Medusa's Web

October 26, 2015
Reviewed by Catherynne M. ValenteA new Tim Powers novel is always cause for excitement. His latest is a twisted journey through time travel, possession, old Hollywood, addiction, and familial violence that promises much and, mostly, delivers.
Medusa's Web is a book of mirrors and doubles, falling somewhere between a Tennessee Williams play and a Nancy Drew mystery. It centers on two sets of siblingsâthe forlorn orphans Scott and Madeline and their cousins Ariel, a recovering addict, and Claimayne, a cruel recluse. All four were raised together in a sprawling, crumbling mansion called Caveat in the Hollywood Hills, and all of them share a family secret, a set of arcane drawings known as spiders that, with a single glance, allow one to travel back and forth in time between the present day and the golden age of Hollywood. The time travel is more of an exchange program: the traveler inhabits the bodies of men and women of the 1920s and '30s, while their spirits are transported into the body of the traveler. Such journeys have become a passionate, secretive cult within the elite of Los Angeles over the decades and destroyed many lives, as the pleasures of possession prove irresistible but bad for a person's health. When Claimayne and Ariel's mother dies under extremely dramatic circumstances, the prodigals all return to the roost to uncover her mysterious past and face their own profound attraction to the spiders. The first half of the novel is claustrophobic and self-referential, a close hothouse exploration of household dynamics that drops us into the deep end of a complex family without a life jacket. There's a realism to itâthe family knows its own ins and outs and doesn't waste time explaining them. But the complication of the time-traveling spiders means the reader is left to flail in a baffling sea of characters in both 2015 and 1920 until the middle of the book, when the set pieces finally fall into place and the action kicks into high gear. The first half of this split narrative slowly explores obliquely expressed emotions, and the second jettisons the deeper themes of obsession, love, and addiction in favor of a breakneck race toward resolution, complete with several car chases showcasing an intimate, though occasionally comically obsessive, knowledge of Los Angeles geography.Any time Powers lets his spiders take us back into Old Hollywood, delights abound. Silent film stars come to commanding, marvelous life, from Rudolph Valentino popping in for a surprisingly pivotal role to the captivating Alla Nazimova, who could fill a whole novel on her own. Medusa's Web struggles with making its present-day protagonists half as mesmerizing as the denizens of silent studios and those who fixate on them, and it only succeeds toward the endâbut it ultimately does succeed. By the time the credits roll, the villain has crystallized into a dark portrait of selfishness and contorted love, the heroes have earned grace notes of surprising beauty, and you will never see Salomé quite the same way again.Catherynne M. Valente's latest novel, Radiance, is just out from Tor Books.

November 15, 2015

Siblings Madeline and Scott have been estranged from their cousins who live at the Los Angeles estate known as Caveat until their Aunt Amity's death draws them back to the city. Neither Ariel nor Claimayne is terribly happy to see them, fearing that they are only there for a possible inheritance. For their part, any visit to Caveat reminds Madeline and Scott of a strange childhood experience in which they were subjected to bizarre visions after finding a paper inked with the image of an eight-legged symbol. It turns out their family is involved in a strange subculture that uses these symbols, called "spiders." VERDICT This novel is as weird as anything Powers has written (Three Days to Never), but he maintains his usual skillful way of making even the most surreal twists compulsively readable. The vestiges of Old Hollywood have their hooks deep in the story, which moves back and forth in time through the visions of the spider users.--MM

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2015
In this interesting take on the haunted-house theme, Powers begins with the return of Scott, and his sister, Madeline, to the old mansion where they were raised by their Aunt Amity after their parents disappeared more than 20 years ago. Amity has just committed suicide. The creepy, isolated home, Caveat, is in the Hollywood Hills, and when Scott and Madeline arrive and are let in by their cousins, Ariel and Claimayne, things seem even stranger than they expected. This is a home holding deep and dangerous secretssecrets contained in ancient symbols known as spiders, which, when viewed, allow one to bend the space-time continuum, possess another, and extend your life. When Madeline is overcome by the lingering spirit of Aunt Amity, Scott tries to save her by unraveling how the spiders work and navigating the large web they have spun. But whom can he trust? Set over the course of one week, this novel is an atmospheric and complex supernatural thriller, with an old-time Hollywood frame, and it steadily builds to a frenetic climax. Good for fans of Dan Simmons' Flashback (2011), Marisha Pessl's Night Film (2013), and Stephen King's Doctor Sleep (2013).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)