Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player twenty years ago and hasn’t returned to Las Vegas, or held a hand of cards, in ten years. But troubling nightmares about a strange poker game he once attended on a houseboat on Lake Mead are drawing him back to the magical city. For the mythic game he believed he won did not end that night in 1969—and the price of his winnings was his soul. Now, a pot far more strange and perilous than he could ever imagine depends on the turning of a card.
Enchantingly dark and compellingly real, this World Fantasy Award–winning novel is a masterpiece of magic realism set in the gritty, dazzling underworld known as Las Vegas.
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"Last Call, by Tim Powers is a marvelous book, and this reading of it is top notch. I only found one glaring mispronunciation, the name Scarne pronouced "Scarn" instead of the correct "Scarney". Overall Bronson Pinchot's use of voices adds to the reading instead of being a distraction. Tim Powers deftly weaves together the history of Las Vegas, the Fisher King myth, tarot cards, poker, Bugsy Siegel and magic. It is hard to stop listening. Its a great mix of urban fantasy and action with just the right smattering of funny. Strongly recommended."
— KJW (5 out of 5 stars)
“A novel of the supernatural and occult that is hard boiled, seamy, and suspenseful as the best film noir.”
— Tom Robbins, New York Times bestselling author“Brilliant! Compelling and satisfying! Tim Powers is one of our best writers, and Last Call is his best book yet.”
— Raymond E. Feist“A dizzying, stimulating magnum opus.”
— USA Today“Weird…grippingly written…a nightmarish novel, brilliantly researched and made.”
— San Jose Mercury News“A terrific read…A believable tapestry of greed and passion.”
— Denver Rocky Mountain News“Riveting…lyrical and brutal…A thrilling tale of gambling, fate, and fantastic adventure.”
— Los Angeles Daily News“Distinctive and commanding…A strikingly inventive novel.”
— Publishers Weekly“Tim Powers won the World Fantasy Award for this classic work, in which card player Scott Crane faces his long-estranged father in a complex game of poker. The stakes are the ownership of Scott’s body and the position of Fisher King, master of the elemental magic emanating from Las Vegas. Narrator Bronson Pinchot’s focused narration guides the listener through each twist of the eventful plot. Initially known for his facility with accents on television comedy, Pinchot proves equally adept at applying that skill to drama. He mixes in some tense but humorous scenes in which Scott disguises himself as a transvestite with a heavy Brooklyn accent.”
— AudioFile“Rich, top-flight mythic fantasy based on Jungian archetypes, Tarot symbolism, T. S. Eliot’s Waste Land, and the Parsifal legend…Knockout poker sequences give the symbolism real sizzle, while the genre is enlivened throughout with great lines from Eliot.”
— Kirkus Reviews" Tim Powers' magical realism is really intriguing. He's woven a tale with gambling, magic, and suspense that I adore. There are one or two pieces of the narrative that click when they should Bang but he's managed to make the fantastic such an organic part of the character's experience that I revel in it. "
— Clay, 2/18/2014" Excellent read, though it got a little convoluted toward the end. Combines elements of poker, tarot, the fisher king legend in a mostly successful contemporary fantasy. "
— Kate, 2/12/2014" I enjoyed this book for about 50 pages. The premise was very nifty: a world where the mysticism of the tarot created an astral network. But then the terrible characters, the stupid situations, the dumb dialogue just got me down. I really wanted to like this book, but I got nauseated thinking about this guy lusting after his baby foster sister. Sick of narratives where there's a ONE hero to save the world. Bleh. "
— Spacemummy, 2/8/2014" I found this to be one of my favorite books. I have read it several times and each time is still as entertaining as the last. It is wonderfully weird and magical and totally marries the world of the ancient tarot cards with superstitions of the Las Vegas gambling mecca. I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for something different! "
— Sue, 2/2/2014" One of my all-time favorite books. I've read it at least three times. "
— Donna, 1/27/2014" One of the best reads ever! (so far, anyways) Its a book that you will want to read twice in a row. Hard to follow without charting all of the characters and their 'personalities', but definitely worth the effort! If you've been to Vegas, the story is even better. "
— Kim, 1/22/2014" very good, much better than Declare "
— Richard, 1/3/2014" "American Gods" if the Gods were Jungian archetypes and their pawn were corrupted professional gamblers and thugs, laced with arcane obsessions, ancient ritual and a hint of madness. Genius telling of a story that could easily have slipped off the rails into cliche. "
— Scott, 12/29/2013" I couldn't play cards for months after this fun little trip through the magic and mayhem of Tarot and poker. "
— Eric, 12/21/2013" I just could not relate to this book. Stopped reading about halfway through. Stop the nightmare! "
— Ann, 12/16/2013" even the poker stood up - i soooo want to play assumption :) "
— Timday, 12/8/2013" One of my favorite books. "
— Matthew, 9/29/2012" As a cartomancer I quite enjoyed this book. The plot was tight and there was lots of card lore amidst the action. I would recommend it hardily to card players and card readers alike. "
— Joeanne, 9/21/2012" This was a new one for me, I don't think I've read any fantasy books before. But I enjoyed this one--the mix of tarot, Vegas, and legend made for an entertaining read. "
— Michael, 7/28/2012" Modern fantasy novel focusing on poker, Tarot and the mystical kingship of the American West. "
— Jeff, 2/25/2012" This hallucinatory tale involving gambling, Las Vegas and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff is just beyond description. Let's just say I will never look at Lake Mead in the same way again. "
— Mo, 1/12/2012" I really wanted to like this story about magic, poker and fate. "
— Ray, 7/6/2011" One of my all-time favorite books. I've read it at least three times. "
— Donna, 4/14/2011" A twisty tale full of mythic and enormous powers, kept me hooked right to the end. "
— Caroline, 3/30/2011" This was an interesting, intricate fantasy flavored by poker and tarot, but somehow it never came to life for me. The scenario was intriguing, but the characters never really came to life for me. "
— Janet, 3/29/2011" Fast paced with an interesting premise. "
— Russell, 1/12/2011" Cards: all fun until someone loses an eye...<br/>Those who like TP will like this, although it sprawls rather more than say, Anubis Gates. "
— Andrew, 12/26/2010" One of my favorite, favorite books of all time. I love the way the Tarot and the Arthurian stuff is used, as well as the Las Vegas setting and its ghosts. This is a book I reread once a decade or so. The best of Power's (many) good books. "
— Cat, 10/10/2010Tim Powers is the author of numerous novels, including Last Call, Declare, Three Days to Never, and On Stranger Tides, the inspiration for the blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, starring Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz. He has received the Locus, World Fantasy, and Philip K. Dick awards. He lives in San Bernardino, California.
Bronson Pinchot, Audible’s Narrator of the Year for 2010, has won Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audible’s Book of the Year Award, and Audie Awards for several audiobooks, including Matterhorn, Wise Blood, Occupied City, and The Learners. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, he is an Emmy- and People’s Choice-nominated veteran of movies, television, and Broadway and West End shows. His performance of Malvolio in Twelfth Night was named the highlight of the entire two-year Kennedy Center Shakespeare Festival by the Washington Post. He attended the acting programs at Shakespeare & Company and Circle-in-the-Square, logged in well over 200 episodes of television, starred or costarred in a bouquet of films, plays, musicals, and Shakespeare on Broadway and in London, and developed a passion for Greek revival architecture.