Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
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Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#2"Peace" is a true masterpiece. When you reach the end, you start thinking what was this book about. Suddenly you will figure it out and you want to read it again, armed with this knowledge. And you might need a few iterations before you will be finally satisfied.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#3This is a great loss. When I was quite young I made the mistake of joining the Science Fiction Bookclub, unaware that it's intent and purpose was to mislead kids into over-buying books they didn't want. At the time, one of the books they sent me was Gene Wolfe's "Urth of the New Sun", and it bewildered me and fascinated me so much that I reread it in college, and realized it was part of a much longer tale. I went on to read virtually everything he ever wrote. Unlike so much science fiction (and fantasy, on occasion), Wolfe's uses tremendous texture and nuance; reading his work feels incredibly dream-like to me, even though there's nothing overtly trippy. As I get older, and recognize so much of what I once enjoyed as the same juvenile power fantasy told over with slightly different mechanics, Wolfe is (was) one of those rare genre authors who was doing something very different.
For anyone who wants to try a Wolfe book, the most accessible one is "The Wizard Knight", IMHO. It's still quite good, and has that gauzy, dreamy style and unreliable narrator Wolfe is known for, but is rather more straight-forward than, say, the Torturer series (which is actually part of the series in which Urth of the New Sun played a role). Ironically (to me) this is also the closest he got to "juvenile power fantasy" but ends up deconstructing the bildungsroman in a really beautiful, even loving way. Highly, highly recommended.
Also, I remember reading somewhere that he was a working engineer while he wrote some of his first novels; I presume he was writing full-time later. I think that's cool, too.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#4His work, which I came across in my early teenage years, was mind expanding. I am grateful for and to him.
Wolfe was also one of the authors that really made genre fiction academically respectable, without hiding in shame about what and who he was (cough Atwood cough). Entire future generations of writers - and students - owe him a thank you.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#5On Blue's Waters is a masterpiece. The narrative structure is temporally very complex, but coherent, and alternates between wistful contemplation of the past by the protagonist (often times about things that have not yet happened yet), and and an account of that protagonist's search for Silk. On the whole it is a dream like experience.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#6The Fifth Head of Cerberus is such a delight. Made me finally understand the concept of an unreliable narrator. It made me a better reader and expanded my attitudes around colonization. It is a great example of how science fiction can teach us about our modern lives.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#7This is a great loss. When I was quite young I made the mistake of joining the Science Fiction Bookclub, unaware that it's intent and purpose was to mislead kids into over-buying books they didn't want. At the time, one of the books they sent me was Gene Wolfe's "Urth of the New Sun", and it bewildered me and fascinated me so much that I reread it in college, and realized it was part of a much longer tale. I went on…
> Also, I remember reading somewhere that he was a working engineer while he wrote some of his first novels;
You are correct - he was an industrial engineer. I'm not sure if he was working on a team, or just by himself, but he helped to design the machinery that creates Pringles (potato chip). He was also the editor for a trade magazine on industrial engineering.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#8I’m about halfway through rereading The Book of the New Sun, so I’m very sad to hear this
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#9I cannot recommend enough Latro in the Mist, a combination of two of his novels about a Roman soldier in Greek times given the curse of losing his memory every day.
To me this was his most 'approachable' novel by virtue of the fact that I could cross-reference the names with historical resources like Thucydides -- I also highly recommend the Landmark series for their detailed annotations.
Fifth Head of Cereberus is, of course, the best way to start with him, and I re-read it every few years. If you have never read Wolfe before, I would start with Fifth Head. It will give you an early sense for whether Wolfe is your cup of tea.
Re: Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87
#10This is a great loss. When I was quite young I made the mistake of joining the Science Fiction Bookclub, unaware that it's intent and purpose was to mislead kids into over-buying books they didn't want. At the time, one of the books they sent me was Gene Wolfe's "Urth of the New Sun", and it bewildered me and fascinated me so much that I reread it in college, and realized it was part of a much longer tale. I went on…
> Also, I remember reading somewhere that he was a working engineer while he wrote some of his first novels; You are correct - he was an industrial engineer. I'm not sure if he was working on a team, or just by himself, but he helped to design the machinery that creates Pringles (potato chip). He was also the editor for a trade magazine on industrial engineering.
Do you happen to have any references for that? I in no way doubt you, but I hope to use this fact to dazzle a child when I get home; and maybe persuade her to read some top class sci-fi.