restore the King.
To make matters more confusing, one of the chosen is in fact a multiple-personality, who is harboring the soul responsible for the late Fisher King's murder.
At the same time, Death has come to prevent the restoration of the Fisher King. Scott Crane faced him previously in Last Call, and this time he is in the form of a disturbed psychiatrist out to do whatever necessary to prevent Crane being brought back, and to stop Koot Hoomie taking over as new King.
You could write an entire essay about this book easliy as long as the novel itself, there is so much detail and complex workings going on that as you read it you will constantly be referring back to previous pages to remember miniscule details that in fact bear great significance to what is happening. With the merging of traditional mythology and occasional scenes of alternate versions of our world, where ghosts come alive and secret buildings and hidden rooms appear, into scenarios happening simultaniously in the real world, it is a twisting & turning experience which demands concentration to avoid missing the finer details.
If you are a fan of Tim Powers chances are you have already read this. If not, definitely give it a try, but read the previous books first.

My brother lent me this book, and, having just finished it, I'm going to buy my own copy and read it again. Earthquake Weather is about the magic in the Land, expressed through our relationship with archetypal forces, and our relationship with wine as a sacramental substance. I must admit I came to this book as something of a Tim Powers fan; his 'Drawing of the Dark' also relates to the power of the Fisher King. Earthquake Weather is set in California. The basic plot concerns an attempt to capture a magical Kingship, and the struggle to keep that flame alive. The King is personally responsible for the health of the Land, and as we all know, wherever light is strongest, there the forces of darkness gather most thickly to oppose it. Earthquake Weather is a more mature book; Powers' understanding and handling of the archetypes has broadened and deepened since 'Drawing of the Dark', and to my mind his decision to leave out some of the other characters involved in the grail cycle, notably an explicit 'Arthur' adds to the mix. The great beauty of this is that it works on a variety of levels. At the most basic, it's just simply well written, compelling you to turn the pages and find out what happens next, insistent without being too predictable. At the most complex, it uses magical symbolism to comment on Life, Death, Redemption and Atonement. I think it a matter of some regret that this book will be condemned to suffer as 'fantasy'. It's more than that. If you're looking for some regurgitated Tolkein, look somewhere else. This does not take place in a kingdom with elves and goblins, or involve some bloke with a magic sword. Don't get me wrong, Tolkein dealt with myth directly, and also effectively re-interpreted the archetypes for the modern age, but too many post-Tolkein imitators have felt the need to populate their mythical kingdoms with elves, dwarves and assorted nasties with the same characteristics, and re-write the hero quest. Earthquake Weather takes place in a thoroughly modern, even gritty, setting, where some individuals have a more sophisticated awareness, either a psychic or spiritual capacity, to interact with forces that magicians have believed in, and psychotherapists have termed archetypes, for real. You don't have to belive in ghosts, magic or legend to appreciate this book, but you will understand better if you do. The characters are more three dimensional, and because of that, more easy to relate to on a personal, as well as an archetypal, level. Which brings me to the only (mild) flaw in the fabric. Powers relentlessly mixes his systems, hopping easily from western mythology through transplanted Greek and classical hermeticism, adding some voodoo here and pschosynthesis here. It becomes a bit breathless, particularly if you have not got a magical background. There's no sense of conflict in setting Dyonysius in California, even though the native Gods would probably have resented the intrusion, and if you read the book carefully, you could be forgiven for wondering why there is nothing on the scale of the San Andreas fault running through Mediterranean Europe. These (minor) issues aside, though, it deserves to be compared to mainstream novels, not relegated to a genre. By those standards, this is a great book.