Who Cares?

Just got done with "Powers of Two" By Tim Powers. Comprised of Powers' first two published books, "The Skies Discrowned" and "An Epitaph in Rust," it's a quick, worthwhile read. Note: I really enjoy Tim Powers' books, and have read every Powers book I've been able to find. This one, only available online as far as I can tell, shows that his tendency to put his protagonists through hell started early. In "Skies," the main character sees his father murdered, gets his ear shot off and nearly drowns in a sewer within the first two chapters. In "Rust," the main character narrowly escapes a forcible removal of his hands right off the bat, but is maimed again and again throughout the book.
Still, both stories in this book are entertaining SF yarns, with likeable, flawed characters. While Powers' more recent work has been more 20th-century based, I'd love to see him return to the far future again sometime.