After the huge critical acclaim he received for The Anubis Gates, Powers changed tack completely with Dinner At Deviant's Palace. Set in a post apocalyptic LA, this is the story of one Gregorio Rivas and his quest to rescue his first love from the clutches of the sinister and highly dangerous religious cult of Norton Jaybush. As with so many Powers heroes, the road to Rivas's goal is paved with dangers both spiritual and physical and he comes through the journey both less and more of the man he was.
I happen to think that Dinner At Deviant's Palace is a hugely under-rated and highly enjoyable read. Though it scooped the 1986 Philip K Dick award, (the second Powers novel in a row to take this prestigious prize,) publishers seem to have been reluctant to reissue it in recent years. It last appeared in print nearly seven years ago! This is, however, due to change shortly as Subterranean Press have announced a limited hard cover edition due out in the spring of 2001.
Doing some investigation into the printing history of this book, I have found there is some confusion in the source listings as to when it initially came out. Both Locus and the Internet Science Fiction Database list the first appearence of Dinner At Deviant's Palace as being late 1984. Perhaps this refers to the uncorrected proofs that were sent for review.
The verifiable first edition was published by Ace, ISBN 0-441-14879-4, states the first printing to be January 1985 and the book is copyrighted by Powers in the same year. The price was $2.95 with cover art by John Berkey. This edition is readily available on the collectors market in conditions varying from simple second-hand reading copies to fine copies signed by Powers. Fill in the seach form at Bookfinder.com to see if what is currently available online.
It's next incarnation came courtesy of the Science Fiction Book Club , who issued the first hardcover edition in September 1985. This is a reprint of the ACE text, and though not put out by them, curiously features their logo on its spine. This special edition had the ident number #02540 and it sold for $4.98. The image to the right is the cover for this edition. The artwork is by Ron Walotsky. This copy is generally available online. Again, fill in the search relevent search forms at Bookfinder.com to check who is currently offering it.
My thanks to Roger Silverstein for his kind help with some of the information contained within this section.
Alongside winning the P.K Dick Award, Dinner At Deviant's Palace was also nominated for the 1985 Nebula Award. It also came seventh in the 1986 Locus Poll for best science fiction novel.
UK editions of Dinner At Deviant's Palace were issued by Chatto & Windus. A hardcover (ISBN 0-7011-2972-7, £9.95) and a trade paperback (ISBN 0-7011-3052-0, £3.95) were published simultaneously. The hard cover is readily available on the collectors market, but asking prices, especially for the few signed copies around are not cheap. Again try Bookfinder.com to see what's around. Though more were printed, the trade paperback is much harder to find in collectable condition than the hardcover. I have yet to see one offered online.
There was one subsequent reprint published in the UK by Grafton in May 1987. With artwork by Gino d'Achille, the ISBN is 0-586-07105-9. The original selling price was £2.95. This copy is very hard to find in fine condition on the collectors market.
Ace reissued the paperback back in May 1991 in the US. ISBN 0-441-14878-6, the selling price was $3.95.
Continuing their ongoing relationship with Tim Powers, Subterranean Press have recently produced a beautiful signed limited edition of Dinner at Deviant's Palace. I applaud Subterranean for their foresight in producing these truly wonderful Powers editions and for this title in particular - one long overdue for this type of reissue.
I am still awaiting the specific details on this release and also an image of the final cover which I will post here as soon as possible. I can tell you though that the book is a hard cover with artwork by J.K.Potter (who also did the cover and internal art for Subterranean's DECLARE release). The book is limited to 750 signed and numbered copies and is priced at $40.00. A proof was also produced and it is this that is pictured on the left. My thanks to the William K Schafer, the publisher for this image.
In the meantime do take a look at the Subterranean Press web site for details on how to order this title.
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© John Berlyne