Tim Powers: The Drawing of The Dark

Books by Tim Powers

	The Drawing of The Dark
	Cover Text: "The year: 1529. The place: Vienna. The man charged with saving the Western world from the invading Turks: Brian Duffy. Or was it King Arthur? Brian Duffy, grizzled Irish soldier of fortune, had been hired to go to Vienna and act as bouncer at an inn where the fabulous Herzwesten beer was brewed. But why was he guided there by creatures from ancient legends? Why was Duffy plagued by visions of a sword and an arm rising rising from a lake? And what on Earth did all those drunken Vikings have to do with it? In a war of magic and desperation, Duffy was fighting to preserve the West until... the drawing of the Dark."
Published by: Del Rey Books, New York, 1979 Granada, London, 1981 Grafton, London, 1987 Del Rey, 1999	Opinion: I stumbled across this book in a news kiosk in Faro, Portugal, of all places, while studying in Spain in '87. I had only read The Anubis Gates and maybe Dinner at Deviant's Palace at that point. Since The Drawing of the Dark was not even listed on the "also by this author" pages of those books, I had not even heard that this one existed, and I was shocked and amazed to find it. I stayed in the hotel room reading it while my traveling companions wandered around town. But the reason that it's a personal favorite of mine is that it exemplifies Powers' style and inventiveness even though it doesn't have the depth or complexity of some of his later works. Two concepts that Powers uses consistently well are very clear here: The protagonist determinedly pursues (or at least believes he is pursuing) his own goals, while forces beyond his knowledge swirl around him. The history is real - the supernatural forces behind the scenes are artfully included in such a way to make you almost believe that this must really have been the way things happened. We can read in the history books that Vienna was was successfully defended from the Turkish forces 1529, but do we know why? Duffy is a likeable character and the descriptions of the locations he visits are truly enough to make you feel as if you've joined him on this adventure. This book is not too deep, not too dark (despite the title... if you don't know what it's referring to, I probably shouldn't give it away here - it adds to the genuine stylishness of this story), and not too complicated, by Powers' standards. Bottom line: One of my personal top four. It's a lot of fun to read, and I recommend it highly. - ccb 4/15/99
Awards Locus Poll Award (Fantasy - #17) 1980
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