Gene Wolfe
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Review of Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories by Gene Wolfe
Innocents Aboard is the first short story collection by Wolfe I’ve read. It is a diverse helping of mind-altering tales. Ranging from Melville satire to Egyptian myth and Chinese folktale, a plethora of ghost stories and atypical Arthurian fantasy, with a few Biblical allegories thrown in. Story after story, I…
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Review of The Devil in a Forest by Gene Wolfe
I enjoy a good fantastical forest novel as much as the next guy. Gene Wolfe’s dependably polished writing delivers thrills and chills in this relatively early work. Set alongside Fifth Head of Cerberus, and Peace, The Devil in a Forest reads almost like children’s literature. That is not to say…
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Review of Endangered Species by Gene Wolfe
I would question anyone who reads this whole book and fails to rate it 5 stars. What are you looking for in fiction? Sophisticated characters, complex subtexts, compulsively readable science fiction themes, lighthearted fantasy, excellent world-building, truly immaculate imagery, well-defined dramatic scenes, a huge variety of motifs, atmosphere and tense…
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Review of An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe
“Money is an evil guest.” Gene Wolfe can write in any genre he desires, I suppose. This book was a noir with subtle science fiction elements. The blurbs and book jacket call it Lovecraftian horror, which is a lie. You can expect 95% dialogue, well-polished, for about 250 pages, and…
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Review of Interlibrary Loan by Gene Wolfe
Sequel to Wolfe’s bizarre The Borrowed Man. Both orchestrated typical sleights of hand on my psyche. It is possible to get immersed in the surface-level narrative of a man who gets checked out from the library which is his institution of residence as a re-cloned mystery writer. Adventure ensures. But…
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Review of The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
I don’t feel qualified to give a comprehensive review of this book. It is only the 2nd book of Gene Wolfe’s I’ve read, and the first I’ve come close to understanding. I think this must be a better book to begin with though, than his Book of the New Sun…
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Review of Peace by Gene Wolfe
I never expected so much depth. While it is barely Science Fiction, it is most certainly literature of the highest caliber. Like Faulkner, Wolfe constantly cripples the reader’s understanding with his obscure perspectives and elegant suggestion. Chronology and irony are never explicit, and characters are always hiding pieces of their…
L. S. Popovich 