Declare
Tim Powers
William Morrow, 2001
Trade Hardcover
512 pages

Saturated with dense layer upon layer of methodically researched details from pre-cold war and post-cold war espionage, spy-craft, this novel requires determination and a hunger for information to make it even two hundred pages in. The damned thing reads like a nonfiction primer to that political monster so gloriously exalted as “The Game.” But don’t be fooled by the plodding pace. The supernatural plays an intrinsic role; you simply need to wait over three hundred pages to really witness it. And if you survive to the four hundred page mark, you’ll be overwhelmed by djinn, fallen angels, and a terrific lightning show atop Mount Ararat. Question is: are you a stalwart reader, a true acolyte of Powers’ prose, a dedicated researcher of “The Game,” or just a damned masochist? Truthfully, if you’re not one of these types of people, you will not survive the adventure. Did I enjoy the book? Yes and no. I appreciate Powers skill and depth of research, his dedication to bringing life to history while retaining the history, but I was not entertained. Only the sporadic love affair made this story have true heart. There is something to be said for the protagonist’s coming to terms with his life, but it’s a depressing—if realistic—depiction. Powers is amazing and unique.