Wow, a very interesting and exciting work of what I might call Egypt-influenced fantasy, with a wonderful sense of mystery and wonder about it, as is Wow, a very interesting and exciting work of what I might call Egypt-influenced fantasy, with a wonderful sense of mystery and wonder about it, as is found in the best work of this type. It brought me back to a lot of the magical fiction I read in the past (I have a pretty large collection of it), mostly work from the 1920s to 1940s, many with similar Egyptian themes.
These types of stories are difficult to pull off, mostly because of timing issues, but the pacing was excellent and so were the descriptions, there was never a boring or cringy moment, nothing fell too far into the sort of cliches that these types of books can have, it was consistently surprising and interesting. The main character of Seti is well-drawn, and his own mystery as to his fate becomes one of the reader's as well. I particularly liked the Egyptian magical color - the opening part of the book with the mysterious ball hovering in the air was the best part of the book, as was anything else related to this type of element.
Di Rossi's Wattpad prize for this work (against a lot of competition) was well-deserved, and one would hope this work would be taken in by a publisher for a wider distribution, and it stands up as well (if not better) than most of the work of its type one finds in the popular fiction sections of bookstores. It's not very long, and a nice little treat for an interested reader. Brava....more
Egan doesn't give the same level of care and attention to these stories as he does to his novels. They almost read like abandoned novels, ideas that aEgan doesn't give the same level of care and attention to these stories as he does to his novels. They almost read like abandoned novels, ideas that aren't fully developed and explored. Still, "bad" Greg Egan is better than - well just about anything else sci-fi out there - so this was well worth reading, and as usual, his ideas, rather than the characters, carry the story. Nothing really stuck out as being particularly good (or bad) for that matter. Egan is not a "stylist" or even arguably an "artist", he's a writer of ideas with a basis in hard science that he carries to all kinds of fantastic resolutions. His work stimulates the part of the mind that enjoys reading textbooks in quantum mechanics, not the part that gazes in awe at a Botticelli painting. So his work is "likeable," not "loveable." He's not Tolkien or Ray Bradbury. And yet in a way, by focusing on what is "real", he's very relatable to life in the world today and our interactions with science. and technology.
For example, the first story in the collection, the characters are a bit weak (although not "shallow") and undeveloped, and yet the story has direct relevance to technology today - the way AIs are taking over our jobs and the experience of our lives. Just recently I bought an oven and had to deal with "Jenny the Chatbot" in connection with its delivery rather than a real human being, which was incredibly annoying. You know eventually they will get there with the "Turing Machine" and you won't be able to differentiate the AI from the human - and I feel like to avoid the AIs I'm going to be like the guy in Blade Runner asking the person/bot questions to try to discover if they are real or not. And then eventually - well you'll have to read the story.
So - great sci-fi for the 2020's, good sci-fi generally, but it doesn't scream must-read....more
It's almost impossible to describe the richness and quality of Lafferty's writing, a combination of the comic, the absurd, the brilliant, the fascinat It's almost impossible to describe the richness and quality of Lafferty's writing, a combination of the comic, the absurd, the brilliant, the fascinating. No way to prepare for it either - it's so original - although some of this book reminded me of Borges, Bulgakhov, Faulkner, Mieville, Portis, and other greats. The first two pages are incomprehensible on a first read (fully comprehensible when reread after finishing the book), and the first 20-30 pages barely so. Lafferty has possibly the most ingenious use of word selection I've ever come across, the words and sentences are always a bit "off" in a very consistent stylistic way. He throws things at you, it all sticks though.
And yet this same style varies: he throws in poems, dreams, tall tales, absurdities, random and bizarre asides. The recurring themes of double persons, confused identity, ambiguity, obscurity, confused narrator, uncertain motive, paranoia, are constantly keeping you off balance. Each chapter begins with a quote, some real, some absurd, some of them are a source of plot or sense to the book. You frequently don't know where you are at the beginning of the chapter, it can be elliptical, but overarching it all is a sense of plot, an actual story. The story is of such limited relevance, I don't think it's worth delving into, but the book is saved from collapsing into impressionism by it, it does provide a sort of structure.
No one else writes like this. And yet, he's able to pull of scenes of amazing depth and power, most notably on the top of the mountain in Naxos, but also the scene in Biloxi stand out. There's a bit of a comic campiness to the book, with frequent scenes of drinking. The women characters in the book are quite vivid and never simple, they are often contrasted with each other. They are different from the male characters, who tend to be much simpler and generally the same.
Lafferty is included as a science fiction writer but there's none of that here, he's what I would call a purely "imaginative" writer (like Mieville's "The City and the City"). There's a bit of oddness but no more than Bulgakov, although Lafferty is not writing allegory of any sort. Much is made of his Catholicism but there's even less of that as well. He is completely impossible to bucket or capture in a formulated phrase, and any attempt to do so is really a failure to appreciate him.
Lafferty is a pure artist expresssing his self through his style. Nothing but honesty here, not even the slightest condescension to the reader. Frequently in comic novels (which I believe this fundamentally is) there's a loss of tone, a resolution, a gratification, which detracts from the level of the writing. None here, even the ending (which can only be described as "perfect") he is able to maintain his artistic level.
There's so much in this book (novel?) that struck me as "pure genius", although I'm not sure how to recommend it exactly. If I ran an MFA program in creative writing, I would definitely include works like this to spark the stylistic imagination of my students. I would be dishonest to recommend it to fans of science fiction or fantasy, they would be disappointed as it hardly falls within the genre. I think in the end, my recommendation is for anyone who likes and appreciates the truly unusual and unique in literature, and laughs out loud when reading something so brilliantly clever and absurd that you are completely grateful to have come across the author, and want to read everything he wrote, which I kind of want to do right now....more
It's rare for me to discover books that I truly love. This long, extraordinarily well-crafted book is one of those, reading it was sleepwalking throug It's rare for me to discover books that I truly love. This long, extraordinarily well-crafted book is one of those, reading it was sleepwalking through a beautiful, charmed dream.
Bellefleur moves through time - 200 years of the lives of the Bellefleurs, 6 generations, from the time of the American Revolution to the dawn of aviation. It's written as a series of scenes, some as short as 2 pages, some as long as 20, portraying various events, some troubling, some mystical, many exceptionally beautiful, in the lives of the Bellefleurs. A helpful family tree needs to be referred to quite frequently, as there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but I wouldn't even call it an annoyance.
Bellefleur has been described as gothic - and there are some gothic elements - but it's hardly the focus, it's kind of like a history of character studies. Some of the characters and scenes have a mystical quality to them, but there are scenes of love and violence which have none of these mystical elements. The book is its own thing, and this approach is rather unique. While readers of fantasy or gothic fiction might especially appreciate it this novel, characterizing it as such would be bit misleading - I would strongly recommend it to anyone.
Mostly the book is about love, impermanence, and the passage of time. The elements unique to its setting in the Adirondacks are not particularly important, and they provide some color, but I wouldn't say the book is "about" upstate New York. One might say it's about America, but no single work has ever captured the enormity of that experience. I was far more stirred by the stories and the characters and the beauty of the writing than the setting.
On another note, for me, right now, the book was very theraputic. I haven't been posting many reviews as I've been able to read only 10 pages a day sometimes (instead of my usual 200). However I seem to be a lot better now, as I was able to read the last 100 pages in a single day! ...more
Diaspora is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read, with an emphasis on "hard science". Egan creates an incredible future world, entirelDiaspora is one of the best science fiction books I've ever read, with an emphasis on "hard science". Egan creates an incredible future world, entirely believable, and carries it to a beautiful end. On top of his future world he places an overlay of a complex scientific theory about matter, which serves as a basis for driving the novel along.
The lack of "literary quality" in this novel is essentially meaningless; for imaginative writing of this sort, the world Egan creates, so beyond the pale of typical "fiction," it hardly makes any sense to do so, although he does provide occasional moments of relief from the hard science.
At times one feels a Ph.D in Physics would be helpful, but it's not really necessary - however, the glossary in the back is essential to start with. I would read through that a couple of times before starting the book.
Egan writes the most amazing opening chapters in his novels, this one tops the others as it describes the birthing process for an artificial intelligence consciousness. It's brilliant and astonishing, unlike anything I've come across. But the great thing about Egan is that he carries the concept to its logical conclusions, the world of his "polis" is full of "Yes, of course" moments in how the world works: time changing, easy cloning and more. Once you get used to this world of computer consciousness, he relates it to the non-AI life (of which there are various sorts), again in an entirely reasonable and rational way. Throughout this work one is continually impressed by his lack of compromise of dramatic for scientific principles. Meaning, the drama is in service of the science - usually in science fiction the science supports the drama as a crux.
I'm not going to give spoilers, but the ending just might be the most beautiful one I've ever read. None of the book is weak, when viewed in light of its purpose and plan.
Highest recommendation for all who love science, and science fiction of the type that is full of science, even if the science seems speculative at times. This book's future world is incredibly interesting, and makes far more sense than most of the others out there.
I would say more, but part of the joy of the novel is the discovery. If you're skeptical, just try the first chapter; it's a real tour de force of great imaginative writing. By the end you are convinced that the capacity of the human imagination is limitless....more
Read the first of these and skimmed through a couple later. There was something clearly wrong as the quality of the pieces was miles worse than Sub RoRead the first of these and skimmed through a couple later. There was something clearly wrong as the quality of the pieces was miles worse than Sub Rosa. I confirmed through other GR reviews that this is Robert Aickman at his worst, apparently. It's amazing though to read the reviews of this especially in the New Yorker, by people unfamiliar with the writer. It shows how little you can trust media reviews of books. Goodreads has become a sort of Rotten Tomatoes for me....more
Aickman writes music; almost Mozartian at times, you feel as if a word were added or removed, the effect would be spoiled. His particular style of subAickman writes music; almost Mozartian at times, you feel as if a word were added or removed, the effect would be spoiled. His particular style of subtle, creepy horror is literate too, Shakespeare creeps in, and others. What I like most is the realism of the reactions, nothing is taken for granted, everyone is doomed, but nothing seems forced. The quality of the writing is exquisite, here's a sample:
"Slowly but unmistakably the tension of community and sodality waxed among them, as if a loose mesh of threads weaving about between the different individuals was being drawn tighter and closer, further isolating them from the rest of the world, and from Pendlebury: the party was advancing into a communal phantasmagoria, as parties should, but in Pendlebury's experience seldom did; a sombre chinoise of affectionate ease and intensified inner life."
(One wishes H.P. Lovecraft could write so well.) The stories themselves are a bit uneven (the book is not quite as good as his later Sub Rosa). My favorite was the completely subtle and creepy "The School Friend," with its weird sexual ambiguities. The stories almost always have a mysterious female character, most beautifully portrayed in the character of Ariel in "The View." Aickman sometimes has trouble with his endings, but his creation of mood is quite unequalled. Really, he's best when he's describing the most mundane things, the opening half of "Choice of Weapons" has a restaurant scene and a following scene which are full of his little unsettling asides (a boy falling off his bike) that act as a pacing tool as well as way just to convey mood.
I say music - the musical elements of the writing seem at times as important as the words, and the effect of the stories is similar. Recounting the plot - there's no such thing as a "spoiler" in these stories, and the stories are about their style. I could tell you how they end, and it would change nothing of the effect. He's not writing to tell a gripping yarn, he's providing an "impression" which can be beautiful (exceptionally so), or unsettling, or terrifying. Mystery pervades, if you're looking for answers to the questions, you are missing the point of the story.
Aickman's stories would be wonderful for a writing course in short fiction. I'm not sure where to bucket them in horror, weird, or imaginative writing. I think they belong to a sort of "mood horror" like in the story "The Willows" by Blackwood. But Aickman doesn't ever revert to traditional horror tropes - there are no vampires here (or perhaps there are - but he would never go out and actually tell you). Regardless, highly recommended to all, especially to literary types who would never touch the genre, -- so many "classic" short stories depend so much on exactly the same kind of mystery and ambiguity that Aickman thrills in, you will find yourself on familiar, but highly intensified, ground....more
Mythago Wood is beautifully written and nicely structured in three parts, the first part an introduction of our protagonist, Steven Huxley, the second Mythago Wood is beautifully written and nicely structured in three parts, the first part an introduction of our protagonist, Steven Huxley, the second, his relationship with one of the wood creatures, and then finally his adventure in the woods. It was quite enjoyable and a nice break from the heaviness and seriousness of my recent reading.
The first part really gives a sense of creepiness and wonder, the old house by the old growth forest, and the mysterious diary left by the parent. The second part beautifully describes the relationship between two characters, and was done very well. The end of the book has an interesting "concept" but disintegrates into a kind of a senseless episodic rambling and a wholly unsatisfying end.
Still, I read it avidly, finishing the whole book in a couple of days. I think if you like the type of fantasy which is heavily nature and "myth" based, you might enjoy it. It reminded me a bit of Gaiman's "Stardust" and the nature passage in the second book of the Kingkiller series, but wasn't quite as well-written....more
Got to page 100 but this book was just too slow for me. Nothing seems to happen. There's atmosphere, and some mild fantasy, and some architecture and Got to page 100 but this book was just too slow for me. Nothing seems to happen. There's atmosphere, and some mild fantasy, and some architecture and tarot card pretension, but nothing rich, entertaining or interesting in the fantasy and the psychology of the characters was just dull. The gratuitous sex scenes were pointless, which was when I stopped. It's almost like it's a book deliberately trying not to convey anything....more
I've read dozens of books of ghost stories by all the purported greats but somehow this writer has eluded me until now. Aickman's stories are actuallyI've read dozens of books of ghost stories by all the purported greats but somehow this writer has eluded me until now. Aickman's stories are actually a cut above the usual as they don't ever have a moment of relying on a crutch, they are atmospheric to the extreme and carry with them those gentle hints of horror which make them truly terrifying. All of the stories in this collection (except perhaps the slightly disappointing "No Stronger than a Flower") are stylistically similar in creating unsettling atmospheres of mood related to experiences to which you can relate, then gently, gradually draw you in, with ambiguous hints that pull you back and forth. This is not the forthright horror of Lovecraft or the occult, devil/demon-based or violence-filled horror you might otherwise find, this is kind of like "cultured" horror, terrifying in what it hints at rather than what it reveals.
The stories all involve travel of some sort, and generally a "normal" character (although generally someone who is single and unattached) with normal thoughts to which you can relate. They are generally placed in situations where odd things happen very gradually, and each presents a puzzle that the protagonist and the reader experiences together. Some of it is maybe a little predictable, but the quality of the writing is exquisite (some of these stories would be excellent models for teachers of the craft). The foreign settings also add to the mystery of the stories, many of them are remote, and all of them are interesting.
It's tough to name a favorite, as they each are effective in their own particular way. I think perhaps "The Inner Room" with an abandoned dollhouse and the striking juxtaposition of the troubled family and the sentiments of the protagonist was the most psychologically complex and really rose to the level of great art. "The Cicerones" must surely rank among the most terrifying stories ever written and to me would make an incredible short film if done right.
In all, strongest recommendation for horror enthusiasts and a step up from the usual fare. If you appreciate finely crafted writing, ambiguity and subtlety, and like to be entertained with a book you won't be able to put down, a recommendation for you as well....more
The wildest and most creative science fiction I've ever come across. It's in the Ray Bradbury line - light on the science, heavy on the creativity - aThe wildest and most creative science fiction I've ever come across. It's in the Ray Bradbury line - light on the science, heavy on the creativity - as opposed to the Haldeman or Egan "hard" style. The stories are incredible, just over-the-top in their variety, style, theme, and are never boring, although sometimes predictable. The one overarching sense or feel of the stories, however, is the author's incredible sense of and variety of humor which fills each story.
The creativity is evident not only in the content but the style. Lafferty is very much into wordplay, it's a bit coarse, but always brilliant. Large portions of it, and entire stories at times, are barely scrutable, even on a rereading. Although a few compare him to Wolfe, Lafferty's style is actually not literary as much as "literate." And he likes to throw things out there, obscure references, in his very chaotic and unpredictable way.
Some of it is wildness almost for the sake of wildness. Despite an occasional story that has a didactic element, the message almost seems to be in the style itself. The wild style is as much of the content as whatever creative "idea" he is using. There's not a single "sober" story in the entire collection that reads like traditional fiction. It frequently takes a little while for the reader to enter into the mind-set of the story, to figure out the specific world he has created or the idea that he is playing on. Lafferty can put creative ideas in a paragraph as densely as Egan can put "hard" sci-fi ideas into a chapter.
Overarching everything is the remarkably consistent quality he is able to maintain. Most collections of science fiction short stories are uneven - there's usually one great one and the rest are kind of okay. There's barely a single weak story in this collection, they are all like mini-masterpieces. The crazy variety makes it even difficult to pick a sample one. On one extreme of Lafferty's genius is "Ginny Wrapped in the Sun", which as a stand-alone work of absurdist literature outside of the sci-fi genre is possibly the best thing I've ever read. An extreme of purely chaotic wildness is "Slow Tuesday Night" which doesn't even try to make sense outside of its "idea".
I'm not going to pick a favorite story (too many candidates) but I will pick my favorite passage, from "Polity and Custom of the Camiroi," about a super-highly evolved variant of humanity that Earth humans are visiting to get a sense of their culture:
"We miss a lot. The enjoyment of poverty is generally denied to us. We have a certain hunger for incompetence, which is why some Earth things find a welcome here: bad Earth music, bad Earth painting and sculpture and drama for instance. The good we must produce ourselves. The bad we are incapable of, and must import. Some of us believe that we need it in our diet."
Anyway, strongest recommendation to all readers and while I was reading I was puzzled why this collection is not included among the all-time science fiction greats (is it too far outside the genre?) Neil Gaiman lists it among his 100 favorite works. Gene Wolfe thought very highly of Lafferty. It's definitely on my top 5 of all time list. I've always had a fondness for surrealist literature (Breton), and absurdist (Oulipo) as well. These stories would appeal to enthusiasts for that kind of literature as well....more
I got this book for my birthday, and even though I didn't like the first book, decided to read this one anyway. It suffers from all of the problems ofI got this book for my birthday, and even though I didn't like the first book, decided to read this one anyway. It suffers from all of the problems of the first book, more like imaginative writing than science fiction, and very weak in being consistent or interesting. It's also very singularly themed, each story taking an idea and exploring it to its end, rather than creating complex worlds around the theme. They almost seem like literary exercises. I was able to finish most of the stories, but some I lost interest 20 pages in. There's a fair amount of creativity involved, but no discipline or believability. Chiang is a lazy writer....more
It's tough to read these after the vastly better Wolfe and the far more interesting Egan, it's like reading children's literature in comparison. GenerIt's tough to read these after the vastly better Wolfe and the far more interesting Egan, it's like reading children's literature in comparison. Generally there's just one idea which is played upon and developed, but not in any particularly interesting way. The one exception is the story called "Story of my Life", which was loosely adapted for the movie "Arrival", was very creative and interesting. I can recommend that one but the rest of the stories put me to sleep....more
Wolfe does not disappoint in this, the last of the 12 books of the long series. Once again he chooses another artistic literary style, and at this poiWolfe does not disappoint in this, the last of the 12 books of the long series. Once again he chooses another artistic literary style, and at this point the complications of the novel and the style are indescribable. He continues the alternation between two different realities, the concept of the book as "thing-in-itself" (a book about the writing of the book) multiple and untrustworthy narrators, the book as text (physical paper), concepts of multiple identity, ambiguous identity, changing/shifting identity and form and place. The central conceit of this particular novel is the narrator being someone else physically but denying that he is the person, in one place searching for a physical body that he himself possesses, in the other as father/not father traveling with daughter/not daughter and identical twin sons going to places where they take a different physical being representing more of their "essential" self.
He is much more "humanistic" in this work, I suppose he wanted to end on a fairly positive note. Regardless, as I've raved in my prior reviews, Wolfe is a truly great writer - this is as sophisticated and complex as a symphony of a great composer, and comes across as a great "late" work, like Beethoven's 30th through 32nd piano sonatas. It's like nothing else in science fiction, and in fiction reminded me of those certain lines of Shakespeare that are full of ambiguity and multiple meanings.
I need to be clear on this _objectively_ the book is marred - which explains why it's not rated as "science fiction" as highly as it might - there are scenes, attitudes, episodes, which are unpleasant, upsetting, like certain parts of Rabelais - but if you look behind the story line at "how" he is writing, stylistically and thematically, the plot is all rather irrelevant. I've described him as the great science fiction writer of "ambiguity" - and the richness of this approach. Someone said that Wolfe is more like "speculative" fiction than anything else, or "imaginative" fiction, but he's exploring the limits of style through content - the story is a mechanism for the style.
Overarching the whole Long Sun/Short-Sun group of 7 novels, Wolfe's humanism and overarching compassion comes through. His religious asides are a minor puzzlement. The characters are rich and deep, complex and real.
To be critical, there is one rather upsetting and unnecessary scene which goes too far, and there's too much dialogue where his prose is wonderful, but while the book is very difficult, it remains comprehensible, unlike the fifth book Urth in the series.
So - to sum up this exceptionally long and worthwhile series: not for the faint, probably only for the literary, a unique and brilliant artistic conception. I put him with Melville, early Pynchon and Gaddis as the greatest American writers, and the greatest American "imaginative" writer ever. I find it impossible to classify his work as sci-fi or fantasy because his stylistic and literary components are so much of the content. Anyway, I've written about him enough. I hope this inspires someone to read him. I strongly suspect he will be still read in 100 years, which is sense I get from very few writers these days....more
Wolfe continues in Green's Jungles in his literary vein, exploring new types of ambiguity. Towards the end of this book the thought entered into my heWolfe continues in Green's Jungles in his literary vein, exploring new types of ambiguity. Towards the end of this book the thought entered into my head - this is the "science fiction of literary ideas". New ambiguities: ambiguity of location (Blue and Green), ambiguity of person (Silk and Horn), uncertainty of body, are all explored, it's endlessly fascinating. Mostly at the beginning of the book, the tone of the prior one is achieved with some of these added nuances. One great thing he does at the beginning is have people in the book tell stories, kind of like Apuleius' "The Golden Ass", which is very interesting.
Fans of more traditional science fiction will be pleased that far more of this book has straight narrative than the prior. Long passages read like a typical story. Wolfe is fascinated by war, and much of this is a pure war story. He shows his fearlessness again though, in the "horror" sections of the planet Green, which are among the most disturbing I've ever come across. He has a surprising ability at vivid world description, and the jungles of Green and its alien life are fabulously described.
Towards the end of the book, the last fifth or so, the book oddly goes off on some tangents which are inconsistent with the flavor of the prior portion - it's almost as if he's gotten tired of writing brilliantly, and he wants to fall back on some easy stuff. These are well done, but are mildly irritating. They really undermined my thinking of Wolfe as a truly great American writer. Much of what was subtle becomes quite overt, and unnecessarily so. The same thing sort of happened at the end of the New Sun tetrology, where it seemed like he had to finish with 100 pages to go and so went from a fascinating Proustian style to a very perfunctory one.
All that said, at his best there's nothing better than Wolfe in science fiction or literature generally. One more book to go in the series of 12, surely the best sci-fi and one of the best literary experiences I've come across....more
Gene Wolfe doesn't write science fiction, he creates works of great literary art containing some, but not primarily, science fiction (with some fantasGene Wolfe doesn't write science fiction, he creates works of great literary art containing some, but not primarily, science fiction (with some fantasy) themes, of a level of intricacy and interest beyond anything found in virtually all contemporary fiction. On Blue's Waters is no exception.
I'm going to give a thematic rundown, as I think the best way to describe the book is by doing so, as the plot, while it can be described, is so subservient to the style it's a bit misleading to focus on it. Unfortunately the overarching effect is unique (although it's a bit like Possoa), so it's very difficult to capture it in words (like Joyce's Ulysses). If you read the first chapter three times most of these themes are captured (although some of the later ones are introduced with jarring effect):
1) The corrupt text: OBW is a book about it's own acknowledged corruption and imperfections. (This is hard to explain without reading the book since it's so unusual.) The author is commenting constantly on his inability to convey the story.
2) Book as artifact: The prior text, Long Sun, is a book in its own right, the new text is written by just one of the two prior authors. The existence of the prior text within the book is an important part of it. Lack of clarity in the prior book is a component of the new book. Since we discover at the end of Long Sun its provenance, certain ambiguous passages are left that way, and the author (who was the half author of Long Sun) explains the ambiguity.
3) Text as diary: the book is about writing the book. The paper, the ink, the quills.
4) The book as physical substance: The author manufactures paper, and it has value. The quills are from the bird in Long Sun. He describes in details how the ink is made.
5) Text as observed text: the text has commentary from later readers in response to statements in the text, both as corrections to the text and as responses to the text. Very jarring but it puts the book in a third time period.
6) Dual narratives: the story of the past and the current story, as reflective of one another. There's an Odyssey-like story and an Iliad-like story going on at the same time.
7) Unclear middle: the story in between is continually hinted at but never fully described, it is murky and full of secrets. This is the world of "Green" contrasted with "Blue".
8) Probably the most difficult thing to grapple with is a bad-acting, unsympathetic protagonist, but Wolfe goes in headlong. He's not an antihero, he's a bad person. This becomes a battle between truth telling and its consequences. The author battles between the horrific things he's done and telling the truth. This comes as a huge shock and really places the book outside the box of most literature and all other science fiction.
9) The writer aware of his potential future reader. The writer uncertain he will be read. The writer unsure why he is writing (writing with unclear purpose). Writing for its own sake. The book is about its own writing.
Other than these largely textual themes which would drive a deconstructualist to madness, Wolfe creates a world of incredible richness, a wide variety of fascinating characters, although he tends towards the unique rather than traditional tropes. Many of the characters from "Long Sun" are present again (and it's hard to imagine reading this without having read Long Sun before). His creative imagination with creatures and world building is unequalled. This is the most "science fiction/fantasy" part and it is beautifully done.
OBW is very different from Long Sun though as it is written in a diary format, and the themes are textual rather "world-revealing". It has moments of beauty and horror, but still maintains insistence on authenticity of motive and believability. People have authentic usually bad motivations. There is not a shred of romanticism. Also this is the text "within itself", it is not an allegory and the themes are the eternal ones.
In the end, after the great New Sun and Long Sun books, it's hard to believe that Wolfe cannot only write with distinctly high quality, but write something very different thematically and stylistically. These books really dwarf anything else in modern literature in their rich complexity. Never a dull moment or passage. Great art....more
Egan is very heavy on the science in his science fiction, but his writing struggles a bit otherwise. He is a great writer of ideas, many of which are Egan is very heavy on the science in his science fiction, but his writing struggles a bit otherwise. He is a great writer of ideas, many of which are interesting but some are kind of not all there. Anyway it was slightly better than the second book in the series but still suffered from the vagueness of the second.
Some parts are extraordinarily good, especially the idea for Stateless, a country formed out of bioengineered coral. So is the concept for the main character, a journalist of the future. He is consistently interesting.
Egan is a bit of a recluse and refuses to be photographed. I suspect he's a bit crazed like Rothfuss. Some of his ideas are a bit paranoid and I am incredulous. The views on sex and autism expressed are just too outside the believable. When the ideas expressed in science fiction make you worry about the mental health of the author it's a distraction. Could have been dealt with in a better way.
Anyway I admire the bravery of his writing, but too uneven.
I read this book mostly because it was the inspiration for one of my favorite movies, Tarkovsky's "Stalker". Unfortunately, and maybe I think because I read this book mostly because it was the inspiration for one of my favorite movies, Tarkovsky's "Stalker". Unfortunately, and maybe I think because the translation I had seemed very poor, I found it to be rather boring and while Tarkovsky took some material from the book it's very different. Stalker is a great art movie, very subtle and complex, this just a story of an alien visit where all they do is leave behind their garbage. We are ants to their roadside picnic. It does raise some "Rendezvous with Rama" type issues, but the writing is so clunky and just bad, it was tough to get through.
And very boring. Perhaps the most interesting thing was the epilogue where the various edits made by the Russian censors at the time are discussed. It was tough writing under the communist regime. Took them many years to get it published.
Anyway, recommended if you want to know more about the nuts with the white cloth attached that are thrown in the movie in the Zone, and a couple of other things. As a stand alone work though there's just so much great sci fi out there, no need to read this one....more
Ursula LeGuin: "Our Melville". Neil Gaiman: "he was the best of us"
Wolfe is a true great and I'm adding him to (early) Pynchon and (most) Gaddis as one Ursula LeGuin: "Our Melville". Neil Gaiman: "he was the best of us"
Wolfe is a true great and I'm adding him to (early) Pynchon and (most) Gaddis as one of the great American literary writers of the 20th, and possibly the best. His style is unique, impressionistic, subtle, brilliant. I relished every word of these books. He has possibly the largest imagination of any writer I've ever read. Every sentence is a complex mystery of meaning operating on multiple levels. These books are so rich they really dwarf all other writers of the sci-fi genre, if you want him bucketed with that, but really this is great literary art of a unique and uniquely interesting kind.
It's difficult to convey this in a review, and oddly I can barely recommend this to my friends who solely read sci fi. If you really like great literature, and can handle themes that include those that touch on scifi and fantasy, you might see what I saw in here. Long Sun is miles beyond anything any of the sci-fi greats wrote but the style is so unique it's hard to bucket him with modern writers. I'm kind of speechless.
The complexity of the style is hard to convey in excerpts because it is so heavily layered. Every sentence is a daub of paint that eventually adds up to a picture, a specific vision of his world. Meaningless scenes go on overly long, it seems, and yet then don't seem too long, nothing seems rushed or forced. He doesn't preach, his message is obscure. He conveys incredible beauty and emotional depth. Characters are flawed, the plot is choppy and unpredictable, which makes it seem oddly real. The themes are massively deep, like truly great literature, and touch on the big questions. Nothing is fake or contrived.
He invents words and manners of speaking, jargons, but the subtlety of the presentation, not subtlety for its own sake, but that's the style. Chapters are worth a close rereading to truly appreciate the wealth of detail.
There is nothing I dislike about the book, not a single character or scene, even the bird. While very long, I read it hoping it would never end. In my review of the first two books I had a quibble with the way he would drop things, but that is just part of the style, and I ended up liking it.
Maybe I'm an intellectual, but the book is very stirring. Objectively one might be troubled by some of the content, and some scenes are disturbing, but they are not gratuitous and they make sense. Great lit is often disturbing, because it is never afraid of its topic.
Anyway I've rambled on a bit but if you read this series I think you will understand what I'm getting at in this review. If you're interested in Wolfe I would start with The Fifth Head of Cerberus, then try this and finally New Sun. Take it slow though.
I intend to digest and then plan a re-read at some point to confirm my thoughts. I will share those then....more
Reading Gene Wolfe is a fascinating combination of great science fiction (fantasy?) but also great literature. Although not quite as great as New Sun, Reading Gene Wolfe is a fascinating combination of great science fiction (fantasy?) but also great literature. Although not quite as great as New Sun, Long Sun is fabulous. The book is so rich and sublime - on so many levels - and on multiple levels, it's quite difficult to even describe.
The book is a great unfolding - I wouldn't read the flap of the book or anything about it before starting. It has a lot of greek-derived words like New Sun - not as many - you can survive without the Lexicon Urthus (needed for New Sun) - but some terms you will want to do an internet search, and he makes up lots of words - but by the end you will know what they are. There's a limited glossary of the various Gods and characters at the end - but it has some spoilers so you might only want to consult it if you have to.
I try to write reviews without spoilers - this is a tough one! Stop if you don't want a minor spoiler - MINOR SPOILER:
Here's my list of levels on which the book operatives:
1) religious narrative - a "priest" who has a religious experience and mission 2) sci-fi narrative - humans, robots, computers, space ship and more 3) fantasy narrative - possession, strange creatures, general weirdness, "gods" 4) oddness - the characters cannot "see" the "sci-fi" - it's like magic 5) literature content - Proustian moments, strange dreams, odd and ambiguous statements, vagueness
There's nothing nearly so complex in sci-fi - and the revelations are sublime, unclear, and never simple.
Anyway - Wolfe gets my absolutely highest recommendation not just for sci-fi but for literature as well. He's the best. If you haven't read him, I would start with the 5th head of Cerberus and then these Long Sun books - the New Sun books are even a step beyond and his greatest work.
I did have a few quibbles. Occasionally things were spelled out too clearly. A few things were not perfectly clear. He helps the reader a little too much at times. But there are endless great moments and a few that rank very high in my list of all-time greatest moments.
Also - this is the first two books - New Sun in book 4 I thought started to fall apart, and book 5 was so obscure I thought it was kind of a disaster. We will see how the next two go.
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