The third and final volume in Tim Powers Fault LInes series, following Last Call (1993) andExpiration Date (1995), Earthquake Weather follows the main characters of both previous novels as Scott Crane (mild 18-year-old spoiler) is killed by those who want his crown, and his only hope is that of Koot Hoomie, a twelve-year-old who years ago was possessed by the ghost of Thomas Edison.
As much as I loved Last Call and really liked Expiration Date, I found Earthquake Weather to be overloaded on main characters (often giving them very little to do), and more in love with the setting than the story. It does conclude the events of the previous two novels, but wasn't as strong as either of the first two books.
If you've already started the series it's well worth the read, but otherwise I would skip it for his time travel novel, The Anubis Gates, or the vastly superior Declare.
The second in Tim Powers "Fault Lines" series, following Last Call, Expiration Date (1995), focuses on ghosts and the effect they have on those they leave behind. As with Last Call, the book follows a number of characters connected to the fantastic conceit of the novel (the devouring of ghosts by the living, rather than spells that can be cast using playing cards, which was the conceit behind Last Call), including a ten-year-old orphaned (sorry for the 21-year-old spoiler) in the first chapter, a burnt out therapist, an ex-assistant to an exorcist, and Thomas Edison.
The book looks at a number of original concepts, and as someone who reads a lot of urban fantasy, it's kind of nice to read a title that isn't dependent on a Vampire/Werewolf/Demon lover of a young girl, which seems to make up the bulk of the sub-genre. Powers does sometimes lose my attention as a number of his characters are very vocal about not wanting to be involved - which can be an interesting character aspect, but is easy to bleed into the reading experience if repeated enough in the book.
In the end I didn't quite like it as much as Last Call, but it was still a fun read nonetheless and I'm looking forward to reading the final work in the series, Earthquake Weather later this month.
Also - check out the new (thematically related) trailer for Ghostbusters!
