"
The Anubis Gates" (1983) is a
novel by
fantasy author Tim Powers. It won the
Philip K. Dick Award in 1984.
The
novel is a dizzying combination of
historical novel,
urban fantasy and
time travel science fiction. The
academic Brendan Doyle, an expert on the
poetry of
William Ashbless, is invited by a multi-millionaire to act as a guide in a
time travel mission to
19th Century London, where a group of people will attend a lecture by
Coleridge. Doyle is left behind in
Regency London, where he will find himself involved in a plot of
ancient Egyptian
sorcerers who are trying to change the course of history to re-establish
Egypt as a
world power. They are aided in this by
Horrabin, a mad
sorcerer who leads a gang of beggars in the
underground of
London. Other notable characters include
Dog-Face Joe, who can shift from body to body at will, and the poets
Coleridge and
Lord Byron.
"
The Anubis Gates" is an amazing example of what
speculative fiction can be in the hands of a good author. It combines the qualities of a meticulously researched
historical novel with some very original
fantasy elements.
Tim Powers ties the wildly different motivations of the characters together in an
entertaining and fast-moving
narrative. Higly recommended.