A review of Tim Powers' "The Anubis Gates"

It's rare that I describe a book as "delightful". "Delightful" implies, for me, at least, a book so good that I actually feel physical buoyancy while reading it. The Anubis Gates is one of those rare "delightful" books. It's about a man named Brendan Doyle who, at the behest of an eccentric old man, travels back in time to 1810, and gets stuck there. At first, it seems a little like Back to the Future in the Regency era, complete with goofy misunderstandings and fish out of water antics, but takes a sharp left turn when Ancient Egyptian magic gets involved.

I won't ruin too much, though, because a majority of its appeal comes from being surprised at how everything connects. The great part about it, though, is its lack of pretension. It doesn't make a big deal about its own cleverness: instead of flaunting its elaborate worldbuilding and knowledge of history, like some other historical fantasy and science fiction novels, it lets the audience fill in the gaps, and doesn't assume too much. If you don't know about the Regency, it doesn't matter, because Powers doesn't constantly hit you over the head with things specific to that time. I also appreciate the lack of put-on Britishness: normally, when an American like Powers writes a book set in old time England, you hear a lot of lines like "Give us some bees and honey guv'nor but watch out for the bloody bobbies", and often sound like they're trying too hard.

Fortunately, there's none of that here. One minor issue I have with this book, is that it's a bit slow in points, especially in the beginning, but once it gets going, it reaches delirious heights of "I can't believe he's doing this." Another is the slightly politically incorrect Egypt sections, with their cheesy, descriptions of that country's inhabitants, but they're milder than all three Indiana Jones movies combined, really. Other than that, this book was great. A perfect brainy beach read for the warmer months ahead.

Grade: A