8/14/11 update: I'm only on page 47. You know me - I read incredibly quickly, so this is very unusual given that I've been working on this thing for almost two weeks now. I'm just having a difficult time getting into the story so far. Not that it isn't interesting... it just isn't quite compelling yet. Tim Powers is a strong writer, and I know he won't disappoint, but still. Meh. Also, just a minor annoyance - the main character complains that everyone calls him by this awful nickname Kootie, but that's the name the author gives him in the narration. That seems unfair, but maybe there is a reason for it? I guess I'll find out.

11/8/11 update: I actually finished reading this about the beginning of October. It got decent about halfway into the book which made me a little sad. Ultimately, I liked how the lives of everyone involved were tied together, but I wasn't sold on the book at all. It was okay, but Tim Powers is capable of incredible, so this was a disappointment.

So the payoff is definitely worth it. And if you’ve read Powers before, you’ll know what to expect with obscure historical references, human heroes against disturbing (but somewhat badass) magical villains, and incredibly interesting magic that draws deeply from the human experience. Some of the ideas here are so fascinating that I’m very proud I managed to finish it.

Unfortunately, “managed to” is the correct way to phrase it.

The first third of the novel totally fails; based on a combination of too many disparate plotlines, basic plot and backstory details being kept overly obscure for the sake of “suspense,” and a not-so-great introduction to the story’s supernatural elements. There’s very little to latch onto in order to understand what’s going on. The second third is more readable, and a lot of exposition that SHOULD have been presented earlier shows Powers’ fascinating ideas. It’s over 60% of the way through when the plot finally comes together. But once it does, the payoff is great. I’m glad I got through it. I do still feel like I’ve missed some things and I’m tempted to re-read it.

If you haven’t read Last Call, read that instead. It’s excellent. If you read Last Call, loved it, and absolutely need more of Powers writing in a modern setting, then this offers worthwhile rewards for the patient.

I liked it. Powers did a good job, as he often does, of creating a weird secret history, and a convoluted situation, and then revealing both in tasty morsels from the first page to the last. The final chapters are clothes-twistingly tense.

The book is only disappointing as a sequel to the amazing [b:Last Call|209690|Last Call (Fault Lines, #1)|Tim Powers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348846326l/209690._SY75_.jpg|2720323]. With no continuity of lore nor characters, it is only a spiritual successor, or perhaps a variation on a theme. Still, no regrets.

Tim Powers is one of my favorite writers, but EXPIRATION DATE isn't among my favorite of his books.

I've started and stopped it several times in the past, but this time I have the next in the loose series, EARTHQUAKE WEATHER to read and I was determined to push through and get to the end. But to be honest, I found it a bit of a slog.

It's as well written as any of Powers' books, but I don't think the central idea of ghosts being able to be caught and sniffed as a kind of psychic cocaine is strong enough to hold this rather rambling plot together. That, and the fact that the main protagonist is an eleven year old kid who gets a ton of shit thrown at him in the story rather turned me against the whole thing from an early stage.

There are some of the great visual touches and dexterity with a sentence that we expect from Powers but too much of the story consists of people going somewhere to get something, then going somewhere else to get something else, then meeting someone who will tell them where to go to get the next thing. It's like a modern L.A. version of a rather dull Dungeons and Dragons adventure and as such I found myself flicking pages to get to the good bits.

I think the main problem is one of too many point of view characters. We could have lost the lawyer completely from the story and it wouldn't change it a bit, and likewise the female psychiatrist was often just hanging around to be someone for one of the protagonists to talk to.

Still, even second rate Powers is better than most other things, and there was enough to entertain me to make sure I made it to the end this time.

Onward to EARTHQUAKE WEATHER...