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Tim Powers
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Declare: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Tim Powers (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 709 ratings
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As a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war. Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmarethat has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare. From the corridors of Whitehall to the Arabian desert, from post-war Berlin to the streets of Cold War Moscow, Hale's desperate quest draws him into international politics and gritty espionage tradecraft -- and inexorably drives Hale, the fiery and beautiful Communist agent Elena Teresa Ceniza-Bendiga, and Kim Philby, mysterious traitor to the British cause, to a deadly confrontation on the high glaciers of Mount Ararat, in the very shadow of the fabulous and perilous Ark.

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  1. Print length
    612 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperCollins e-books
  5. Publication date
    October 13, 2009
  6. File size
    924 KB
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  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This supernatural suspense thriller crosses several genres--espionage, geopolitics, religion, fantasy. But like the chicken crossing the road, it takes quite a while to get to the other side. En route, Tim Powers covers a lot of territory: Turkey, Armenia, the Saudi Arabian desert, Beirut, London, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow. Andrew Hale, an Oxford lecturer who first entered Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service as an 18-year-old schoolboy, is called back to finish a job that culminated in a deadly mission on Mount Ararat after the end of World War II. Now it's 1963, and cold war politics are behind the decision to activate Hale for another attempt to complete Operation Declare and bring down the Communist government before Moscow can harness the powerful, other-worldly forces concentrated on the summit of the mountain, supposed site of the landing of Noah's ark. James Theodora is the über-spymaster whose internecine rivalry with other branches of the Secret Intelligence Service traps Hale between a rock and a hard place, literally and figuratively. There's plenty of mountain and desert survival stuff here, a plethora of geopolitical and theological history, and a big serving of A Thousand and One Nights, which is Hale's guide to the meteorites, drogue stones, and amonon plant, which figure in this complicated tale. There's a love story, too, and a bizarre twist on the Kim Philby legend that posits both Philby and Hale as the only humans who can tame the powers of the djinns who populate Mount Ararat.

This is an easy book to get lost in, and Powers's many fans will have a field day with it. The rest of us may have a harder time. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Powers (The Anubis Gates, etc.), known hitherto as an expert fantasy writer, has created a mind-bending mix of genres here, placing his gifts for extreme speculative fiction in service of a fantastical spy story involving rivalries between no fewer than four intelligence services: British, French, Russian and American. In 1963, Andrew Hale is summoned to reenter the secret service. He has a past embracing anti-Nazi activities in Occupied ParisAwhere he fell in love with Elena, a Spanish-born Communist operativeAand a spectacularly unsuccessful mission on Mount Ararat in 1948, the purpose of which only gradually becomes clear. Powers posits that the mountain, as the speculative last home of Noah's Ark, is also the dwelling place of many djinns, supernatural beings that often take the form of rocks in the Arabian deserts. The father of British spy Kim Philby, a noted Arabist, had been a keen observer of these phenomena and taught his son about them. Now it seems that a supernatural power, manifesting itself as an old woman, is safeguarding the Soviet Union, and if fragments of a destroyed djinn can be introduced into Moscow, they could destroy her protection and make the Soviet Union susceptible to normal human laws. This is Hale's mission. In 1948 it failed, and most of his commando force was destroyed. On his return 15 years later, with Philby, Hale succeeds in shooting fragments of djinn into Philby, who then returns to Moscow. Upon Philby's death many years later, the Soviet Union duly collapses. The styles of spy fiction, with dense counterplotting and extremes of caution, and the spectacular supernatural scenes simply do not blend. It's all offbeat and daringly imaginative, but ultimately rather foolish entertainment. (Jan. 9) Forecast: This original novel, despite its strengths, is unlikely to satisfy fully fans of either spycraft or fantasyAand such is the pitfall of genre-bending. A 6-city author tour plus vigorous promotion online and off could give the book some turbo power, though.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000UKOMYU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 924 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 612 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 709 ratings

About the author

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Tim Powers

Tim Powers

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Tim Powers is the author of numerous novels including Hide Me Among the Graves, Three Days to Never, Declare, Last Call, and On Stranger Tides, which inspired the feature film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He has won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award twice, and the World Fantasy Award three times. He lives in San Bernardino, California.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
709 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ABAllentown
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, and amazingly well written
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012
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What an amazing feat... the first third of this book could have been written in the 70's by Le Carre' or Deighton for its pace, its atmoshpere, the style and vocabulary.
Then it becomes fully, opening up the other narrative theme, but staying always true to its spy-story, uber-practical, psycological approach, letting the wider dimension of the story overlap slowly and gently with the sense of a man on a mission, with the ways of MI5, and with the backdrop of the Cold War. This is done through the most complex intermeshing of flash-backs, internal references, and partially resolved riddles that keep the reader guessing at every page, almost grasping the deeper patterns, but not quite. drawing him in deeper and deeper.
This is a very ambitious project, very difficult to accomplish without sliding into artificiality and unsubtle narrative, but somehow Powers manages to work it all in while staying true to his characters and telling a compelling, facinatng story.
I could have done without the happy ending, as darker times would have seem well deserved by such hardened players, but still, even with this possible flaw I have found myself thinking back to the situations, characters, and questions in DECLARE for days and weeks after finishing it. I look forward to redreading it again and soon - in the meanwhile I am reading all of Tim Powers other books - this author is a great, daring writer.
4 people found this helpful
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illiandantic
4.0 out of 5 stars Another 3-1/2 Star Rating
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014
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Tim Powers' 2001 novel "Declare" is another of those books that are better than OK but not quite good enough for Very Good. So, even though I'm formally rating it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5, I'd really like to make that a 3-1/2 star rating. Of course, it's interesting that I say that since the book won both the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the 2001 International Horror Guild Award for Best Novel. If you've read any Powers before, you've got a good idea what to expect: he takes some historical facts (in this case, a lot of World War II/Cold War stuff mostly driven by the life of Kim Philby -- so I highly recommend you read the Wikipedia article on him (material on his father, St. John Philby, and T.E. Lawrence might be useful, too)) and intersperses them with weird things for a different interpretation. The writing is good, though it does suffer quite a bit by the pacing issue most of his "historical fiction" is prone to. Also, in this book, he tells the tale in non-chronological order and we find out a lot of things near the beginning that happen near the end but have no idea what they mean until we weave our way there. It's an interesting way to present the story, but it is a bit frustrating and confusing. Personally, I'd have preferred a much more linear telling. Still, it's a very good book and he ties everything up very neatly at the end.
4 people found this helpful
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H.A.M. ligtendag
5.0 out of 5 stars Book in good condition exactly as described
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
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Very powerful novel
Delivery without a hitch
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K.C. Causey
5.0 out of 5 stars A spy story al la John LeCarre, wrapped around a core of supernatural events.
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015
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If you like Fleming or LeCarre, you'll find the pacing, settings and characters of this book to be your cup of tea. The text is divided into three "books."
Book 1 deals firmly with the characters and introduces a few supernatural elements - nothing to distract you from a ripping WW2 spy yarn interspersed with past and future time segments. Some might find this narrative style annoying. The patient reader will find they support the story and introduce the principles.
Book 2 veers unmistakably into the occult, revealing the long term, arcane plot known as Project Declare. I won't spoil anything here.
Book 3 brings all the elements together to a fast-paced conclusion. It's a satisfying if slightly unlikely ending - strangely enough the only part of the narrative that stretched my suspension of disbelief. The ending doesn't spoil the story, it's just slightly "untrue" to the author's stated influences.

Overall, it was a vivid, exciting book that didn't bog itself down in too many details. You get enough to hold your interest without a hint of excessive, self-indulgent prose. Pacing almost never slackens. This was totally my kind of read. I would heartily recommend it.
13 people found this helpful
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Gregory Price
4.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Powers' work.
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2005
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This book requires some dedication on the reader's part, at 500+ pages, but the payoff is worth it.

Not only does Powers weave an unusual story of supernatural powers and cold-war-era spyfaring, but he makes it all the more compelling by using real locations, historical events, and even personas.

The main character, Hale, is a British spy whose lineage brings him into the fold of an ultra-secret spy organization within the British government whose directive is to counter the supernatural machinations of the enemies of the crown. The story begins when Hale is recalled to service in order to rectify a botched operation following WWII.

To that end, the story alternates between different timelines, explaining his original introduction to the service and leading to the doomed operation on Mount Ararat, in addition to his resumption of the operation years later. The reader is at first given only a cursory idea of what the service entails, but then is later treated to some very compelling and convincing events that bring this strange and frightening world into focus.

The author really shines in his attention to historical, geographic, and geopolitical detail as the story unfolds. Actual historical events and persons are used to great effect to build the story's foundation of spies and intrigue in Europe and the Middle East. From there, the author convincingly adds the menacing and fascinating aspect of the supernatural, while deftly maintaining the mystique by refusing to focus on it more than is necessary.

Just to underscore his hard work and love for the craft, the author appends some notes at the end of the story revealing quite a bit of the facts and characters behind the story, which is in itself a fun read.

I finished reading this story wondering if, in fact, the events of the story may have actually happened. That should say quite enough.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ian Marteens
5.0 out of 5 stars Unapologetically clear
Reviewed in Spain on January 29, 2017
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Excellent novel, as usual. Interesting and credible characters. A breath-taking plot. The most I like of it, however, is that Powers is unapologetically clear about the nature of the former Soviet Unión: it was a criminal dictatorship. The reasons for being that way, as put in the book, are a fantasy, of course. But the naked fact remains. Hat-tip for the cameo by a descendent from Mr. Ashbless.
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Cliente Kindle
4.0 out of 5 stars libro eccellente!!!
Reviewed in Italy on December 14, 2015
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Davvero bello...
Già in precedenza Powers (che conoscevo e ho già apprezzato) ha mischiato il sovrannaturale con le sue storie, ma a questo titolo sono arrivato tramite le segnalazioni di Amazon dopo aver letto i libri di Stross... e che bella segnalazione è stata!!!
Documentata storia che sfrutta la vicenda delle spie comuniste di Cambridge degli anni '60 attribuendo alla Guerra Fredda anche un aspetto magico, batte di gran lunga le storie di Stross di ambientazione modernissima.
Personaggi macerati dall'incontro con esseri demoniaci e dalla percezione del mondo ultraterreno si incrociano per venti anni, avanzando a tentoni nel tentativo di avvantaggiare la propria fazione (e distruggere.. o sfruttare .. i poteri di eseri non umani), col problema di capire esattamente QUALE è la porpria fazione e quali sono i suoi veri scopi... una storia davvero non scontata che mantiene l'attenzione del lettore.
Due dettagli ho apprezzato, poi, proprio in contrapposizione alle storie di Stross: l'atmosfera di "straordinario", incomprensibile e poco gestibile che il sovrannaturale mantiene in questo libro, invece di essere uno scontato, serializzato, semplice accessorio del cellulare descrito da Stross, e la "spiegazione" del sovrannaturale in funzione della tradizione cattolica, e non negando la religione come Stross... ma qui si tratta di questioni personali.. :)
Perché non 5 stelle??? in alcuni passaggi risulta prolisso...
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J Foreman
5.0 out of 5 stars A great, great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2014
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It’s my favourite book of 2014 so far (even though that’s less than 2 weeks in) and here are some reasons why:

It’s dense but honest. There’s a lot going on in Declare, and a lot that’s alluded to but never fully explained. But Powers set himself a rule when writing this alternate history, that none of the documented events that we know of could be moved or manipulated for his convenience: he had to operate in the restrictions of the world. There’s no point where a giant mecha-Hitler has to descend, deus ex machina style, to save a problem in the plot.

Although described as le Carre meets HP Lovecraft, it’s closer to a Bond film (a succession of well-realized, exotic locations) written by a paranoiac with mystical leanings. The magical elements are rarely the interesting parts of the book; it’s the locations and the characters and the details of spycraft that are so captivating. Also (spoiler alert) it’s not a total gloomfest from start to finish, whereas if you finish a le Carre and there haven’t been a dozen meaningless deaths of principal characters by the end, you feel cheated.

There’s a strong female character. Alas, only one, so there was no chance it could pass the Bechdel Test, but Elena is well-written, interestingly conflicted and a dab hand with a gun.

It’s set between the 1930s and 1962; the build up to the Second World War and then the Cold War. Those don’t seem to have been fun periods to live through, but I,really enjoy reading about them, whether fictional or non fictional accounts. I don’t think it’s just the quality of the writing; modern, techno-obsessed spy thrillers are less charming, but have less palpable menace, than the work of le Carre, Deighton et al, even though now we can look back and see that the ‘inevitable’ nuclear conclusion wasn’t going to happen after all. I could read Deighton all week; I read Clancy all week to laugh at the tin-eared dialogue. Similarly, I found Ian Tregillis’ Bitter Seeds triptych, another WWII/Cold War/paranormal epic to be captivating – perhaps for the same reasons.

Declare feels a more serious work than Stross’ Laundry sequence; more like a proper spy novel compared to a B-movie with cartoonish heroes and monsters. It helps that we don’t see the supernatural elements for quite some time, just ominous phrases like “O Fish, are you faithful to the covenant?” which made me suspect an assault by Lovecraftian Deep Ones, instead of what actually occurs. That’s not to say that the Laundry novels aren’t as enjoyable as Declare, but they definitely feel more pulpy.

Also, Declare’s cast is of (often) real people, such as Kim Philby – perhaps unfeared by thoughts of libel, Powers brings in plenty of people who are recently dead to make things feel more real. The fact that occasional Americanisms, like ‘sidewalk’ and the verb ‘to tromp’ make it in is not so terrible a distraction.

What’s strange to me is that Declare isn’t more famous a book, or indeed recognized as a great work of espionage fiction. Then again, Tim Powers is partially implicated in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so nobody gets things 100% right.
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frenchy
2.0 out of 5 stars Manque de rythme, je n'arrive pas à rentrer dans l'histoire, alors que j'aime le thème et l'auteur
Reviewed in France on February 3, 2020
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Ce livre m'a beaucoup déçu et bien que j'y revienne régulièrement , je n'ai pas réussi à le finir.
Pourtant j'aime beaucoup Tim Powers comme auteur , et l'idée que la guerre froide utilise l'occultisme / des horreurs à la Lovecraft est intéressante. Mais la première moitié du livre est 99% espionnage et 1% trucs étranges, et au final comme auteur d'espionnage Tim Powers n'est pas du même calibre que John Le Carré ou Graham Greene. Ca s'améliore p-e sur la 2nde moitié, mais j'ai lâché le livre avant.
J'ai commandé ce livre après avoir dévoré "The Atrocity Archives " de Charles Stross, les 2 ouvrages explorant le même mélange espionnage / horreur, mais le résultat final est très différent.
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Sergio
4.0 out of 5 stars Una super-storia di spie e di magia da un autore inimitabile
Reviewed in Italy on October 1, 2016
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Tim Powers ha pochi rivali nel mescolare un certo tipo di "soprannaturale" in trame peraltro complesse e godibili senza che l'elemento soprannaturale stoni o sembri per certi versi "infantile". Durante la lettura gli elementi magici, spesso concepiti come spiegazione di fenomeni scientifici o avvenimenti realmente accaduti, sembrano davvero essere la spiegazione più "logica" per quello che succede nel libro. In particolare questo lungo romanzo si muove nell'atmosfera della guerra fredda prima e dopo la seconda guerra mondiale dichiaratamente un pò alla maniera di John Le Carré, come riconosce l'autore stesso, e tiene i lettori incollati alle pagine fino alla fine come sempre. Un pò difficile forse leggerlo in lingua originale a causa della scrittura molto articolata, in questo aiuta la versione ebook da cui è facile consultare il dizionario online. Peccato che i primi romanzi di Tim Powers non vengano più ristampati in italiano. Comunque, fatevi un favore, leggete Tim Powers!!
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