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The Bible Repairman and Other Stories
2012 World Fantasy Award Winner
In this World Fantasy award-winning collection, the master of the secret history delves into the mysteries of souls, whether they are sacrificed on the pinnacle of Mount Parnassus or lodged in a television cable box. It includes two new stories and short fiction only previously available in limited editions.
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Bible Repairman and Other Stories, The quantity
by Tim Powers
ISBN: Print ISBN: 9781616960476; Digital ISBN: 9781616960711
Available Format(s): Trade Paperback and eBooks
In his first new collection since 2005, Tim Powers, the master of the secret history, delves into the mysteries of souls, whether they are sacrificed on the pinnacle of Mount Parnassus or lodged in a television cable box.
With two new stories and short fiction only previously available in limited editions, the cornerstone of the collection is a postscript to his harrowing novel of the haunting of the Romantic poets, The Stress of Her Regard. After Byron and Shelley break free of the succubus that claimed them, their associate, Trelawny, forges an alliance with Greek rebels to reestablish the deadly connection between man and the nephilim.
Meanwhile, in a Kabbalistic story of transformation, the executor of an old friend's will is duped into housing his soul, but for the grace of the family cat. A rare-book collector replaces pennies stolen from Jean Harlow's square in the Hollywood Walk of Fame—and discovers a literary mystery with supernatural consequences. In a tale of time travel between 2015 and 1975, a tragedy sparked by an angel falling onto a pizza shop is reenacted—and the event is barely, but fatally, altered.
"Powers knows the ways we get haunted—by ambition, loss, greed, and heartbreak—and you finish reading this handful of beautifully crafted tales wishing he'd tell us more."
"Most fantasy authors aim at persuading you of the reality of their invented worlds. Mr. Powers makes you doubt the reality of your own. Are there still sin-eaters and ghost-talkers quietly pursuing their trade in tenements and behind weed-infested yards, with regular tariffs and specializations? If there are, what do they know that you don't? That's what creates a true frisson."
"Poignant."
"Tim Powers's first collection of short fiction in over half a decade, The Bible Repairman and Other Stories is a potent six-story collection that plays effortlessly with many of the author's favorite themes."
—Green Man Review
"Powers specializes in hidden histories and all of these stories present a very real exterior and another world inside its cracks."
"Powers's first new collection since 2005 assembles five stories and a novella, where he exhibits his extraordinary talent as a fantasist and his uncommon imaginative power."
—SF Site
"Superb…. Here, in potent, distilled form, you will find Powers's trademarked secret histories, heroically damaged (or damagedly heroic) losers, creepy supernatural phenomena, and macabre humor."
Tim Powers has been compared to Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and Clive Barker and was lauded by Kirkus as "the reigning king of adult historical fantasy." His novel Declare, a supernatural secret history of post-WWII espionage, won the 2001 World Fantasy and the International Horror Guild awards. He is the two-time recipient of the Philip K. Dick Award for The Anubis Gates and Dinner at Deviant's Palace and a three-time Locus Award winner for Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather. His latest novel, Hide Me Among the Graves, is a sequel to his classic supernatural thriller, The Stress of Her Regard. Powers has taught at the Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop and has co-taught the Writers of the Future Workshop with Algis Budrys.
Praise for Tim Powers
"Tim Powers is a brilliant writer."
"Powers orchestrates reality and fantasy so artfully that the reader is not allowed a moment's doubt."
"Powers writes action and adventure that Indiana Jones could only dream of. And, just when it threatens to get out of hand, there's a dash of humor and irony that keeps you reading for the joy of it."
"No one writing today fuses history with fantasy as shrewdly—or as unpredictably—as Tim Powers."
"…a reigning master of adult contemporary fantasy."
"Powers has already proved that he is a master of what he terms 'doing card tricks in the dark,' referring to the incredible amount of historical, biographical, and practical research that goes into his works."
—Harvard Review
"Powers plots like a demon."
—Village Voice Literary Supplement
"…the reigning king of adult historical fantasy…."
"Tim Powers is a genius."
—Algis Budrys
Praise for Strange Itineraries
"Whether the subject is disillusioned priests or vengeful spirits, Powers is always ready with a surprise around the next narrative corner. A delight for fans and nonfans alike."
"The nine eccentric, label-defying selections (three written with James P. Blaylock) in Powers's outstanding first story collection offer the same literary pleasures as this World Fantasy Award winner's novels (Declare, etc.)…. These are subtle, suggestive tales for the connoisseur of imaginative fiction."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Visit the Tim Powers website.
The Bible Repairman A Soul in a Bottle The Hour of Babel
Parallel Lines
A Journey of Two Paces
A Time to Cast Away Stones
Strange Itineraries
The Stress of Her Regard