[UA] Book recommendation; book request

[S. Ben Melhuish]

I'm in the midst of reading "The Prestige" by Christopher Priest, and 
don't remember it being mentioned here on the list.

The story (as near as I can tell) is about a feud between two 
turn-of-the-20th-century stage magicians, involving the secret behind a 
particular trick.

The book is quite UAable:  It offers a good look at non-magickal people 
with driving obsessions (to protect their secret, to discover other 
peoples' secrets, to uncover their family's past, to find their lost 
twin brother).  Each significant character (so far) has one of these 
obsessions, and it's clear how it colors their entire life.  In 
addition, the world of professional stage magicians, at least as 
presented in this book, seems like a good example of an underground 
subculture like UA's occult underground.

...

On a somewhat-related note, my brother recently asked me if I had any 
recommendations for authors like Tim Powers, or (presumably) for 
individual Powersesque books.  I'll probably send "The Prestige" his 
way, though there's no real magic hidden beneath the surface (at least, 
not that I've gotten to yet).  Does anyone have any Powersesque 
recommendations?

Thanks in advance --

-- Sben

-- 
Means and Ends, a Nobilis series
http://pile.org/means/