Book Review - The Anubis Gates

by Tim Powers. Ace, 1983.

After I was introduced to Tim Powers through his Cold War fantasy, Declare, I attempted to track down his earlier works at libraries and used bookstores. Several proved impossible to find. Among these was the novel that first made him famous: The Anubis Gates, so eventually I gave in and bought a new copy. Now, having read it, I understand the reason for its rarity: no one in their right mind would relinquish a copy of such a marvelous book!

Brendan Doyle, a second-rate Coleridge scholar, is hired by wealthy J. Cochran Darrow as part of a peculiar money-making scheme. Darrow has discovered a quasi-magical means of limited time travel, and to raise funds for other exploits, he has arranged to take ten customers back to 1810 to hear Coleridge give a lecture. Doyle’s job is to give the venture a bit of academic gravitas. The first part of the plan goes smoothly, but after the lecture Doyle is kidnapped by a huge bald-headed sorcerer who is intent on learning his magical secrets. Doyle escapes by the skin of his teeth, but finds himself stranded in the past, a friendless pauper.

I’m not sure I could describe the rest of the plot if I wanted to, because it would sound utterly insane. One of Powers’ gifts is the ability to take strange details of the past and knit them together into a convincing secret history, filling in the blanks with a bizarre but logically coherent framework. Suffice it to say that it involves an evil clown, Byron, Coleridge, Egyptian gods, gypsies, a body-switching killer, horrible medical experiments, magical homunculi, Napoleon, a depilatory salon, fire elementals, and a little wooden monkey. And, of course, the fate of the whole world hangs in the balance!

While the plot is complex, it keeps up a fast pace and never gets bogged down in its own twists and turns. For the most part Powers avoids the explanatory speeches which show up in his later works. There’s plenty of sly humour, and a lot of frights, but overall the story plays it straight and doesn’t veer off into the horror or comedy genres. I’ve read quite a few books that tried to follow a similar formula – a rollicking adventure spiced with weird ideas. Usually those works fell flat, were overly predictable, or came off as gimmicky and contrived. Not so with this book – all the pieces work together admirably. The Anubis Gates is the real thing, a classic which no doubt spawned many imitations.

What about religious elements? Early on we learn that the power of sorcery is fading thanks to the newer religions, in particular Christianity. Therefore, one of the main reasons the villains are plotting against England is because of its role in spreading this faith around the world. Coleridge, while a tormented man, was also a passionate and intellectually adventurous Christian, and this shows up in the book through a few of the remarks he makes, along with a brief conversation about the Logos. There’s a vivid resurrection sequence, and by the end of the book one gets the sense that Doyle has been an agent of Providence. Finally, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to see Powers’ Catholic faith reflected in the implicit moral dimension of the story. Several of his recurring themes make themselves felt: the importance of making reparations for past wrongs, of paying debts owed; and the wickedness of trying to extend one’s own life or power unnaturally by preying off the vulnerable.

All in all, a tour de force. Skip the used bookstores for this one - go out and buy a new copy today!

5 out of 5