Customer Reviews

The Wizard (The Wizard Knight, Book 2)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is better than anything else I have read in the last two years. I will not summarize the plot because you will find that elsewhere, but I prefer to check the negative feedback. I feel sorry for the people who read this book and seek a linear, easy-to-discern story. Just because the plot is disjointed, convoluted, complex, and yes, perhaps contradictions abound, (all revealing many different emotions and levels of maturity) does not translate to "a mess." Go read some milk-toast fantasy to satisfy your mundane literary aspirations! There is a bountiful "mess" of galant adventure and introspective sophistry to be found within these novels. The prose is magical. The story is invigorating. Satisfaction is assured. Gene Wolfe's body of work shames most want-to-be masters of sci-fi and fantasy. Give these novels a read with a steady mind. Perhaps a second or third read will find new, overlooked insights. You may find within these novels a plethora of goodness which changes your perspective on the world around you. Or at least takes you upon a journey of chivalry and courage. Cheers!

The Wizard, the concluding part two of "The Wizard Knight" duology, is a strong read. It does not, however, meet the lofty level of excellence that its predecessor, The Knight, met. Whereas "The Knight" will retain its place on my shortlist of best fantasy novels ever written (and the top one of 2004), The Wizard is (merely) a good read.

Gone, in my estimation, are the intricacies of The Knight-- the striving to attain (or have accepted) Able's Knighthood; the heart-wrenching moments associated with the absence of Disiri; the subtle nuisances flowing through the text as a result of the protagonist's youth (but not Able's).

In its stead, are near-standard fantasy fair battles: Jotunland, RedHall, the Five Fates (description only) and the concluding sequence. And of them all, only the concluding, final chapter of the book (comprising, of course, the final battle) is exemplary. And, as with many Wolfe novels, the end rushes in: a swift wind undeterred by a readers desire for a less abrupt cessation. Additionally, the swift rise and sudden disappearance of Toug (and his centric views) and Mani (gotta love that Cat) were both hearteningly fresh and sorely noticed.

Nonetheless, this book is better than all but the finest of fantasy (or other fictional) work. Its highpoints are very good: the ruinous portrayal of Morcaine; the torn relationship between Idnn and Svonn; the tattered mind of Etela's mother; Baki and Uri.

I can only hope that Wolfe returns to this universe. It's worthy of more of his time just as The Wizard was worthy of mine.

After living in Skai for thirty years, Sir Able is back in Mythgarthr (only a few months passed in the Mythgarthr dimension). One condition of Able's return is that he not use his magical powers. Instead, he must fight as a knight. Fortunately for him, the Valfather has given him one of the great dogs of his own hunt, as well as a young unicorn to ride. Together with Able's bowstring made of severed souls, and his sword--equiped with dead knights prepared to join in battle, although only sometimes in aid of Able, he hardly misses those magical powers.

Able returns to a complicated political situation. The frost giants are restive and attempts to placate them bog down when the frost giant king is attacked. Even when he escapes the frozen lands of the north, Able is unable to find peace. There is a dragon to fight, and a message to take to the king. The result of that message, when finally delivered, leaves Able in prison while the kingdom falls into horrible war and defeat.

Author Gene Wolfe creates a powerful and fascinating world--with strong ties to Germanic myth. Able, and the squire Tong, try to understand what is happening around them, make decisions that might not always be wise, and face a world where good and evil are vague terms--and making the choice between them is often difficult.

THE WIZARD is a compelling and fascinating read. Often dark, sometimes obscure, filled with so many characters that the list of players at the beginning comes in very handy, THE WIZARD is still hard to put down. WOLFE has become one of the major literary authors of contemporary Science Fiction/Fantasy. With THE WIZARD, it is easy to understand how he's achieved this popularity.

Really a review for books 1 and 2.
OK, 4 stars aren't really fair, that is 4 stars relative to Wolfe's level, 5 stars for mere mortal writers.

This book, even with it's 7 levels of reality is still has far fewer levels than in other of Wolfe's works. The Long Sun, New Sun series are better. Here, the narrator is simpler, less nuanced. In the Long Sun, later facts would often change the whole meaning of earlier scenes. That happens a little such as who the Knight who turned to smoke was in an early scene in the first book -- I like that turn of meaning with new information in Wolfe's works, I like the narrators who are sort of lying or covering their behinds to you and there's less of that in this work.

Huff. Still, this is more than worth your while. It's a fun yarn, an adventure with lots of turns in it and an increasingly gripping page turner.

I'm reading the book to my young daughter -- yes, I edit the sex scenes (let's just say she thinks Gene writes in lots of hugs and "sleep overs" ) and damp down some of the violence. She really got attached to Able in the first book becoming another of Able's odd assortment of followers -- but cried foul when Able stepped out of the picture at the start of book 2 and the pace bogged down in the long cold slog to Utgard and thereafter. But, after about 100 pages, things start to pick right up again and it's worth going along. It is typical of Wolfe's genius to have the Giants call the huge men "Mice" rather than the small humans. That is typical of human nature -- we belittle our closest competitors, not the ones who aren't contenders with us.

As a morality tale, suitably edited, this book have a powerful effect for good on a kid. My daughter is somewhat shy and when she had to give a talk in front of some people, all I had to say is "Knights don't count their foes and speakers don't count their audience" and she was OK. Same for hiding something from her little sister: "a knight tells the truth" and the hidden item appeared. Even for myself, when your down and the code has too many bugs, I sometimes unsheathe my keyboard, cry "IPO, IPO!" and charge. I seriously doubt you'd get that from a Harry Potter book and Wolfe is a much writer (even though I'm a fan of both). Keep writing Sir Wolfe, honor demands it.

My husband and I read the two books of the series, and to gain additional insight I did some surfing on Mr. Wolfe and appreciated what he has done with these books even more than I had.

To those who find the books flawed... I can only say that perhaps you expect him to be doing something with the books other than what he intended to do. The profoundly dreamlike quality of the plot and narrative, the way things move forward, the way the POV bounces from Able to others and back again, the way in which events are magical but at the same time deeply mundane, and overall the way in which Able exemplifies certain qualities (honor, duty, loyalty) set these books apart in my mind as something beyond the vast sea of fantasy fiction.

These books capture some quality of "the otherworld" in a way that I've never encountered before, deftly and with beauty. Wolfe also writes limited first person viewpoint more perfectly than anyone else I've read; the way in which we get Able's view, and also just what Able choses to write to his brother - is just masterful. Sometimes events are confusing because Able writes briefly or sketchily about certain events, or skips over battles and then refers back (or forward) to events that he doesn't actually describe... All I can say is "WOW". Good job, Gene.

As I write this review, I have left the final six pages unread, because I do not want my journey with Sir Able and his wide-ranging assortment of companions to end. Not yet.

I am thoroughly and completely enchanted by Wolfe's version of Faerie and Arthurian/Norse legend. Wolfe pays homage to a wide range of classical influences, including Edmund Spenser, Lord Dunsany, and T.S. Eliot. Because Able is such an unreliable narrator, and (as he insists) just a boy in a man's body, it's easy to miss how deeply his worlds turns in on themselves, and the significance of several events is not at first apparent. That makes this a demanding work, because few things are as they seem on the surface. While not as obscure as *Castleview*, this is a deep novel, best read in a reflective mood and not as a page-turner. Like many of Wolfe's books, the journey seems to be the real point, not the destination that ultimately appears on the last page.

Superficially, these two books resemble sword'n'sorcery or hack'n'slash that you might find from lesser writers; but the deceptive, dream-like flow of Wolfe's elegant prose and his refusal to put characters into simple boxes of good and evil separate Wolfe from the pack.

If you are new to Wolfe, I would first recommend the "Book of the New Sun" series or *A Devil in the Forest*. Once you are familiar with Wolfe, my bet is that you'll appreciate this book on many levels.

This series has earned the many glowing reviews from other accomplished fantasy authors. I believe it is a true masterpiece from a genuine master.

The Wizard, the concluding volume to Gene Wolfe's latest two-book series begun in The Knight, comes with impressive credentials - praise from the likes of Neil Gaiman, Patrick O'Leary and Steven Brust. The book jacket boasts that these works will be favorably compared to Tolkien, E.R. Eddison, Mervyn Peake and T.H. White. Yet I found both books, while well conceived, to be poorly executed, neither coming close to what I've come to expect from Gene Wolfe, the most widely praised writer of science fiction and fantasy and winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and twice each the Nebula and the World Fantasy Awards, among others.

In The Knight, a youth from America discovers himself in a magical realm made up of seven levels of reality. Suddenly transformed into a grown man of heroic size (yet still a boy inside), Able, as he calls himself, sets out to find a promised sword that will enable him to become a knight and, eventually, win the damsel of his desire, Disiri, who resides in another realm. If this sounds like a host of other swords and sorcery, boy sets out on a quest for a magic talisman trilogies, hold your horses. To his credit Wolfe manages to break new ground in a tired genre, creating a realm, or seven realms, of dragons, Aelf, giants, gods, unicorns and a talking dog and cat.

Yet setting alone can't carry a tale if the characters fall flat, and this is where Wolfe's story comes up short. Sir Able simply fails to sufficiently engage the reader enough to care about his plight. His quest is a simple one: earn enough honor so that he may be allowed to be with his fair damsel. Yet this reader kept searching for something more than this Dungeons and Dragons approach to a storyline, as Wolfe is noted for the subtle nuances in his tales. Although honor and courage also play roles in Wolfe's story of romance, it is perhaps Manni, the talking cat, who has the most poignant dialogue throughout the first two-thirds of The Wizard, including: "Magic and art have a great deal in common." Unfortunately the magic and the art that I've come to expect from Wolfe seemed sparse in The Wizard and its predecessor.

The second book especially seemed rushed into publication, or Tor (the publisher) couldn't spare an editor, leaving a host of annoying typos, and so the reader is left questioning the validity of the aforementioned praise. If these two books had been my introduction to Wolfe, I probably never again would invest my time in another of his books, which would be a great loss, as Gene Wolfe is a writer and a storyteller of unquestionable talent.

My recommendation is Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series.

I waited a while to post on this book, because I wanted to read it again before I formed a solid opinion. I have championed Wolfe's other series to no end, and I just wanted to leave a few comments that might help readers other readers here.

The first time you read a Wolfe book, you expect that certain things you want to happen actually will. There was so much buildup to Skai in the Knight that you wanted Able to spend his time there and hear about the awesome gods. Then the Wizard seems to go off on a long tangent about Gilling and Idnn, and it wasn't what you were expecting. Then you go back to The Knight, and realize this is exactly how the story had to develop. Because the gods that are chronicled are not from Skai, but from Mythgarthr.

The aelf want to be better, so they implore the king of their gods to make the world better, and send a champion messenger, Able. The entire quest is not about ascending to Skai, but in getting Arthnor's attention enough to convince him to change, so that the artificial people of Aelfrice can themselves change for the better.

Where is the real Able? This seemed to be a big loose end to me. It turns out that when Arthur Ornsby went wandering away into the forrest at the beginning of The Knight, he cut a piece of spiny orange tree that had been planted by the original Able. Perhaps this triggered their big switch.

Other nice touches: the ghost of Ravd appears to Toug watching over Svon, but is only listed as a golden knight with a lion's crest. The earl marshal, when he visits Aelfrice, splits in two, leaving one version of himself sitting there. Perhaps the same thing has happened to Able? It seems almost certain that Garvaon slayed Gilling for his love of Idnn.

In any case, the book is much better the second time through. You realize that the big disappointments of the two books (in book one, Able won't use a sword and act like a knight, in book two, Able won't use his magic and act like a wizard) are intentional and important. While Able is both knight and wizard, his honor and his message of setting a good example is more important than weilding a sword or exercising his magic.

The Wizard succeeds on several levels but fails on others. First, from the most immediate perspective the writing is excellent and many of the passages are outstanding. As well, from an overall perspective, Wolfe creates a challenging puzzle for the reader. It is the in between that is lacking. Whereas the Knigt had a somewhat linear plot progression, The Wizard moves in stumbles and spurts, sometimes standing still for a hundred pages only to seemingly skip a whole narrative in one. It would be tempting to attribute this to some motivation of the narrator's rather than Wolfe's but such a motivation does not appear to be present. Still, I find myself thinking about this story and its hidden meanings after having read several other books in the meantime. Its imperfect but it is a worthwhile read.

This is a good page turner of a novel. To tell you how good, I more or less read it every chance I got, for seven days in a row. It raised jealousy issues with my wife.

I will still criticize Wolfe for not making it as good as it could have been, however. I want to present a partial list of plot points where Wolfe went lazy, just so he knows someone is paying attention:

** SPOILERS AHEAD **

* Baki conned (if you will) Toug into swearing to help defeat Garsecg, which could have developed into an epic fight between Baki and Uri. Instead, Baki and Uri remained what they had always been, convenient devices to advance the story.

* Thiazi was initially presented as a powerful, evil man. He continued to be described as evil; however, his actions were merely bad, or indifferent. This is true of the Angrborn in general. As with Bold Berthold in the first novel, the descriptions of the these characters outweighed their actions.

* Disiri's announcement via Able. Interesting, yet anticlimactic, and not well developed.

* Arnthor. As he often does, Wolfe paints a fascinating picture of a bureaucrat. Unfortunately, the bureaucrat is the Earl Marshall. The King is barely sketched in. Nothing particularly interesting develops between him and Able. Although he is credited with great powers, they don't seem to help him in the war.

* Able's second imprisonment. Yawn. Pointless.

* The trip to the most low god. Pure pulp. Low grade Moorcock.

* The final battle. There is a whole book's worth of action here. Why present it, only to race through it?

I could go on; but as I said, I only wanted to give a partial list. I would still say that this book is quite an improvement over The Knight. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has made it this far in Wolfe's career. I cannot give it five stars because it does not measure up to his best.