One of My Favorite Books: The Anubis Gates

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers.

How do I review this without giving away the whole thing? Oh wait. I can't give away the whole thing when the book is almost indescribable. So here goes: Brendan Doyle, a William Ashbless scholar, agrees to guide a tour on a secret trip back in time to the early 19th century. He immediately gets lost and discovers he does not have a clue about surviving on the streets of the England of 1810. He gets involved with a group of thieves whose leader is a clown on stilts, is pursued by the spoon sized boys, meets a body jumper and encounters fire elementals who are deeply interested in his shoes. Confused? Totally worth it. The Anubis Gates reads at a very fast pace, has a lovely time paradox at the end, and all this fits together exquisitely. Powers has a talent for making a twist in the real world and following the lines of change that explode outward. Imaginative and funny! Weird! What more could you ask for? Well you're going to get a lot more; this is guaranteed a reading experience like no other. In a good way.