Expiration Date (Hardcover)

Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I think that Powers is one of the most (if not *the* most) creative, inventive and possibly mad fantasy writers working today. It's rarely that I read a writer who really makes me say "How on earth did he think of *that*?"

Powers creates a plot centering around the ghost of Thomas Edison, the idea that ghosts can be inhaled for their essence, and complicated ideas about magic and superstition. Somehow he makes this plot feel almost inevitable-- it never feels odd for the sake of odd.

So why is it my least favorite? I think that it's largely an issue of comparison. For all that the premise in this book is highly believable, it's not quite as real to me as the Last Call world. There are a few too many characters and there are almost places where some of them feel as though they're driving the plot. But largely it's because I don't quite believe the motivation where deLarava is concerned-- I find her one of the weakest of the Powers characters and I have trouble buying her eventual character arc.

Still, any Powers is more worth reading more than the best book by almost anyone else.

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I'm happy to say that EXPIRATION DATE is much more like ON STRANGER TIDES and THE ANUBIS GATES. Powers' trick of the trade is the incorporation of historical figures in wildly fantastical yet internally plausible plots. When this works, the reader learns something about the period and personalities while also being entertained. When Powers is at his best, the reader may think some of the fantastic parts *are* history.

What if ghosts lingered on, and could be "attracted" by conundrums and disorder, could be absorbed by the living who are then "revitalized"? What if certain people's ghosts were stronger--people like Harry Houdini and Thomas Edison, who knew that their ghosts would be desired by the greedy living? These are Powers' concepts and he plays them perfectly, establishing the rules as he establishes the characters, always remaining consistent within his world. What Powers has done here is invent his own system of magic, as if he were writing a new role-playing system, then working within those rules as he role plays the characters toward the plot conclusion.

Aside from the mechanics, Powers' strength also lies within his character portraits. In this long novel he handles at least five major protagonists and a dozen supporting cast, each a well-drawn individual. If there is anything of fault in EXPIRATION DATE, it is the lack of anything more than an incredibly entertaining, fun story. But is that a lack or just Powers' entire intention? In any case, if you want a piece of entertainment that doesn't treat you like a seven-year-old, you can't do any better than Powers or EXPIRATION DATE.

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The story line itself is a very convoluted mating of urban ghosts, two rather well known historical figures, and a large set of major characters who are apparently unrelated to each other at the beginning but who eventually are all intertwined. The driving force behind the plot is the idea that ghosts can be captured, bottled, and inhaled by the living, imparting their memories and life essence to the inhaler. Certain people have become addicted to this habit, and will do anything to capture a really strong ghost, murder being almost the least of that 'anything'. Into this idea Powers drops the ghost of Thomas Edison, a man almost reverentially talked about in schools for his multitudinous inventions, but not exactly the nicest man in the world, as a really powerful ghost that everyone who is capable of sensing his presence wants to get.

The set of ideas that Powers introduces here is impressive: inhaleable ghosts, 'rotten' ghosts that once inhaled make it impossible to inhale more ghosts, the possibility of a freshly dead person's ghost continuing to use his body, ghosts who slowly obtain a substantial physical form by ingesting trash, an ingested ghost's personality may take over the consciousness of the inhaler, and many more. None of these ideas are directly laid out at the beginning of the book, but slowly become obvious as you proceed through the story - but while you are learning Powers' ghost rules, you are likely to feel somewhat confused.

Also impressive are the portraits Powers paints of Edison and Houdini, combining known historical facts and foibles of their characters with his story line in an almost seamless mix. His descriptions of Los Angeles, both past and present, add to the sense of realism that is so necessary for a book of this nature to succeed.

The large set of characters, though, is the major problem with this book. While Pete Sullivan, Angelica Elizalde, and Koot Hoomie Parganas, the three major point-of-view characters, are each described with enough detail about their past and their current thought patterns to enable me to recognize them as real people. What they failed to do was emotionally engage me. And this same problem applied to Solomon Shadroe, Sherman Oaks, Neal Obstadt and all the other characters here - I could not find myself caring what happened to all of them. Perhaps this is because for a large portion of the book, there does not seem to be any definite goal that these characters are trying to reach - a real plot direction doesn't emerge until almost two thirds of the way through the book. While this is certainly a common trait in the modern 'life realistic' novel, where things 'just happen' and people bounce from one experience to another with no goal or direction, here it hurts, as the point is not to paint reality but to present the fantastic as commonplace.

This also points up the fact that there is almost no deeper level of meaning to this book. The actions and events portrayed do not have any relevance to everyday living, nor are the character's reactions explored in enough depth to provide new insight into the human condition. This leaves the book as an 'entertainment' only type story, which is perfectly fine as an objective for a novel, but without strong reader engagement with the characters or a strong plot, the entertainment level does not tip the meter very far into the 'enjoyable' range.

Some great ideas, some impressive historical research, but stretched across too nebulous a plot from too many viewpoints to be a real page-turning grabber.

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