Strange Itineraries is a collection of Powers' published short stories, and as such it is extremely representative of his longer work. It is brilliant, enchanting, yet sometimes inconsistent and full of itself. The first several stories, Itinerary, The Way Down the Hill, and Pat Moore, are remarkably creative stories that would get 5-star ratings if viewed alone. The rest, including those co-authored with Blaylock, seem to be attempts at something that don't quite work. Powers excells at putting people in the modern world in fantastic situations where ghosts or other apparitions appear, and watching how they deal with this new reality. Sometimes it works, and the story becomes a successful morality tale or a meditation on the ties among people. Sometimes it doesn't, and everything gets tangled up in the what-if part of the story.

Also notable are the ongoing themes Powers uses in his work. The desert Southwest and its dry emptiness, the importance of family (sisters and brothers here, parents in some of his novels), and interactions with strangers all play prominent roles in this collection. His ability to evoke a setting and create a familial relationship in just a few sentences is extremely compelling, and this best of his work does this gracefully and enchantingly. ( )

I don't like short stories much... every good short story I've read makes me want to know more than there's space for in the format, every bad one makes me wonder if it could be good with more space.

Tim Powers never produces bad fiction, so I'm left with 9 excellent short stories, all of which I'd love to read as full novels.

If you're new to Tim Powers, you might be surprised, if you're an old hand, you'll be delighted at what goes on, they're all vintage Powers. ( )

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/... ( )