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Expiration Date by Tim Powers
01/07/2008 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: TOR/Forge. 381 page enlarged paperback. Price: $15.95 (US) $19.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-765-31752-0. Buy Expiration Date in the USA - or Buy Expiration Date in the UK  check out website: www.tor-forge.com
In many cultures there is a tradition about the existence of ghosts. They may be omnipresent. Some are malevolent, others benign. Some need regular placation while others need a specific task done for them. They may haunt a place of a person or drift aimlessly through the ether. A ghost may emanate from the soul or be a fragment of spirit. They may seek vengeance or deliver a warning. A ghost may be the last dying breath. It is a known fact that Henry Ford had the last breath of Thomas Edison collected in a glass vial for display in the Edison Museum.
Writers have incorporated ghosts into their fiction in so many different ways that sometimes it seems that all aspects have been covered. It is therefore refreshing when an author does find a new approach. What is surprising is that it has taken eleven years for the hardback of 'Expiration Date' to be released in a mass market edition.
In the world according to Tim Powers, ghosts are very real. Some dissipate quickly but others linger. Some, like that of Solomon Shadoe, have stayed with their bodies and, provided they are careful, are able to animate them for many years. Shadoe has been dead a long time and is hiding from those that are trying to find him. He has developed ways of protecting himself. Others accumulate detritus and appear to be shambling destitutes. Ghosts can be trapped - they seem especially fascinated by palindromes - and there are people who are prepared to pay good money to snort a ghost.
Some people, like Pete Sullivan, are able to sense the presence of ghosts. When they are around, he experiences what he and his twin sister called 'bar-time'. Just as last orders in a bar are called before the actual time, he anticipates and reacts to events, such as sudden noises, just before they happen.
For many years, Pete and his sister work on a casual basis for Loretta deLarava, a film maker. Loretta is a ghost addict. Now she is after a particular one, that of Pete's father who drowned off Little Venice beach by Los Angeles. One part of this novel is Pete's attempts to avoid Loretta and stop this particular scheme.
Kootie is a boy whose curiosity has led him into trouble. Convinced that the bust his hippie parents keep on the mantelpiece contains some kind of treasure, he breaks it open. Inside is a glass vial. When his parents are killed, Kootie flees, believing that somehow he is to blame. His curiosity causes him to open the vial. Inside is the ghost of Thomas Edison who becomes a lodger in Kootie's body. Sometimes, Edison takes over, causing Kootie to say and do uncharacteristic things. Edison is such a powerful ghost that by being released attracts the attention of ghost hunters and addicts, putting Kootie in danger.
The third strand involves Angelica Elizande, a doctor of psychiatry. Her methods are unorthodox and she has been accused of voodoo. Suspended from her job, she developed a small private practice which was fine until one of her patients spontaneously combusted, burning the building down. She has been drawn to Los Angeles with the vague intention of apologising to the family of the dead man. She is unaware that, like Pete Sullivan, she is sensitive to the presence of ghosts.
As the main characters are assembled, the date becomes significant. Halloween is the day Loretta has chosen to try and capture the ghost of Pete's father.
'Expiration Date' is an exciting novel. The characters are superbly drawn and each, even the bit-part players, have their own quirks. It is pleasantly unpredictable and gives a different slant on the idea of ghosts while bringing together and twisting some of the ideas that have entered into folk lore.
Pauline Morgan
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