UA-digest Digest V99 #50

[Rick Neal]

>> Other books:(Which I can't categorize cause I haven't read em yet)
>> The Drawing of the Dark
>> Dinner at Deviant's Palace
>
>I haven't been able to find these either.  Actually, I saw Deviant used,
>but the blurb didn't make it sound that good...

I've read all of Power's stuff to date, and these two are probably his 
weakest. Yes, that accounting includes Earthquake Weather.

Drawing of the Dark is set in Vienna during the Turkish invasion under 
Suleiman (1600s?), and features the Fisher King, with Merlin and an 
Arthur who is reincarnated in the body of a mercenary named Brian Duffy, 
fighting to protect a vat of very special beer, which has the power to 
grant immortality. The brewing's almost done, you see.

Dinner at Deviant's Palace is post-apocalyptic sf, and the blurb doesn't 
do it justice. It's not a great book, but it's not as trite as the back 
cover makes it sound. It deals with one of Power's recurring themes: the 
slipperiness of identity. You'll find in each of his books that the 
protagonist goes through severe changes in how they perceive themselves, 
and these changes are usually reflected in their physical appearance. 
This book makes it more blatant than most, with a Hemogoblin struggling 
to assume the protagonist's identity. Funky, but not great.

Rick Neal


It is always best to be a little improbable.
     - Oscar Wilde