Declare

By: Tim Powers

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

In his 11th novel, Tim Powers takes his unique brand of speculative fiction into uncharted territory, instilling the old-fashioned espionage novel with a healthy dose of the supernatural.

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, a coded message draws Professor Andrew Hale back into Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Elements from his past are gathering in Beirut, including ex-British counterespionage chief and Soviet mole Kim Philby, and a beautiful former Spanish Civil War soldier-turned-intelligence operative, Elena Teresa Ceniza-Bendiga. Soon Hale will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named “Declare.”

From the corridors of Whitehall to the Arabian Desert, from postwar 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, Ceniza-Bendiga, and Philby to a deadly confrontation on the high glaciers of Mount Ararat, in the very shadow of the fabulous and perilous biblical Ark.

©2001 Tim Powers (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Dazzling…A tour de force, a brilliant blend of John le Carré spy fiction with the otherworldly.” ( Dean Koontz)

“[Powers] orchestrates reality and fantasy so artfully that the reader is not allowed a moment’s doubt throughout this tall tale.” ( The New Yorker)

“Highly ingenious…No one else writes like Powers, and Declare finds him at the top of his game.” ( San Francisco Chronicle)

Disappointing

This started off well but didn't hold my interest. The characters drawn from history weren't convincing and I think this was the core of my disappointment. The timeline of the story was difficult to follow and as the narrative went on (and on) I stopped caring about where it was going.

I thought the narrator did a good job, although I did notice a couple of entertaining spoonerisms!

Superb. Intriguing. Speculative.

Holes in history are filled in supernaturally by Powers with amazing skill. It's a top notch spy thriller with Lovecraftian underpinnings.

Tim Powers’ absolute best

I have read this book twice and listened to it masterfully read on Audible. It is sui generis. WW2, espionage, and the preternatural.
If you like weird, you will love this. Plus very well written. Powers knows his English lit.

Intriguing, but belabored

What made the experience of listening to Declare the most enjoyable?

An intriguing mashup of old school cold war espionage and supernatural elements.

Any additional comments?

The author has the vexing tendency to say a lot and yet remain vague in order to conceal the secrets of the narrative whilst telling it in a non-linear manner.

Maybe it could have been this way.

Tim Powers weaves together a completely plausible story combining cold war spycraft and the occult. It took me a couple of hours of listening to get into the groove of the story but Simon Prebble's performance kept me listening until the story hooked me. Worth a listen.

Compelling story, convincingly narrated

Intricate, spies, jinn, redemption and damnation, romance and suspense. Great storytelling and narration. Loved it.

Warping the weft of history:

...nobody does it like Powers. Here he gives us, loosely, The Spy Who Came In From Cthulhu - a tangled take on the double (or triple) life of British spy and traitor Kim Philby, seen through a dark glass of supernatural and divine conflicts. As ever, Powers steers so close to the winds of real history that you may find yourself scurrying to check his dates and locations. His writing is crisp, his characters solid and nuanced, his dialogue well honed.

Must be savored.

This is one of those tales that will not appeal to anyone who looks forward to summer blockbusters for their enlightened storytelling and character development.

Rather, it's a gloriously intricate tale focusing on the maneuverings of intelligence services. Not surprisingly, and exactly because intelligence services mostly attempt to outthink and not outfight, things blow up irregularly and progress deliberately.

If you've struggled with a John LeCarre title or found that Umberto Eco moves "too slowly", this is not for you.

Even with the black things from other planes occasionally shredding some hapless dude.

Fantastic weave of reality with believable fiction

What did you love best about Declare?

Author's interpretation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hale. Main Character. His Realism and Acceptance of his lot in life.

What about Simon Prebble’s performance did you like?

Mr. Prebble has a way of interpreting the story as if he is simply relating his own experiences.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Truths about Soviets?

Interesting history

Tim Powers for some while has taken characters out of history, added a paranormal element and has told the story in that light. This one is hot and cold running war spies. It's a very fun book, but it is disjointed and hard to follow on the timeline. But the characters are a hoot and the look into a spy's life is chilling.