Have you read any gene wolfe?

[rancidfan]

I saw some of his books at the store today, and i liked what i was seeing, but they were kind of expensive and i had never heard of him before, so i was just wondering if any of u guys had ever read any of his stuff and what you thought about it. Some of his stuff is The Epiphany of the Long Sun and the books i was sorta drawn to were called the Knight and the Wizard, except they didn't have the Knight, which comes before the Wizard so i didn't buy it. Just tell me what you thought of it. haha thanks.

[Eventine]

Next month (i.e. tomorrow) We are discussing Gene Wolfe's Peace in the book club here.

You may also want to have a look at
this thread.

Gene Wolfe is considered one of the masters of the genre and is definitely worth a try. I'd suggest starting with Shadow of the Torturer or The Knight.

[Rob B]

Welcome to the forums, rancidfan. You've come to the right place, a number of our members here have read Mr. Wolfe. Many of us thoroughly enjoy his work, myself included.

His most accesible works would either be The WizardKnight or The Book of the New Sun. The Book of the Long Sun, is a sequel to tBotNS and The Book of the Short Sun is a sequel to tBotLS.

In fact, starting in June, Mr. Wolfe's Peace will be discussed as the Fantasy Book Club selection.

You might also want to check out this thread Gene Wolfe that, while last posted to in March of this year, does include many of the opinions of our forum members.

[Eventine]

Come on Rob, you're getting slow. I beat you by a whole 5 minutes!

[Eönwë]

Gene Wolfe is scarily good. That is all.

[WilliamLexner]

Can't improve much on what has been said before except to echo that Gene Wolfe is a grandmaster.

I also agree that Shadow of The Torturer or The Knight ought to be your first foray into Wolfedom. Be warned, however, it's highly literate fantasy -- no Brooks or Eddings here.

[Banger]

Rancid is great. They're starting a world tour soon and are coming out with a new album next spring!

In addition to all the other superlatives mentioned, Wolfe is also a great short story writer. Here is a site that has links to a bunch of Wolfe short stories available online. Enjoy!

[Jack]

Just want to poke my nose in here and say yes, for Mr. Wolfe you will want to start with his Book of the New Sun tetraology, which does indeed begin with Shadow of the Torturer. However, the series has been republished (at least in the US, not sure about other countries) in two volumes, the first entitled Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun' which contains Shadow of the Torturer and Claw of the Conciliator. The second is entitled Sword & Citadel: The Second Half of 'The Book of the New Sun'.

It is in these two books that you are most likely to find in your book store, so go ahead and pickup Shadow & Claw, read it, if you enjoy it pickup the second book.

[Banger]

Fantasy Masterworks also has it in a two-volume set for UK readers.

[Rob B]

Come on Rob, you're getting slow. I beat you by a whole 5 minutes!

Your post wasn't there when I clicked reply.

[Boll Weevil]

The Book of the New Sun was one of the few books that truly amazed me. It also puzzled me. A true masterwork.

[Wizz]

I have about 80 pages left to read of Shadow & Claw.

The only thing I dont like is that it took me this long to pick up and read this story!!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! I absolutely love it.

[Eönwë]

The best thing that I can say about The Book Of The New Sun is that when I started it, I didn't imagine that any fantasy work could dislodge The Lord Of The Rings from the top spot in my esteem. At the end, even a diehard Tolkien junkie such as myself had to admit that Wolfe probably outstripes the Master with this series. Wolfe is fantasy's best opportunity to be considered legitimate literature in many lives of men.

[AJ_]

Yesterday I finished reading The Knight. I thought it was an ok read, not the best fantasy I have read. The storytelling aspect was a bit shaky and I didn't warm to the main character. I'm now reading The Wizard, which is the second book to the series. I'm hoping I will like it more than the first book. I also have Peace yet to read.

[JonLaidlow]

Yesterday I finished reading The Knight. I thought it was an ok read, not the best fantasy I have read. The storytelling aspect was a bit shaky and I didn't warm to the main character. I'm now reading The Wizard, which is the second book to the series. I'm hoping I will like it more than the first book. I also have Peace yet to read.

I don't think The Knight is Wolfe's best, although it is very good. It felt, at times, like Wolfe for Wolfe's sake. The Increate knows I should be used to the way he hides important information, but at times it felt like he was going through the motions. I meant to review it for my website, but just couldn't bring myself to pick up the Wizard yet.

Having said that, my interest in Wolfe has recently been rejuvenated, and I'm reading the stories in Innocents Abroad, which contains two amazing stories in the opening three, and one that I just don't understand, which may also be amazing...

J