421:, "Powers's latest genre-blending thriller (call it an occult/fantasy/espionage/existential adventure with elements of paranoid rant) concerns shadowy groups of international intriguers racing to locate a lost discovery of Albert Einstein's that could quite literally change history. ... Frank Marrity, an English professor, and his 12-year-old daughter, Daphne, stumble on Einstein's secret and scramble to figure out what it means and how to keep it and themselves out of the hands of the mysterious groups—Mossad? the N.S.A.? Evil cabalists?—who are chasing them. Their predicament is about as dire as can be imagined, but it gives Powers's heroes the opportunity to confront their own pasts. You might finish this overstuffed novel still unsure about the connection between Einstein and astral projection, but if you give in to Powers's imaginative leaps and relentless pacing you may find that a mere quibble."
478:. ... If one were to glean a message from this story, it could be that, as much as we might dream of going back and changing events in our past that have hurt us to one degree or another, the point of life is to move forward through the pain, and not linger on it, tormenting ourselves by never learning lessons or growing as people. A lot of time travel thrillers would root themselves in the gizmo or the gimmick;
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think the distinction between science fiction and fantasy is an arbitrary one. Generally people who write one also write the other. And so when I'm writing I never think, you know, 'Is this one science fiction? Is this one horror?' I just think 'Well, it's that stuff. We'll certainly have something like ghosts wandering around, and...'
393:, admired Powers's "brio, bravado and a salutary measure of lunacy" in writing the book, and called it "a beguiling genre omelet, a mélange of forms ranging from alternate history to science fiction, urban fantasy to occult cliffhanger, espionage adventure to Ross Macdonald-style Southern California hardboiled detective thriller."
430:, in a mini-review, gave the novel a B+ grade: "In 1987, a widower dad and his young daughter are thrust into international metaphysical intrigue involving time travel, Jewish mysticism, and Albert Einstein. ... Deeply weird—Charlie Chaplin plays a key role—but it all somehow works in Powers' wily storytelling logic."
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writes that the novel is a somewhat farcical "12-step to daylight" in which, happily, "Life is a game which can be played": "In this sounding house of story, a typical Tim Powers plot unfolds. As usual, there is no simple way to do synopsis: Not only are there two opposing Covert Forces attempting to
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Another team, The
Vespers, co-opts Frank's brother-in-law, Bennett, to deliver the Marritys to the Vespers for $ 50,000. Bennett leads them to Grammar's house, but then changes his mind and saves Frank and Daphne from assassination. Frank contacts Lepidopt and tells him how to find the time machine.
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To strangers I usually say I write science fiction books, just because if I said fantasy I don't know what they'd imagine I meant by that. To myself, I just think I write that stuff we read, that stuff that is kind of under the umbrella of, oh... Bradbury, Heinlein, Lovecraft, Sturgeon, Leiber... I
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Daphne, captured and tied up by the
Vespers, uses her mental powers to set their headquarters on fire. They tranquilize her and flee, but Frank's telepathic link has alerted him to what she did. The Mossad agents imprison Frank and Charlotte in the back of their van and head for Palm Springs.
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wrote, "The ride we take in this marvelous novel is glorious and gripping. And if we have a mind-bending panoply of the fantastic to absorb, we feel privileged to pay the price of entry—we accept it all as being part of the 'physics of the metaphysics' of the grimly glorious Powers universe."
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Thomas M. Wagner of SFReviews.net, praising "Powers' creative brilliance," wrote, "Powers ingeniously imagines a world in which the most cutting-edge discoveries of physics walk hand in hand with paranormal phenomena, Kabbalist mysticism, and enough weirdness for any five seasons of
190:, in a few days during August 1987. Professor of English Frank Marrity is visiting his recently deceased grandmother's house in order to get her affairs in order. To keep his 12-year-old daughter Daphne occupied, he puts her in front of a television set with a VHS videotape of
285:(Young) Frank Marrity (b. 1952) - The 35-year-old protagonist, he is an English professor and is devoted to his daughter, with whom he sometimes has telepathic contact. He falls in love with Charlotte Sinclair, despite the fact that she was commissioned to kill him.
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at the El
Mirador Medical Plaza in Palm Springs. Lepidopt finally gets up the nerve to "jump" but travels back only two minutes in time; still, this is enough for him to change the time-line and save the Marritys, though he himself dies.
200:, burning both the tape and her teddy bear in her bedroom upstairs. This psychic action attracts the attention of foreign agents who know much more about the Marrity family's lives than they do—for example, that Frank's grandmother was
170:. As with most of Powers' novels, it proposes a secret history in which real events have supernatural causes and prominent historical figures have been involved in supernatural or occult activities. The novel was shortlisted for the
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Frank and Daphne meet an old man who introduces himself to Frank as Frank's missing father. In reality, he is an older Frank, from the year 2006, who intends to use the time machine to restore his earlier, happier life.
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Derek
Marrity - Murdered by the Vespers in 1955, he was thought by his children to have abandoned them. His mummified head travels with the Vespers in their bus and can answer certain questions by whispering or via a
282:, she renamed herself from the Serbian "Lieserl Maric" to the Irish-sounding "Lisa Marrity." Mother of Derek Marrity, grand mother of Frank and Moira Marrity, and great-grandmother of Daphne Marrity.
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Old Frank warns young Frank and Daphne not to eat in an
Italian restaurant, but they disregard this and go to lunch at Alfredo's. Daphne chokes on a bite of food and Frank performs an emergency
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gain control of the Grail-like MacGuffin, which does in the end change the world a few times before evaporating, but the central premise involves time travel, which can
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By a matter of minutes, Lepidopt's team fetches the machine before the
Vespers and old Frank can get to it. The Mossad team bring the time machine components to the
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Paul Golze - A lieutenant to
Rascasse, he deals with Old Frank, promising him a deal in return for an explanation of how to find and use the time machine.
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he concealed after the 1933 disaster..." Clute says that the novel is not exactly clear, yet "the book ends in peace and closure, and it gives joy."
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is spent perplexing lay readers with exegeses of the theological and practical implications of
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Marrity's house is located at 204 Batsford Street in Pasadena. Tim Powers's wife Serena's maiden name was Batsford.
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Denis Rascasse - A Frenchman, he is leader of the team hunting for the time machine in the United States. He is able to
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Both teams, using different magical abilities, gradually converge upon each other. The novel climaxes with a
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Sam Glatzer - A "remote viewer," that is, a psychic who can eavesdrop on conversations many miles away.
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Daphne Marrity (b. 1975) - Frank's precocious 12-year-old daughter, she has the occasional power of
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Daphne, but Lepidopt rescues them. Believing his statements, Frank and Daphne join the Mossad team.
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is that rare kind of thriller that never loses sight of the humanity beneath the surface."
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of the Mossad, his goal is to get the time machine in order to fix certain events in the
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Ernie Bozzaris - A 28-year-old member of the Mossad; he is shot to death by Paul Golze.
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511:"A Conversation With Tim Powers: An interview with Kim Fawcett"
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762:"The Power of Historical Fantasy: Tim Powers speaks to UCR"
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be explained, not really. ... A certain proportion of
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647:Santella, Andrew (August 20, 2006).
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341:Bert Malk - Another Mossad agent.
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676:Vary, Adam B. (August 4, 2006).
433:Comparing parts of the novel to
347:Aryeh Mishal - An elderly agent.
208:, and that she was friends with
16:2006 fantasy novel by Tim Powers
624:. Sci Fi Weekly. Archived from
327:Oren Lepidopt - A 40-year-old
278:(1902-1987) - The daughter of
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706:"The Physics of Metaphysics"
657:. p. Sunday Book Review
563:Worlds Without End (2014).
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732:Wagner, Thomas M. (2006).
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305:Bennett Bradley - A movie
247:San Bernardino, California
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775:Interview with Tim Powers
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227:. While there, he sees a
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943:Subterranean Press books
928:Novels about time travel
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839:The Drawing of the Dark
383:Science fiction author
193:Pee-wee's Big Adventure
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589:(September 3, 2006).
509:Fawcett, Kim (1999).
440:That Hideous Strength
933:Novels by Tim Powers
918:2006 American novels
687:Entertainment Weekly
591:"Back to the Future"
567:. Worlds Without End
427:Entertainment Weekly
20:Three Days to Never
895:Three Days to Never
780:Three Days to Never
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680:Three Days to Never
649:"Fiction Chronicle"
620:(October 2, 2006).
596:The Washington Post
480:Three Days to Never
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296:by some characters.
188:Southern California
172:Locus Fantasy Award
156:Three Days to Never
148:PS3566.O95 T48 2006
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654:The New York Times
544:Worlds Without End
418:The New York Times
379:Critical reception
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333:Six-Day War
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825:Novels by
790:SF Reviews
770:Highlander
549:2009-07-21
494:References
406:Three Days
397:John Clute
265:Characters
168:Tim Powers
136:813/.54 22
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80:July 2006
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887:Declare
682:(2006)"
515:SF Site
235:possess
59:Fantasy
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
