DECLARE Review. "Bless Me [Things Are Not as They Seem]"

Declare

by Tim Powers

Narrated by Simon Prebble

Tim Powers has composed a super spy novel with more than a touch of the supernatural. Told in long story sections out of chronological order, you often learn the reasons why things happen long after you witness them when they occur. Powers has made the editorial choice to tell Andrew Hale’s story out of sequence, and it is very effective; for situations that may at first seem to have a simple explanation take on an entirely new meaning when the full machinations of the plot are revealed. DECLARE has a plot that is intricately baroque in its complexity and interconnectedness and a quixotically satisfying conclusion that pulls in lose strings from every major character. This, to me, is an exceptional Tim Powers novel, displaying all the elements I expect from him: immense historical detail, quirky characters, and a well-ordered sense of the fantastic. The spook business verifiably earns its nick-name here. The characters seem to be real people placed in unreal circumstances so bizarre that you find yourself buying into the weirdness just for the privilege witnessing the story unfold . Some of the players in fact are real historical figures from the world of international espionage. The way Powers manages to weave a complex story under and around the life of Kim Philby, the notorious cold-war spy, is fascinating and gives the novel an air of credibility. I had read the print version of this book years ago and found it to be eerie and unsettling. This audio version seems much less creepy and more accessible. Perhaps I have become desensitized, but I think not. I think it is the very nature of having someone read the book to you. The phenomena is more likely attributed to the sense that you are not alone; the narrator is a companion, your steady voice of reason and a buffer between you and the strangeness of the underworld. 

Simon Prebble is a fine narrator for this book and imparts a steady pace to the story and a much needed link to reality in a tale that could become absurd with a more melodramatic performance. His portrayal of Kim Philby is particularly good, giving him a vulnerable stutter than brings him down to life. The book does start slow, first building the relationship with the protagonist, but when the dialog and the supernatural plot begin to open up Prebble’s performance elevates his inflection to match.