Book Review: Declare

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Declare     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Tim Powers
Class/Genre:   Fantasy
Morrow, Jan 2001, $25.00, 528 pp.

It was probably ordained form the day Andrew Hale was born, an event shrouded in mystery, that he would ultimately join His Majesty's Secret Service in the war against Hitler. As a child, his mother introduced Andrew to his "Godfather", who was in the business. Andrew took to the world of espionage as few ever have. He even fooled the Soviets into recruiting him. If the perfect spy had an weakness it had to be Elena, a dedicated Communist who worked with Andrew during the Vichy control of France. His only failure was the men who died on Mt. Ararat when the Soviets sought the Ark.

After the war, Andrew returned to England as a university professor, believing his days as a spy were over. However, in 1963, he receives a coded phone call that reactivates him sending him to the Middle East where the Soviets are trying to obtain the Ark. Andrew speaks with Legion and passes a weird test of sorts. Now all he must do is fight the forces of darkness on Ararat with the stakes being the freedom of the world.

DECLARE is an interesting combination of a classic espionage thriller crossed with the X-Files to create an intriguing ecclesiastical spy tale. The riveting story line employs flashbacks to World War II so that the reader can grasp what happened that led to the 1963 events. Fans will declare that Tim Powers' power is to make the mundane exciting and the supernatural believable as he does with this thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner