Declare, by Tim Powers

Declare by Tim Powers is probably one of those books that everyone should read and take to heart. And then start reading other things. We’ll take it step by step.

Declare is a story of high espionage and the occult loosely based around famous double agent Kim Philby and his life. Powers takes an already amazing true story and adds an overtone of an occult conflict to it, creating an overarching story that just floors you.

This is the kind of well-executed and intriguing stuff that reminds you of John LeCarre on a bad acid trip, or maybe Dan Brown if he actually knew what he was doing with The DaVinci Code.

This is in fact the best kind of book, the one that makes you want to read more. From here, I would recommend getting deeper into Powers, with books like Last Call and Earthquake Weather. You can then branch into John LeCarre, who wrote amazingly good Cold War books like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

Keep reading, people. Eventually you’ll make it back to Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, and I’ll be proud of you.