Customer Reviews

Soldier of the Mist

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is set in Ancient Greece, during the Persian Wars. The protagonist, Latro, is a soldier who has recieved a head wound and forgets very quickly. Therefore, he keeps a journal to tell himself who he is and what has happened to him--and that journal is this book. When I first heard about this, I was skeptical that a coherent novel could be written this way, but Wolfe makes it work without stretching believability too much.

Wolfe describes the setting effectively. In order to prevent the reader from using prior knowledge of Greek history or mythology to unfair advantage, he usually replaces the Greek proper names with the protagonist's translations (sometimes incorrect!), which are then rendered into English. This makes the reader nearly as disoriented as the characters, making the book more interesting. Some readers may be annoyed that Wolfe never stops to explain anything, but I think it's better this way, since it avoids the contrived plot devices and character behavior that are often necessary for more explicit exposition. Wolfe's characters are realistic enough, and it's interesting to watch Latro's development as a character and the ways he deals with his affliction.

Of course, I do have some complaints. The first few chapters were boring, and sometimes the plot seemed to drift, as if the author, as well as Latro, had forgotten what he was doing. This aside, Soldier of the Mist could make a good introduction to Wolfe for those who find the New Sun series intimidating. I rarely had much trouble with that longer (and better) work, but some do, and they may be glad that the worldbuilding, allusions, and descriptive language have been toned down. If you have already read and liked Wolfe, then read this. It won't change your life, but it is a solid and rewarding novel.

From the start, Gene Wolfe has consistently maintained his image as a classically educated writer, with a hugely gifted imagination, and an ability to use language which is far beyond what most writers today (or yesterday, for that matter) will ever aspire to. He's a brilliant short story writer *and* a fully developed novelist. The fact that he just *happens* to be writing what is probably best called "science fantasy" is a secondary issue. With "The Book Of The New Sun" series, he carved out a lasting legacy for more than a few generations of readers yet to come.

We're doubly fortunate, though, that he hasn't limited himself to *only* the many books in the various "Sun" collections he's most famous for. While it's hard to say I could like *anything* better than THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER---SOLDIER OF THE MIST is easily one of my *favorite* Wolfe novels. The setting is Greece in 479 B.C. Soldier Latro has a head injury. Because of this, his memory can only last about 12 hours. So, he writes on a scroll what happens to him each day, and then reads what he's written first thing every morning. A simple premise. But---oh, my! The story that unfolds is one of Wolfe's most unusual and intriguing books. Other reviewers have explained some of the events that Latro experiences. However, there's another aspect of this novel that I find most interesting of all. Because of his memory problem, Latro is very much trapped in "the eternal now." Yet, as the reader, remembering all that has occured from page one, you gradually become aware of a variety of changes in his environment, of which Latro is totally unaware. Wolfe handles this like the Master that he is. It's an example of what I like to call *true* fantasy (as opposed to how most people use that term). It really is a great book.

It raises the question, for me, as to what extent *any* of us can completely trust our own perceptions about the world, or even about ourselves. What, I wonder, could *I* be overlooking as I move along, from day to day...things that are totally obvious, not hidden...but which I'm just not able to see? I don't fret about it. But I do wonder, from time to time.

READ THIS ONE!

With `Soldier of the Mist' Gene Wolfe attempts to tell a story that would stop any other author in their tracks. `Soldier of the Mist' is the diary of Latro, a soldier of ancient Rome (maybe) who suffered a head wound on the battlefield. Every day when Latro awakens, he has a new case of amnesia. Not only does he not know who he is, but whatever he learns lasts only one day. He has found travelling companions in his search for his identity, and every morning they have him read his diary to learn who he is. Every night he makes new entries, hoping they will be useful in the coming day. The next morning he will face the world as new, knowing only what he's written and what he sees in front of him.

Latro wanders ancient Greece dealing with war, politics, gods and goddesses. His lack of knowledge and prejudices let him (and you) see the world of the ancients in an entirely new light.

Someone said elsewhere that this felt like an exercise for Wolfe, and I know what they mean-- using a Memento-like plot (a main character who loses his memory at the end of every day) Wolfe sketches the world of ancient Greece through the eyes of a soldier named Latro.

The details are compelling-- I was uninterested in the real historical value (people should not be trying to derive history lessons from fantasy novels) but Wolfe does a good job, as usual, of creating a realistic and detailed world for Latro to inhabit.

The plot is somewhat less compelling. It is nearly a necessity of the trope that he chose that the plot becomes confusing (particularly in times when Latro couldn't write his journal) and I'm sad to say that I often didn't feel any kind of guiding line that was coherent enough to motivate me through the confusion.

Interesting for Wolfe completists or real fans of historical fiction, not a place to begin with his work otherwise.

Anybody who has seen the recent movie "Memento" knows the premise: the protagonist (in this case a wounded mercenary) has lost his longterm memory, and so can only remember what happens to him for one day. In both the movie and this book, he tries to compensate by writing down what he needs to know. Gene Wolfe's fine novel, however, far predates "Memento", and the world it describes, Greece in the 5th century BC, is a far more exotic and alien place.

As a piece of craft, this is a wonderful book--full of apt and elegant descriptions, sparely but deftly rendered characters, and eruptions of violence that pack surprising power. Wolfe is a writer who transcends the genre he happens to be working in, which is something of a miracle in today's pigeon-holed, dumbed-down publishing climate. My only complaint is that he perhaps takes his conceit too far, throwing in one or two too many shifts in time and place (and, in the case of one character, even gender) so that the plot remains less involving that it might have been.

All in all, this is a remarkable achievement.

Gene Wolfe has accomplished what many writers have attempted and almost none accomplished, bring an ancient culture back to life. Soldier of the Mist works best as an illustration of Hellenic life and pantheism as a complex,living, and mulifaceted religon, not simply a collection of antique fairy tales of Gods and Monsters. He returned not just to the scene of golden age greece, but to it's mindset as well. This is not an easy book to read or understand. Only a very experienced and self assured writer would attempt to take liberties with the narrative story telling as Wolfe did. Fortunatly for us, he suceeds. His reexploring of the homeric hero is challenging inasmuch as how much it differs from our modern conceptions of heroism. Altogether, for anyone forever in love with Hellenic culture, this is an enjoyable must read.

Latro, a soldier in the army of Xerxes, is wounded in the head at the battle of Plataea. He is now able to see and converse with gods, but can remember things only for a day. Together with an Ethiopean soldier and a slave girl he has somehow acquired, he travels through ancient Greece in the aftermath of the Persian invasion, meeting gods, ghosts, werewolves, sorcerers, poets, generals, merchants, and prostitutes. The novel concludes with a nice Gene Wolfe set piece, a battle after which he awakens in a mist to find one of the men from whom he had been separated just before the beginning of the novel. The sequel, A Soldier of Arete, was slower and a bit disappointing.

positives: Nice Gene Wolfe descriptive pieces and mood.

negatives: Some of the history is a bit shaky. Latro turns out to be a Roman legionnaire named Lucius who has somehow found his way into the Persian army of Xerxes, an idea which is every bit as nutty as it sounds. The Roman republic was only about 20 years old at the time, and Roman legions didn't exist yet.

Soldier of the Mist and its sequel, Soldier of Arete, are described as a fantasy novels, but, the occasional mystic element notwithstanding, they're really first-rate, at times audacious, historical novels.

It does help to know something about ancient Mediterranean history when reading this series, to pick up the references, but for the most part, the material is very accessible. That's not a surprise, since Gene Wolfe is one of the finest prose stylists in English: who else would not only try to create Pindaric prose, but actually succeed in making it sound plausible?

Like the best mythologies, Soldier of the Mist works marvelously on multiple levels, but at the very least, it's an engaging adventure story. Keeping Latro's mind a blank slate works surprisingly well; I thought it would become a tiresome device very quickly, but Wolfe keeps introducing elements at just the right pace to keep us interested, without stretching the bounds of credibility.

Another reviewer thinks that Latro is a legionaire. Tain't necessarily so. Read the book yourself, the history lessons of ancient Greece and the Romans, Latins and Etruscans you can work out at for yourself. For now, just know that the army of the Great King had conscripts from kingdoms near and far.

A brilliant concept, finely executed. A powerful vehicle with which to tempt readers into the classics.