Peace [Paperback]

Gene Wolfe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1995

Mesmerizing sci-fi from the author the Denver Post calls "one of the literary giants of science fiction." The melancholy memoir of Alden Dennis Weer, an embittered old man living in a small midwestern town, reveals a miraculous dimension. For Weer's imagination has the power to obliterate time and reshape reality, transcending even death itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wolfe's novel about a bitter old man whose highly imaginative memoirs go beyond the real world and into another dimension is available for the first time in over a decade.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books (June 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312890338
• ISBN-13: 978-0312890339
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gene Wolfe is winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and many other awards. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He lives in Barrington, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Masterpieces of Modern Fiction, May 25, 2000

By 

Alex D. Groce (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace (Paperback)

PEACE is a beautiful, strange, intricate novel; it is also a puzzle, but the puzzle is not concerned with cleverness or authorial tricks--rather, here, the puzzle is the essential human question: "What kind of story is this?" PEACE, as it invokes Lovecraft, the Arabian Nights, Sherwood Anderson, Borges, Flann O'Brien, and other restless spirits, answers and re-asks this final question. This is Wolfe at his finest, and Wolfe at his finest is as good as it gets. PEACE is also an excellent introduction to Wolfe, for those daunted by THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN. The only better introduction, in my opinion, is the equally touching and marvelous THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, which may especially be preferable for long-time readers of science-fiction.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unusual Yet Satisfying Reading Experience, September 30, 2000

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace (Paperback)

Gene Wolfe's "Peace" is one of the strangest, yet most satisfying books I've read in a long time. It's very hard to talk about the plot, except that it is largely a reflection of an old man on his life experiences. The book says so many things that almost overwhelm the reader, but I imagine looking back over a lifetime of experiences can be overwhelming. I recently read an interview with Wolfe in which he said that authors often reveal clues several times in their books. He only reveals a clue once. He presupposes that the reader is smart enough to stay with him on his level. The ability to do that, at least for me, was difficult, but the journey was extremely worthwhile.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find PEACE, January 18, 2001

By 

Jacob G Corbin (Prairie Village, Kansas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peace (Paperback)

This book must be read by everyone. Wolfe usually writes SF, but this is like nothing so much as a haunting and frighteningly literate retelling of "Spoon River Anthology" -- the spirit of an early-twentieth century man endlessly reenacts a series of vignettes that illuminate (obtusely) the story of his life, which is also the story of the end of the small town in America. The prose is meditative and elegaically beautiful, but the novel itself is uncomfortably honest in the manner of someone who pretends to make light of something about which they are, in fact, quite serious. Wolfe claims that his narrator, Alden Dennis Weer, is "more autobiographical than anyone suspects" -- odd, given that it's hinted that Weer may be a mass murderer. Very meaty, rich stuff that I commend to any reader without reservation.