Customer Reviews

Castle of Days

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gene Wolfe's collection CASTLE OF DAYS is a must for fans, especially those who enjoyed his four-volume great work the Book of the New Sun. It consists of three parts, "Gene Wolfe's Book of Days", "The Castle of the Otter", and "Castle of Days."

"Gene Wolfe's Book of Days" is a collection of some of Wolfe's short stories, each representing a particular holiday. While these pieces are generally lighter and less substantial than Wolfe's other short stories of the late 70's and earlier 80's, there are several stories that are highly worthy. "Forlesen", representing Labor Day, is a clever jab at life in a corporation and it shows that the Dilbertesque workplace is nothing new. "The Changeling" represents Homecoming Day. A chilling and haunting piece, it takes place in the same town as Wolfe's early novel PEACE and illuminates a cryptic reference made there. This story alone makes CASTLE OF DAYS worth getting for fans of PEACE.

The second part of the book is "Castle of the Otter", named in jest after the mispelling of THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH which appeared in a 1982 issue of Locus. Subtitled "a book about the Book of the New Sun", it is a collection of essays about Wolfe's best-known work and can greatly expand one's knowledge of that world. "Words Weird and Wonderful", for example, defines all the archaic words in THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER. "These Are the Jokes" is a collection of witty jokes, each told by a different character from the Book of the New Sun. "Onomastics" explains the names of many characters. "Castle of the Otter" was written when two of the four volumes of the series had been published, so it is a bit light on detail from THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH. Nonetheless, if you loved the Book of the New Sun, this part makes CASTLE OF DAYS the next Wolfe work worth getting.

The final section is "Castle of Days", which is a collection of diverse essays from the late 1980's. I found this the least interesting section, as much deals with science fiction fandom and a few pieces are rather quaint. However, there is the highly interesting essay "The Secret of the Greeks" which explains some of Wolfe's work on the Soldier series and why classical languages and literature are a worthwhile pastime.

All in all, CASTLE OF DAYS is an essential purchase for fans of Gene Wolfe. I didn't pick it up until six years after I read and was fascinated by the Book of the New Sun, and I instantly regretted missing out on such an illuminating collection. I can't recommend this collection enough.

These stories are the work of a man with a sharp mind and a wicked sense of humor. Most of them are science fiction, but many are unclassifiable. For instance, "Forlesen," a story with many levels of meaning, attempts to sum up the twentieth century experience in forty-four pages and does it pretty well. There is non-fiction as well, including Wolfe's hilarious essay on knife-throwing. From my limited experience I'd say that Gene Wolfe is one of the most underrated science fiction writers.

This is a collection of essays/ruminations. The first section deals with holiday-related stories/topics. The second deals with themes in some of his fiction. The third deals with writers, the art of writing, and topics related to publishing and the sci-fi/fantasy genres. An indispensable book for people who would like to sample the full range of Gene Wolfe's talents and diverse threads of thought.

The book appeared in a timely fashion, and in the advertised condition. I would favorably recommend this merchant.

Insight into the motivations of the author and into his best known works. In particular, the conversational tone helps close the gap between the author and his readers. Would love to have read this as a teenager, when I struggled with the Book of the New Sun for the first time. Still all these years later I am very glad someone thought to combine these essays and short stories into a single volume.

In one volume there is one of Wolfe's strongest story collections, essays on the Book of the New Sun, and a collection of entertaining miscellaceous essays. The story's are varied and all very powerful (though in different ways). The essays on New Sun are insightful without ruining the book. The other essays on literary topics are far more insightful than any snobbish literary professor's.