Okay, so the rundown is as follows: I love this book. I love it unabashedly, I love it with all my heart and soul, it is hands down one of the best books I have read. The characters, dialogue, and the way history and actual mysticism and mathematics are woven into the fiction all work, and even anyone who isn't well-versed in crazy historical minutiae can enjoy the story of a man storming Las Vegas to claim back his soul and his birthright with no difficulty. Add to this the descriptions, some genuine moments of dread and well-conveyed paranoia from the characters, and a sense of danger that never really lets up, and you have a book well worth reading. The downside is, there are a few sequences that never really pay off, and sometimes there is just too much going on sometimes on even one page to keep up with. Also, the main character spends a whole section-- possibly two-- of the book doing some really stupid things against the advice of people who clearly know more about this stuff than he does. But it serves as some good character development, and helps create a line between Scott's self-destructive urges and his need to finish his quest. All in all, the book is worth a read, possibly a buy, and a ride you won't regret taking. "No one who isn't blind should ever read tarot cards. A surgeon doesn't use a scalpel with two blades on it, one for the handle, does he? Shit." - Spider Joe "Maybe, Crane thought, if you use the real high-octane stuff, you don't need to dress it up." I suppose it's a nice coincidence (or, since the book doesn't believe in coincidences, was it...) that I found this book the first time purely at random. I'd been wandering through the fiction section of the Maplewood Memorial Library, and I found a book with an odd tarot motif on the cover. Intrigued but wary, I read the synopsis and about halfway through the first paragraph, I was on my way to the checkout desk with the book under my arm. It didn't take much more convincing than that. I started it on the way home from the library, and read it in every moment I could steal away after that. It just so happened that at the same time I started Last Call, I was reading a lot of crazy books on mysticism and theories on reality, which also clicked right into place. And it is wonderful. If ever anyone asked me if there were a book I wish I could have written, I'd simply point to Last Call and say "that one". It's simple in its language, complex in its themes, and each line contains a plethora of contexts without being confusing. It throws a dizzying array of concepts both real and imagined at the wall and makes them stick there through sheer force of will and a desire never to let things slow down even for an instant. This is one of my favorite books, and while not in the top five, it is a book I come back to time and again because each reading unlocks something new, and each time I read it, I look for something else. Where Pynchon* attempts to be dense by overloading his book with concepts, Powers is able to do the same thing with a few off-the-cuff references and hints at a deeper world beneath the surface of the one we inhabit. Last Call is the story of Scott Crane, a one-eyed former poker player. In his later years, Scott lives a very quiet life...hiding from his neighbors, pretending to his friends that his wife isn't dead, and working a small-time job as a waiter. He's surrounded by weird coincidences he mostly ignores: Animals fall dead around his house, discarded bits of food land in geometric patterns, and his next-door neighbor is a terminally-ill savant who worships chaos and randomness. But one day, the bills Scott's been avoiding finally come due, and he has to take up the cards and chips again to make a little extra cash to pay everyone off. And then things get weird. By playing cards, Scott puts some very interested parties on his tail...parties who want to see him dead or worse, parties who have existed almost ceaselessly since they found out how to manipulate seemingly-random factors and bend them to their will. And Scott isn't feeling too good, himself. He finds himself drunkenly rambling about mathematicians and his old life. All of this has something to do with a game Scott won on Lake Mead in the 1960s (a game played with tarot cards), but damned if he could figure out what it is. The only thing Scott is sure of is that he needs a lot of help and that he has to find a way to stop whatever it is. So Scott, his savant neighbor Archimedes, and his adopted father set off for Las Vegas in an attempt to stave things off. Soon they are swept up into a massive competition involving Egyptian gods, tarot cards, random coincidences, and the opportunity to become the king of the world. That is, if they survive the serial killer, gangsters, power-mad gamblers, and mystical forces that all want to see Scott become their puppet. The best part of the book is just how much it manages to cram in. The scope of the story begins with the death of Bugsy Siegel and continues up through the nineties, but it never feels particularly dense. Details are revealed when relevant and some things aren't explained in great detail, but the important details are there. Even better, some of the details are wrong, as they're being interpreted by people who've only heard this stuff colloquially. Every line has an interesting concept, every paragraph makes it work. There's an amazing degree of world-building in the book, and it all comes across naturally from the protagonists. In comparison to high fantasy novels where the world building involves paragraph after paragraph of exposition, the fact that Powers manages to show without having to tell and tell and tell is refreshing. Another part of the book is the dialogue. The three protagonists (Scott, Ozzie, and Mavranos) have wonderful chemistry, making the book seem like a darker version of a road trip to visit family and hang out in Vegas for a weekend. It's effective in that I could even see and hear the characters. The villains have natural dialogue and behavior, as well, making them while not human, a little less like faceless shadowy forces. They get angry, they make mistakes, and while they're operating from a position of strength, seeing them get out of depth gives the scale of the conflict its necessary parameters. But the plain dialogue is definitely part of the charm of the book...the characters even snark about the flowery language in the allusions they use. And finally, the scale is big. Really big. Without giving too much away, the contest is just the tip of a very big iceberg below the surface. But it never feels like it's too immense to comprehend, like the people involved in it are too small. Powers manages to keep a tight control over the narrative, to make it about the characters without getting lost in the narrative. I like it when a gods-and-monsters plotline gets it right, and with its mythology, lore about probability, and gangster allusions, Last Call does it almost too well. The book is not, however, perfect. A lot of sections tend to end in bizarre ways, and occasionally just stop. The character of Dondi Snayheever is important, but doesn't immediately seem to fit in**. There's also a very creepy subtext in that it seems like brother and sister pairs are able to Assume the throne and win the contest-- as archetypical King and Queen, or husband and wife. Which fits the mythological context, but is damned creepy. But these are minor nitpicks. This book is well worth the price of admission, the characters are rich, the setting is full without being exposition-heavy, and overall the entire thing is brilliant. Buy this book. Get it out from the library first if you must, but if you do not read this book, you are doing yourself a massive disservice. And now, I leave you with this: "I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died." - Steven Wright NEXT WEEK: - Zodiac by Neal Stephenson AND AFTER THAT, SOMEWHAT INTERMITTENTLY: - Down Town by Vido Polikarpus and Tappan King - Coverage of ZenKaiKon, hopefully this time with me remembering to take pictures and not ramble so all-fired much - Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks AND MUCH LATER, POSSIBLY AS BUFFER MATERIAL - Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon*** * Third time I've referenced Pynchon without actually reviewing a Pynchon book. Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. I have a copy of Against the Day with a bookmark in it sitting right near my hand... **I didn't get what he was doing there until the second time I read the book through. Poor guy. Pooor guy. ***SEE? SEE? I told you I was gonna get there eventually.
In a word... (roughly translated, it means your naughty bits are fired up, tingly, and ready to rumble.) In more than a word...Last Call is my new favoritest book by Tim Powers. From a brain stimulating perspective, this produced a a significant amount of tingle by skillfully stroking a number of literary pleasure points. You know what I mean? First, I love the way the magical elements are woven credibly into the fabric of the story. They are, simultaneously, both elusive and omnipresent throughout the narrative. The magic saturates the story and blankets the characters, but it’s just outside the vision of “the rest of the world.” Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, one of my favorite fantasy novels, does this very well, as do books like Moonheart and Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint. Last Call pokes the bull squarely in its eye as well. Second, the magic system itself was smart, suave and tethered extremely well to the story. It also felt unique and internally credible, which is always important for this kind of story. Powers employs an elaborate, complex system of magic based on TAROT cards, with each of the tarot figure representing powerful, mythical “archetypes” through whom magical abilities can be channeled by those with the requisite skill. Third, the tie-in between the tarot-based magic system and professional poker was brilliant and made wild, wonderful sense within the context of the story. The standard 52 card poker deck is a derivation of the larger tarot deck minus some 22 cards known as the Major Arcana. Thus, all of the hopes, dreams, fears and other intense emotions invested by people while playing cards, even with these “diluted, reflections” of the more powerful tarot, create magical energies that can be drawn upon by those with magical ability. Again...brilliant. Finally, setting the book in my hometown of Vegas was a real treat for me, and likely added a bit to my overall happy. Plus, I gotta toss props to Timmy because he got every single geographical reference in the book correct. I know that may seem like a “lil bitty” thing, but it shows that he was conscious about getting the details right, and as a reader I really appreciated that. Tim cares about us and it shows. PLOT SUMMARY:As with most of Tim Powers’ books, Last Call is set up as a secret history, in which he uses real life historical figures and related events and creates an “alternative explanation” for such events being motivated by supernatural/magical considerations. Case in point: Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was not just a famous gangster. He was also a powerful magician and the avatar of the mythical archetype known as the Fisher King. Bugsy’s motivation for constructing the Flamingo Hotel and creating the foundation for today’s Sin City was to create a place of power where all of the energies created through gambling could be drawn upon to sustain him. Enter Georges Leon, the current avatar of the Fisher King who assumed the role after defeating and destroying Bugsy through a clever and complicated series of actions which, FYI, I thought was handled incredibly well. Now Georges is obsessed with his own mortality and has devised a really NEATtastic skill to keep himself young and spry (not to mention safe). Georges has acquired that ability to instantaneously transfer his consciousness into another body, permanently destroying the personality of the inhabitee. The catch: the inhabitee has to be one of his children. Enter Scott Crane (fka Scott Leon, Georges youngest son). When Scott was a tyke, Georges tried to pull the old “body snatcher” routine on Scott just as Georges had already done to Scott’s older brother. Well Mama Leon had had just about enough of that, thank you very much, and stopped the ceremony with a .44 magnum shot to Georges potty pole which completed ruined ALL of his luggage (the hanging bag and both carry ons). Scott and his mom then disappeared themselves leaving Georges with no Scott and no ability to make himself any more babies. However, keep in mind that Georges is one smart hombre and I’m sure he’ll think of something. Flash forward to 1989…and……That’s all the set up I want to give because I don’t want to spoilerfy any of the good stuff for you. Everything above takes place in the Prologue of the book (with a few contextual details filled in so they make sense). The rest of the book is a combination of: (1) a gathering of some amazing characters, both magical and not, as they converge on Vegas to try and seize power from the King; and (2) Georges trying to hunt down and dispose of his competition so he can remain in power with the help of mysterious and dangerous card game known as ASSUMPTION…I told you he would think of something. THOUGHTS:Uh...Sploosh!!This was terrific and is one that I know I will read again at some point because the amount of information and detail that Powers pours into the story is substantial. The characters, including those representing “archetypes,” are interesting and well drawn. The dialogue is outstanding and the plot, though convoluted and very complex, is engaging as can be. It's excellent. But the real show stealing is the world-building and the tie-in between tarot lore, Arthurian legend and various mythologies. It was FantastiGASMness itself….I only had two gripes with the book that kept me from giving it 5 stars. First, while the ending was satisfying and not exactly a letdown, it wasn’t the earth-shattering, toe curling climax that I was expecting. Second, I was a little disappointed with how a few of the supporting characters had their plot lines tied up in a less than exciting way. I thought it was a bit rushed and it felt like Tim was doing little meatball surgery towards the end. Upon a re-read, these gripes may go away but they do hold the book back just a tad. Still, an amazing book and one that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Definitely 4.5 stars!!OR….again….in a word:
What do You think about Last Call (1996)?
Another twist on the Arthur Legend from Tim Powers. This one is uniquely unusual (yes, imagine the song in the background, "People are strange, when you're a stranger...") It deserves a longer review than this, so I'll update it later. For now, this is a fun book in the spirit of Declare, with a unique blend of the unusual woven through actual historical events. The story is set in the near past but reaches back as far as "Bugsy Malone" and the gangsters who hatched Las Vegas. In this story, Tim Powers weaves the complex Tarrot mythology, mixing it with an almost Texas Hold 'em-like obsession with poker and the Arthur Legend Theme is reminiscent of "The Drawing of the Dark," another favorite of mine.It's a recommended read. I enjoyed it very much. Tim Powers attention to detail is very reminiscent of James Carpenter's Oscar winning movie "Titanic" (which, in my opinion won the Oscar because of attention to detail and respect to historical events and facts, not because of the chick-lit love story he wove around them.) Warning, it's weird in an almost 1960s counter culture movie sort of way weird. It's also worth the read.
—The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon)
Last Call should be revered as many things, one is a great novel of the American West with a focus on that dark heart of it all, Las Vegas. A dark fantasy or magic realism pitched somewhere between Leiber and Pynchon and Eco. Secret history, noir, and Jodorowsky styled surrealism combine in a dark demented trip through the major arcana, poker, chaos theory, the Fisher King legend, and wealth of literary allusions(Rudy Rucker, T.S. Eliot, M.R. James, and many more). Great eccentric characters makes this an absurd comedy as much as it’s a thriller and quest story. Powers tempers some of his weirdness(not much though) into this mature and excellent novel.
—Adam
Splendid; deeply involving -- and long. My eyes can barely focus after reading so much.Reminded me of Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light: a masterful absconding of ancient mythologies to tell and entirely new tale. Enough to make me put Zelazny's book on the re-read shelf just to compare.For those that have recently read Powers' Anubis Gates -- this one is much better.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -As I suspected, after my brain got a chance to overcome the infatuation of a powerful book, complaints started arising. (This contains some minor spoilers, but nothing that really detracts from the story.)My primary complaint is how the desired and fought-over kingship was supposed to work. The book begins with Bugsy Siegel, and it's pretty clear that was a mob boss ruling a criminal empire, with obvious financial benefits and prestige in some circles. This, in itself, is a bit confusing: if being king grants him such power, why choose the wrong side of the law when the law should be amenable to the king's power?But the following king is never shown in that light. He doesn't seem to live in monetary splendor, or to have much obvious recognition. At one point, he's stuck in an RV with little recourse to power at all. Is our protagonist expecting to not have to work, for example, if he succeeds in becoming king himself? Not understanding the final objective all these folks are fighting and killing over definitely hurts.A secondary complaint is that the magic is unclear. The tarot cards are links to power, but aren't often physically used -- does being "king" provide some form of conscious control over natural phenomena, such as the roll of the dice, or the weather? There are certainly hints, and uses of power in small ways, but not clear theory of magical power was shown. Holding a hand of conflicting minor cards in front of oneself to become invisible to magical sight was a clever idea, however -- I suppose this would be an instance of invocation, whereas evocation -- summoning protective spirits -- was also shown, but how it was done wasn't clear.
—Richard
