By Tim Powers
Global myth Award–winner Powers (Three Days to by no means) demonstrates an exact keep an eye on of complicated narratives during this reprint of his rollicking and enthralling 1987 novel. Puppeteer John Chandagnac, sure for Jamaica to get better stolen cash from his uncle, turns into Jack Shandy after pirates assault his send and strength him to hitch their team. Shandy's fight to simply accept his new lifestyles grounds the tale for readers, at the same time Blackbeard and vodun magicians whisk every body away to dreamlike lands the place the Fountain of stripling itself awaits. The chaotic sea battles sing, although every now and then key occasions ensue so fast that they wander away within the shuffle as Jack attempts to realize the place he's going and what's at stake. This darkish fable story will charm not only to pirate lovers but additionally to a person who appreciates Powers's expertise for mixing the main not likely components right into a brilliantly cohesive entire.
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Example text
Bonny halted in front of his wife with his boots just short of the water, and for a moment he seemed about to hit her. Then he hesitated, and his gaze fell away from hers, and he scowled across at Shandy. He fumbled a clasp knife out of his pocket—Shandy stepped back, snatching at his own—but when Bonny had unfolded his blade he pressed the point into the tip of his own left forefinger and flicked the blade outward, throwing a couple of drops of blood toward Shandy, and at the same time he began chanting a nonsensical multi-language rhyme.
Beth and I will be jumping ship at the first opportunity. htm (41 of 185) [2/14/2004 1:05:00 AM] ON STRANGER TIDES - Tim Powers would slip—that's soaked into her wood. I've got an uncle who needs hanging. He turned back toward the fires and started walking again, and it occurred to him that he wasn't far from the spot where he'd seen the man with the torn pockets and the bound-up jaw; and the memory of it made him walk a little faster, not because the man had looked threatening, but because of what Davies had said when Shandy told him about it.
Someone was yelling. "Cap'n Davies! " Davies dropped his bottle into the sand. "That's Venner," he said thoughtfully. "How did that move go? " Shandy shut his eyes and pictured it. "Right. " As the two men trudged back toward the fires, Davies pulled a pistol out of his belt. "If Venner plays me square I can handle him," he said quietly. "But if he doesn't, I want you to hang back with this and make sure no—" He stopped talking suddenly and gave a weary laugh. "Never mind. " He put the pistol away and lengthened his stride.