My Brother's Keeper - Tim Powers

One way of reviewing any Tim Powers book is to say "If you like Tim Powers, you'll like this book, if you don't you won't, and if you haven't read Powers, start with `The Anubis Gates' as soon as possible."
But I think more is called for.  This is a a very different kettle of fish from his recent Vickery novels which, while very good reads, are not quite what I hope for from the Powers of "Expiration Date" or "Hide me Among  the Graves" (though I may think better of them on a reread,
I often do).
The Rossettis formed the subject matter of "Graves" and here it is the Brontes.  The differences in family circumstances, though, make for very different novels.
The Rossettis moved in a wide circle of friends, so the book had a wider cast of historical characters.  The Brontes were isolated, so there is more of a focus on the family, and only the family, with Emily as the viewpoint character, and the origin of Heathcliff is a significant part of the story.
Another difference is that we know the fate of the Brontes.  This hangs over the reader from page one, and we soon realize that Emily's struggle is not about saving the family's lives, but something more important.
As it happens, I'm about halfway through a biography of the Brontes, and as far as I can judge Powers is quite faithful to history, except of course as required given the fantasy underpinnings of the novel.
The fantasy elements seem to reference earlier Powers works, such as "The Anubis Gates" and "The Stress of her Regard".  The London scenes of this book and "Anubis" may imply that this is the same history but I cannot at the moment check this (just who borrowed my copy of "Anubis"?).
There's a lot of tramping about the moors, but it reads more easily than in Emily's "Wuthering Heights".  Maybe she should have added werewolves? (But then it's an excellent horror novel without  them.)
One favourable review called this a novel of "Gothic Decadence".  Well, Bramwell drinks a lot, but if there's any other decadence in the novel I missed it.
Highly recommended.
William Hyde