A very cool Tim Powers interview

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Here: http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/powers/interview1.htm

This isn't a new interview - it was done in 1999 - but it's one of the best I've come across. Tim Powers talks about his life, his writing career, influences, inspirations, his friendship with Philip K Dick, the genesis of William Ashbless and more. Very interesting stuff and it gave me some new insights on his work (which I'm only just beginning to get into).

 

[littlemissattitude]

Thanks for posting the link to that interview, JP. I had read it a while back, right after I read "Declare", which was the first Powers book I read. I had picked it up at the library, not knowing anything about it, had loved it, and was looking for more information about it, and stumbled on this interview. Then I couldn't find it again when I wanted to read it again.

This is the interview, in fact, which put me onto the trail of "Last Call", "Expiration Date", and "Earthquake Weather". I was intrigued by the idea of "Last Call" taking place in Las Vegas and the Tarot connection and all the rest. I've always been intrigued by Vegas, ever since I started going there when I was about fifteen or so. It had always struck me as being one of those places that is really "other", and I thought it sounded like a great place to set a fantasy novel like that.

Now, though, having read through the interview again, I really, really want to go to LosCon next month. Just today I checked their website to see what was going on this year. Lo and behold, Tim Powers is the Guest of Honor this year. I'd love to go and play fangirl and get some books signed and all. Don't know if I'll be able to, but I'm thinking of ways to work it out. We'll see, I suppose.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Wow, I hope you get to go!!! And be sure to take a camera.

I'm halfway through Last Call, and deeply hooked (also increasingly alarmed because the stores here don't seem to haver any more Powers books). I've only ever seen Los Angeles in movies and magazines, but there is a definite mystique to a blaze of neon and glamour like that against the backdrop of the desert, and the vast mythological resonances Powers brings into play somehow all tie in, which is very impressive. It's easier, in a way, to 'believe' for the moment in strange things happening in an imaginary world, but bringing them into play so convincingly in a real world situation is quite an achievement.

The first Powers book I read was The Drawing of the Dark, and it's interesting to see the common themes: the Fisher King, souls moving between different bodies, as well as new elements such as the Tarot deck. Powers seems to play with the notion that various recurring elements in world mythology are manifestations of archetypes which are wired into our brains, so that even someone brought up with no exposure to the root myths could still instinctively sense and play out a mythic transaction.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Oh, if I do get to go, I'll definitley take a camera. And, I'll know ahead of time if I am going, and I may send out a call for questions...just in case I get a chance to ask them. LosCon is a place where those sorts of opportunities do come up occasionally - for taking place in such a large city as Los Angeles, they really manage to run a quite intimate-feeling con. There's a lot of mingling between panelists and attendees. A few of the writers have been seen to have an attitude, but most of them are great.

I thought you'd probably like "Last Call", based on the other stuff you write about liking. You'll definitely want to get hold of "Expiration Date" and "Earthquake Weather" - by hook or by crook as they say. I had to special order "Expiration Date" even here in the States. And I have yet to get my own copy of "Last Call". I would also recommend picking up "Declare" if you happen on it. Cool book - I'd never come across an espionage/urban fantasy story before. I don't actually like espionage novels that much, but "Declare" is a great book.

 

[dwndrgn]

I read this interview a while back and also got some 'To Read List' fodder. I thought I had posted a link to the interview but was probably just having a blonde day and forgot to do so

 

[littlemissattitude]

And the good news is...it's looking more and more definite that I'll be going to LosCon and in consequence, getting to see and maybe even meet Tim Powers. My best friend and I have made plans to go, anyway. I distrust planning anything too far in the future, so I'll just say that it looks good for now.

 

[Marianne]

What is Los Con?

 

[Brian G Turner]

Loson:
http://www.loscon.org/

 

[littlemissattitude]

Thank you for the link, Brian.

LosCon is a writers and artists convention that meets in the Los Angeles area every year over Thanksgiving weekend. I haven't been in a couple of years, but I attened the three years in a row before that. It is presented by the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, which I believe is the oldest active sf/fantasy organization in the U.S. Because it is based in L.A., where a lot of writers live, there is usually a good attendance by writers you would know, some of whom are actually members of the Society. The panels presented are usually very interesting, the biggest problem being deciding which panels to attend when two or more that you want to go to are being offered at the same time. Besides panels, there are gaming rooms, an anime room that runs 24 hours a day, planned social events in the evening, room parties, especially on Saturday night, a great dealers' room, a con suite with snacks and sodas available most times of the day and night, authors' signings, a filking suite, and usually much more. Oh, yes, there's also an art show, usually a blood drive, the last time or two there was a Locks of Love donation point. Lots and lots going on.

Panels are varied and diverse. Many, of course, are on science fiction and fantasy topics. But, being in L.A., there is a pretty big contingent attending from places like JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena), Cal Tech, and the other universities, so there are usually some very interesting science panels as well. There's also usually a couple of costuming panels, and almost every year on of the Society members puts on a couple of panels showing cartoons (traditional as opposed to anime). One year he did Loony Tunes; another year he did a Saturday Morning Rocky and Bullwinkle showing. That was perfect.

I could go on and on, but I won't. It's a good time, intellectually stimulating and just a lot of fun.