Fault Lines Trilogy
#4693.97 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 1992–1997 Reading commitment Medium Tim Powers Last reviewed 2026-08-18
Overview
A trio of interconnected secret-history novels set in modern California, built on a hidden tarot/Fisher King mythology beneath the everyday world. Last Call (1992) follows Scott Crane, a professional poker player confronting his occultist father's use of Tarot-based sorcery to cheat death and claim the kingship of the West; Expiration Date (1996) and Earthquake Weather (1997) widen the same hidden world before converging characters from all three books together, weaving in real historical figures such as Bugsy Siegel and the growth of Las Vegas casino culture as supernatural cover stories for actual events. Last Call won both the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1993. Tim Powers's first universe in this canon.
Urban fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Fault Lines Trilogy Tim Powers
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Last Call | 1992 | 1 | core | 4.05 (6,743 ratings) |
 | Expiration Date | 1996 | 2 | core | 3.86 (2,603 ratings) |
 | Earthquake Weather | 1997 | 3 | core | 3.83 (2,084 ratings) |
A genuinely interconnected secret-history/urban-fantasy trilogy set in modern California, built on a tarot/Fisher King mythology, with recurring characters across all three; Earthquake Weather explicitly converges protagonists from both earlier books.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Fault Lines Trilogy? Fault Lines Trilogy's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Fault Lines Trilogy? Publication order, starting with Last Call. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Fault Lines Trilogy finished? Complete (1992–1997).
- How much reading does Fault Lines Trilogy take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Fault Lines Trilogy ranked? #469 in this site's official ranking, based on 11,430 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #469?
Ranked #469 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.97 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (11,430 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #468, Felix Castor (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 11k ratings · Ranks #469 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Last Call (1992)
- Expiration Date (1996)
- Earthquake Weather (1997)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1993: won: Last Call
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.97 across 11,430 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Fault Lines Trilogy admitted; Core Canon = all 3 novels accepted 2026-08-18
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-18
Rule: Core = all 3 novels (Last Call, Expiration Date, Earthquake Weather), a genuine shared continuity, not 3 loosely-linked standalones.