One-time professional gambler Scott Crane hasn′t returned to Las Vegas, or held a hand of cards, in ten years. But troubling nightmares about a strange poker game he once attended on a houseboat on Lake Mead -- a contest he believed he walked away from a big winner -- are drawing him back to the magical city. Because the mythic game did not end that night in 1969. And the price of his winnings was his soul. And now a pot far more strange and perilous than he ever could imagine depends on the turning of a card.
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"A novel of the supernatural and occult that is hard boiled, seamy and suspenseful as the best film noir."--Tom Robbins
From the Back Cover
Las Vegas 1990. Scott Crane has lost his family, his job and, he suspects, his reason for living. All he has left are the escape of heavy drinking and the dangerous thrill of high stakes poker. But things are about to get worse. Much worse. Soon he's haunted by his dead wife, on the run from malicious manifestations and plagued by vague feelings that he sold his soul when he was a little child. The Fisher King – a godlike lord of the wasteland – is at work and he wants what's owed. He wants the
LAST CALL
Chaos mathematics, tarot, gambling for mortal stakes, Arthurian legend, Egyptian mythology, bloody murder and a plot that runs on overdrive till the last call is answered. A dazzling, terrifying encounter with the dark imagination of Tim Powers . . .
"Brilliant! Compelling! 'Last Call' is his best book yet"
RAYMOND E. FEIST
"A powerful and satisfyingly surprising NOVEL. Powers is, as we have come to expect, still expertly hurting his protagonists"
INTERZONE
"Powers has established himself as a unique, surprising voice . . . 'Last Call' is a grand tour de force which fills the senses and elicits laughter and tears"
NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION
"The best fantasy writer to appear in decades"
THE GUARDIAN
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First Sentence
George Leon held his little boy's hand too tightly and stared up from under his hatbrim at the unnaturally dark noon sky. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
George Leon held his little boy's hand too tightly and stared up from under his hatbrim at the unnaturally dark noon sky. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a lavish concoction involving hit-men, gangsters and professional gamblers. It's also a book populated by the Fisher King, Isis Osiris, and a cast of extra's lifted straight out of a Tarot deck (literally). After reading this book my world was a richer place. Suddenly, the world is a place of wonder and danger, people are not merely themselves but archetypes also - represented by some pagan id, or by a card from a 'normal' deck of cards. There's also guns, possession and car chases. I was truly stunned by this book, which I read purely by accident, having never heard of the author - I now freely recommend to anyone willing to listen.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By herdy1
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Highly enjoyable. Retired gambler Scott Crane once played in a high stakes game of "Assumption", and thought he came away a winner...now 21 yrs on he realises that in fact he was not. Now with the help of his stepfather & next door neighbour he must go to Vegas to finish the game for good. It is not money up for grabs however, but a race to see who will become the next Fisher King, a role previously held by gangster Bugsy Seigel, and most recently Scott Crane's real blood father. The plot is very cleverly pieced together, and it reads almost like a road trip to Vegas at times, with mythical elements woven in. As more and more characters are introduced in the race to see who will succeed in becoming the next Fisher King, the book hurtles along towards a very satisfying climax. The first part in the Fisher King trilogy, I will definitely be searching out he next two chapters. Great stuff.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Rowena Hoseason
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In style, tone and some substance, this book feels very similar to Stephen King's The Stand. That's a compliment! There are massive differences, not least that Last Call is set in a world which hasn't quite gone post-apocalyptic but if you enjoyed The Stand then you should shuffle this one to the top of your reading list.
Last Call is an intricate, well plotted, slightly baffling supernatural mix of myth and modernism, set in Las Vegas at a pivotal time. The Old King needs to take a new set of bodies to survive and all the action happens through card games. His son is one of his targets, but his son could also be the only real threat to the Old King's supremacy. The resulting battle is played out in casinos and bars, while the hero's life disintegrates around him as the dark lords of drink and death tug at his coat-tails.
If you enjoy Neil Gaiman's Sandman stories of gods walking in the modern world, or enjoy the idea that all the characters are avatars from a deck of cards, or are captivated by the idea that the tarot may be true, then this book will grab you from the get-go. The characters are compelling and it's very well written. I didn't understand all of the references or most of the poker play, which made some segments of it hard to understand but that didn't detract too much overall.
Some scenes are genuinely chilling, and some of the characters utterly repugnant. Like many 'quest' novels there is a fair bit of running around in circles but it builds to a very satisfying resolution. And you never quite know who is going to make it to the end of the final chapter in one piece...
Thrilling. 8/10
Last Call is an intricate, well plotted, slightly baffling supernatural mix of myth and modernism, set in Las Vegas at a pivotal time. The Old King needs to take a new set of bodies to survive and all the action happens through card games. His son is one of his targets, but his son could also be the only real threat to the Old King's supremacy. The resulting battle is played out in casinos and bars, while the hero's life disintegrates around him as the dark lords of drink and death tug at his coat-tails.
If you enjoy Neil Gaiman's Sandman stories of gods walking in the modern world, or enjoy the idea that all the characters are avatars from a deck of cards, or are captivated by the idea that the tarot may be true, then this book will grab you from the get-go. The characters are compelling and it's very well written. I didn't understand all of the references or most of the poker play, which made some segments of it hard to understand but that didn't detract too much overall.
Some scenes are genuinely chilling, and some of the characters utterly repugnant. Like many 'quest' novels there is a fair bit of running around in circles but it builds to a very satisfying resolution. And you never quite know who is going to make it to the end of the final chapter in one piece...
Thrilling. 8/10
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Double down on inventiveness and fun
Despite being quite lengthy I felt that this was a fast paced and fun read.
Powers really is an inventive author. Read more
Powers really is an inventive author. Read more
Published 10 months ago by The Emperor
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite the royal flush...
In the same mould as, but just not quite as good as Declare. However, definitely worth the time to read! Enjoy.
Published on 22 Mar 2009 by Stuart Mcmillan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powers dabbles in the Tarot
A more typical Powers heavy-occult book than the much lighter 'Three Days to Never', this book revolves around a fusion of the Fisher King myth and those parts of the occult powers... Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2008 by Bruce Murphy
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