Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers
**Dinner at Deviant's Palace** is a post-apocalyptic novel set in a devastated Los Angeles over a century after a global thermonuclear war. The protagonist, Gregorio Rivas, is a violinist who has connected his past with a dangerous cult led by the enigmatic Norton Jaybush, whose followers, known as Jaybirds, engage in mind-altering rituals. As Rivas grapples with the anxieties of aging and faded glory, he is drawn back into a perilous role when he is asked to rescue Urania, the daughter of a former acquaintance, from the clutches of the cult. This endeavor forces him to navigate the treacherous environment of Deviant's Palace, a nightclub teeming with the outcasts of society, including various mutants. Rivas' journey not only challenges his survival skills but also compels him to confront the terrifying truths about Jaybush and his cult. Ultimately, Rivas unravels a deadly secret that could change everything in this grimly imaginative world. The narrative weaves themes of redemption, identity, and the consequences of fanaticism against a backdrop of a richly detailed dystopian setting.
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Dinner at Deviant's Palace
First published: 1985
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—post-holocaust
Time of work: More than a century after the holocaust; about 2100
Locale: Los Angeles, California, and environs
The Plot
More than a century after a global thermonuclear war, Gregorio Rivas makes his living in post-apocalypse Los Angeles as a violinist with a regular nightclub act. In his youth, Rivas had been seduced by the cult of Norton Jaybush, whose worshipers are called Jaybirds. Later, he became a redeemer, rescuing cult members for a price. He is now living on his fading reputation and looking forward with growing fear to an impoverished middle age. Fate pulls him back into the dangerous life of a redeemer when Irwin Barrows, father of Rivas’ one-time sweetheart, Urania, asks Rivas to rescue Urania from the Jaybush cult. Rivas takes the job, even though it requires that he pretend to join the cult himself.
Jaybush is a mysterious figure whose cult members practice a devastating ritual that literally destroys the mind if undergone too many times. Jaybirds disappear into the Holy City (Irvine) and are never seen again.
Deviant’s Palace is an improbable and deadly nightclub in Venice, home to many of the dregs of post-holocaust Californian society, including an astounding variety of mutants. The stories told about Deviant’s Palace are too bizarre to be believed, but Rivas, who spent much of his reckless youth in Venice, now studiously avoids the place. Rivas’ attempt to free Urania from the Jaybush cult, however, leads him to the Holy City, back to Venice, and, as the title indicates, to Deviant’s Palace. In the process, Rivas discovers Jaybush’s true identity, and he becomes custodian of the most deadly secret in the world.