"Last Call" by Tim Powers

As much as I love occulty books, it is actually quite difficult for me to find magickal fiction that I really, truly dig.  I want my stories to not only be well-researched, but also well-written and enjoyable to read.  In a market now bloated with fantastical tales, there is not much out there that actually connects to me.  Throwing in a fortune teller or a witch character or a random monster in your novel is not enough to satisfy this lady.  Spells and neo-fairy tale tropes are attractive ideas and all, but they're cloying when utilized as stylistic choices or thin metaphors, rather than vehicles for actual information or insight. 

I like to keep this site a space for positivity so I won't mention its title, but I recall recently reading a best-selling witchy book and literally flinging it across the room when the promising esoteric premise devolved into a trashy historical romance novel.  I don't mind that people want to read about copulating wyrdlings (I mean, who doesn't?), but that alone is not enough to make me stick to a story.  I also want great language and a sense that the author has done their homework.  What can I say, I'm picky.

So it's with delight and relief that I can now report that I adored "Last Call" by Tim Powers, a book that came out in 1992, and which I've only just read despite meaning to for at least a decade.  It's a gritty, seedy noir about Vegas, gambling, divination, and retribution.  It is loaded with tarot imagery and history, it has mythological beings, and Powers actually seems to know what he's talking about when he writes about them all.  The story is exciting and emotional and beautifully written, the characters are memorable, and it is literary and fun as hell at the same time.  I highly recommend it.  (And I invite your recommendations in turn, if I haven't scared you off in my preamble!)

Comments

[Martha Mountain]

Have you read Kevin Hearne's IRON DRUID series? Great fun.

[Ibrahim]

You are probably aware of the novels of Charles Williams?All Hallow's Eve, The Greater Trumps, &c, they're tinged with Christian morality but in matters Occult, he knew whereof he wrote, like W.B. Yeats, whose handful of occult novellas likewise craft a very convincing atmosphere of the otherworldly and its hazards.
Also James Blish's Black Easter/Faust Aleph Null...

Don't usually comment here, as there's hardly point in complimenting you upon every single interesting book or exhibition you point out for us- there's too many.

Thank you

[Gabriel]

Hello-
Thanks so much for the literary recommendation. Will be tracking down Powers' work, for sure!
I can very much relate to your assessment of "magickal fiction"- there's so little out there that feels authentic or passionately rendered. While it can come off as snobbish, I figure, with the vast ocean of literature out there right now, why not be picky?
So here's a recommendation: Have you ever read John Crowley's work? I'm frequently surprised by the occult-y folks I know who've never heard of him, considering his namesake.
In any case, he writes magickal fiction with such an easy, natural veracity. Even without a predilection towards the occult, you can read his novel "Little, Big" and fall in love. But with an ear attuned to the symbols, concepts, and deeper meanings, you will find a truly singular work. He renders these subtle messages without waving it in the reader's face, and conveys an intuitive understanding of the world of spirits, myth and magick.
If you havn't read it, I'd highly recommend that one! Bet you'd get something out of it, and any of J. Crowley's work.
Thanks again for your work here on the blog and best wishes,
Gabriel

[Pam]

Thank you for these great recs! I loved Little, Big, definitely need to check out his other works. Have heard of Williams, but haven't read any yet, and the rest of the names are new to me. Will definitely check all of this out. EXCITING.

[Bobby]

Hello, thanks for the recommendation (both the book here and the countless other beautiful works you feature). In my opinion, two of the finest works of literature along these lines are Alan Moore's "Voice of The Fire" http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/voice-of-the-fire/198
and "Satan Wants Me" by Robert Irwin.
http://goo.gl/2W4Pnz
Irwin's novella "The Limits of Vision" is pretty stunning as well.