Science Fiction Book Club 1997 hardcover ("GuildAmerica Books" on spine.) 933 pages, cover by Don Maitz. Condition is Fine, in a Fine dustjacket. The book is tight and very square with the usual slight bumping at ends of spine. Dustjacket is in great shape with no tears and maybe a little wear at top of spine. No stamps, marks or writing - a very clean copy. This looks unread. The SFBC made a nice 16" by 20" poster of the cover art, which is included in the back. (The only problem is they folded it into eighths so it would fit.)

Fault Lines - an omnibus by Tim Powers containing the related novels Expiration Date (1996) and Earthquake Weather (1997.)

Three characters come together in Expiration Date : Kootie, Sullivan, and Elizade. Koot Hoomie Parganas was raised by his parents to be a Theosophist Messiah, but just wanted to be a regular 11-year old boy. He ran away... returning to find his parents murdered, and everyone chasing after him - or the ghost of Thomas Edison, that he has accidentally inhaled. Pete Sullivan and his twin sister Sukie used to chase ghosts for crazy filmmaker Loretta deLaravara. Now Sukie is dead and deLaravara is after him. Angelica Anthem Elizade is a trained psychiatrist who tried to use folk magic theraputically, only to have it work. The trio meet in Los Angeles, and attempt to exorcize their various ghosts.

In Earthquake Weather, these characters combine with some (living or otherwise) from his earlier novel Last Call, in what seems to be the ultimate struggle between assorted groups of friends and faithful to install a long-term King of the West, after the murder of the last one. The settings roam over Southern California, as only Tim Powers would think of depicting it.

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy praises Tim Powers for combining "endless ingenuity of plotting, witty and revealing dialog, and an eye for the presentation of detail with a strong moral sense." From what I've read, I have to agree. He started out with Science Fictional work, but has tended more and more towards Fantasy. I would call this contemporary fantasy- and highly inventive at that.