• The Anubis Gates

  • By: Tim Powers
  • Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
  • Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (1,452 ratings)

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The Anubis Gates  By  cover art

The Anubis Gates

By: Tim Powers
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
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Publisher's summary

When Brendan Doyle is flown from America to London to give a lecture on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, little does he expect that he will soon be traveling through time and meeting the poet himself. But Brendan could do without being stranded penniless in the teeming, thieving London of 1810.

Only the dazzling imagination of Tim Powers could have assembled such an insane cast of characters: an ancient Egyptian sorcerer; a modern millionaire; a body-switching werewolf; a hideously deformed clown; a young woman disguised as a boy; a brainwashed Lord Byron; and our hero, Brendan Doyle. The Anubis Gates took the fantasy world by storm a decade ago, and now fans can savor this Philip K. Dick Award winner all over again.

©2015 Tim Powers (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Anubis Gates

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Yesterday… All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away

The Anubis Gates was—many years ago—my first exposure to the phantasmagorical writings of Tim Powers. I remember being struck by the uniqueness of his take on the fantasy genre; such intricate and convoluted plotting; such bizarre complexities of magical interactions; such wonderfully madcap characters. Now listening to it after these many years I am struck by the same impressions again. In the interim, I have read and listened to several other Tim Powers novels. All his works have in common the same baroque complexities of plotting and workings of magic; all are populated by the most weirdly wonderful characters.

The Anubis Gates employs time travel as an essential element of the story. I am a particular fan of time travel; once having spent an entire year reading all manner of time travel stories. As part of that year-long reading excursion into the temporal unknown I encountered the critical work on the subject: Time Machines by Paul J. Nahin. In his book Mr. Nahin sets forth a means of categorization for time travel stories. The time travel in The Anubis Gates must, according to Nahin, be classified as Fantasy and not Science Fiction because it does not employ a machine to accomplish the temporal displacement. More importantly, all the best time travel stories revolve around the idea of predestination: Can we change the past of alter the future? Nahin speculates that if time travel is possible then nothing can be changed because it already happened the way it happened. This has become to be called “Nahin Approved.” In this requirement at least, The Anubis Gates is Nahin Approved. The past cannot be changed. This feature becomes a plot element and the source of several ingenious twists that provide a great deal of fun.

The narration can often make, or break, an audiobook. In the case of The Anubis Gates the writing is top notch and the book needs no narration to make it an enjoyable experience. It stands as a great book even before being produced as an audiobook. Enter Bronson Pinchot, arguably the best narrator in the business, and this already fine book becomes an entertainment unsurpassed—few equals and no superiors. Books like this are, for me, the reason I listen to audiobooks. Pinchot is allowed to flex his vocal cords on this one; voicing the many bizarre and otherworldly characters in amazing fashion. Such is his talent that I cannot imagine how a full cast of actors, hired to give a portrayal of each individual character, could possibly be any improvement. Pinchot is the proverbial one-man-show! He can portray men, women and magically altered time-jumping Gypsies with equal aplomb. This novel is set in the early nineteenth-century London so one would expect a passable English accent. Pinchot provides convincing, and unique accents for each of the cast of thousands; a remarkable accomplishment.

My ranking of Tim Powers’ novels:

1. The Anubis Gates *
2. Declare
3. Last Call *
4. On Stranger Tides *
5. The Stress of Her Regard
6. Hide Me Among the Graves

* Narrated by Bronson Pinchot


Other fantastic performances by Bronson Pinchot:

Dead Six series, by Larry Correia and Mike Kupari
Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes
The Grimnoir Chronicles series, by Larry Correia
The Brotherhood of the Wheel series, by R. S. Belcher
The President’s Vampire, by Christopher Farnsworth

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150 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Suffers FROM POOR Narration

It's a very good story w/ much to recommend it. Unique concept, fascinating genre fusions, excellent characters (both likeable and despicable), great settings, etc.,but really has some poor narration... The reader is unimaginably slow in his delivery and timing, and his delivery is flat and w/o affect... Normal speed woulda have been torture, 1.25x was tolerable, and 1.5x speed actuallly gave it decent flow and allowed for what wound up being an enjoyable read...

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36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A fun romp through time and much, much more.

This scifi-fantasy novel has a bit of everything, from time travel, to Frankenstein-esk monsters, to a developed magic system, werewolves, body switching, and even an Egyptian God, and somehow it all works. It's a bit bizarre at times, but that just added to the fun. I normally don't like Time Travel books, but i had fun listening to it and I'll probably listen to it again someday. I liked the authors writing style and the way that he described things really painted pictures in my mind. The narrator was excellent, but sometimes he, or his characters sounded like they were so, inappropriately depressed that it took away from his performance, and so I'm deducting 1 star.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

BORING

FEW books I have found more boring than this one. I tried I really tried, but I just can’t continue.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Time travel, sorcery, body switchers, and derring-do

The first book by Tim Powers that I read years ago. I was excited to see it available on audible. I won't spoil the fun except to advise that you get ready for a roller coaster ride.

Powers shows flashes of the potential he would display in later works.

Somehow the usually reliable Bronson Pinchot doesn't quite capture the proper tone for this wired tale. I dinged the performance rating accordingly.

Recommended.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent reader for a good book

Even through the often depressing material, the reader maintains an interested tone that keeps you going.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Premise & Characters. Pinchot is Perfect!

What did you love best about The Anubis Gates?

Great premise, enjoyed the story and wanted much more of some of the characters. Would love to see an attempted visualization in a movie. He really hit the creepy note well with his scenes in London.

What does Bronson Pinchot bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is simply the best narrator I've heard. Not only does he have an incredible range of voices you simply can't believe it's the same person but also his depth of feeling is conveyed perfectly.

Any additional comments?

There were a few parts that seemed rushed or like an attempt to include historical facts too fast for the sole purpose of checking a box. A bit of better editing could have helped focus places that felt either rushed or unnecessary.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great adventure!

Having read it in the past I looked forward to sitting back and having the story told to me. I was not disappointed.
My only criticism would be, I didn't care for the tone of voice used for Doyle. Otherwise, it was a wild and twisting journey.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

History, fantasy, magic and poetry at its best!

First I have to say I am a Tim Powers fan and have been waiting for a long time for this audio version of the book. To have one of my favorite narrators, Bronson Pinchot reading it was just the icing on the cake. This isn't your typical historical fantasy with its splash of Science Fiction, Egyptian magic, Gothic horror and more. A little something for all.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Ponderous

Too many layers of bizarre combined with unfocused, rushed, chaotic story. Ridiculous but yet morbid and not ever really funny. I couldn't quit it, but I also couldn't wait for it to end.

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7 people found this helpful