If you're not a Tim Powers fan, then you've probably never read a Tim Powers book. If you've never read a Tim Powers book, then you are a lucky soul because now you get to start. I started on Powers twenty years ago with Dinner at Deviant's Palace when it came as a Science Fiction Book Club selection (still five books for a buck just like when I was a kid. How do they do that? I guess people still don't return that damned card.) You could start there, or with Declare or with Anubis Gates or with any of his books. Any and/or all of them will leave you a happier and less well adjusted person.

Anyway, being a Tim Powers fan, I was excited to see this message from Peter Crowther. Mr. Crowther's is the iron hand behind PS Publishing over there across the water in merry olde, which concern has been one of the real success stories in genre publishing over the last few years. The linked message outlines all of PS Publishing's plans for 2005, and the bit that hit my Powers button tells about an upcoming project "...currently comprising one enormous volume of out-takes, re-writes, forgotten essays and vignettes, drawings, illustrations and out-and-out doodles, guest articles, Introductions, Forewords and, Afterwords, plus a separate unpublished novel."

Lots of other interesting stuff on their schedule as well.

There, I can check "encourage others to read more Tim Powers books" off today's to do list. And since altruism makes me hungry, I'm off to lunch.