The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: metal man, teaching cyborg, scarred young man, Little Tib, Lame Hans, Professor Baumeister (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Thirty-one stories by the most distinguished creator of literary sf makes for a pretty indispensable volume. Of course, “The Fifth Head of Cerberus” and “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories”—recognized as classics for many years now—are here. So are such objects of amused contemplation (on account of their titles) well before they are read (and as amusedly enjoyed) as “The Hero as Werewolf,” “The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton” (steampunk with more than one difference), “Seven American Nights” (an account of archaeology of the future), and “Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?” written in homage to the witty Catholic sf (and historical) novelist R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002). Each of those and the rest of these stories characteristically begin at a point from which Wolfe diverges in a number of different directions—with just how many depending, surprisingly enough, on the particular reader. By the time one has, preferably slowly, digested Wolfe’s creativity, one could be humming Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Things Are Seldom What They Seem” and rejoicingly remarking, “with Wolfe, too.” --Roland Green

Review

Praise for Gene Wolfe:

"If any writer from within genre fiction ever merited the designation Great Author, it is surely Wolfe…[who] reads like Dickens, Proust, Kipling, Chesterton, Borges, and Nabokov rolled into one.”
--The Washington Post Book World

“One of the literary giants of science fiction.”
--The Denver Post

“Gene Wolfe is as good a writer as there is today…. I feel a little bit like a musical contemporary attempting to tell people what’s good about Mozart.”
--The Chicago Sun Times

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (March 17, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0765321351 ISBN-13: 978-0765321350 Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #7 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wolfe, Gene #70 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Short Stories

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
metal man, teaching cyborg, scarred young man, steaming lands, copper man, inn parlor

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Little Tib, Lame Hans, Professor Baumeister, Herr Heitzmann, Father Eddi, Miss Fawn, Clothes Man, Santa Claus, Sainte Anne, Number Five, Mary Rose, General Virdon, White Cow Moon, Knecht Rupprecht, Model Pattern Products, Beech Hill, Aunt May, Christmas Rose, Randolph Carter, Sugar Land, Aunt Julie, Silent City, Corporal Charlie, Captain Ransom, Ali Baba

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 9 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Place to Begin or to End Up., March 29, 2009 By  Dmitry Portnoy (Studio City, CA United States) - See all my reviews Some of the best, and best known, works of science fiction are neither novels nor short stories, but something in between: just long enough to fully explore an idea, yet short enough to focus on a single set of events. "The Time Machine," "Who Goes There," (a.k.a. "The Thing,") and "Flowers for Algernon," (a.k.a "Charly") are three examples of the genre adopted into movies. Others were expanded into novels or even series by their original authors: for example, Theodore Sturgeon's turning "Jefty Is Five" into "More Than Human," Isaac Asimov's linking a series of novellas into "The Foundation Trilogy," and Orson Scott Card's stretching "Ender's Game" into a cottage industry that would be the envy of Pere Dumas. I would guess more than half the science fiction novels ever published started out as something shorter (and often better.) As far as I know, Gene Wolfe himself has done this twice: turning the bleak and brilliant "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" into a single-volume "trilogy" of interlocking mysteries, and expanding an unpublished (possibly untitled) novella into his unprecedented and unsurpassed four-volume masterpiece "The Book of the New Sun." In this, he has shown remarkable restraint. Pretty much unanimously acknowledged as the master of the novella form, Wolfe could have filled ten acclaimed careers simply expanding into novel-length the short fiction collected in this book. "The Eyeflash Miracles" could easily have been a novel, "The Cabin on the Coast" a fantasy-adventure trilogy, "Seven American Nights," what else, a seven book post-apocalyptic epic, "Forlesen," the lifetime output of a couple authors I could name. But no, they are what they are. "The Best of Gene Wolfe" is a book of books within books, a book of seeds each of which sprouts into a sequoia, but not on the page, in your head. It saves trees by blowing minds, I guess, making this collection both a boundlessly generous feast and an exquisitely torturous tease. Is it "The Best of Gene Wolfe?" No, the best of Gene Wolfe is still his twelve-novel (untitled) sequence of "Sun" books. ("New," "Long," and "Short," in case you don't know.) But "The Best of Gene Wolfe" is the best of the best. A paradox? Why not. It's a great place to start reading him. Or a great place to finish--then start over. 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly good short story collection, June 29, 2009 By  Stefan Raets "Stefan" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This was officially the best science fiction short story collection I've ever read, even beating out my previous favorite, Tangents by Greg Bear. This book is precisely why I stopped giving 5 stars to every book I like: because that would make it impossible to express the level of admiration I feel for the truly special books, the ones that you know you'll read and re-read and recommend to everyone. If you only read one SF short story collection this year, make it this one. 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its name, July 27, 2009 By  Jay "SarahsJay" (Douglasville, GA, USA) - See all my reviews Word for word, Gene Wolfe is almost certainly the finest stylist currently active in the English language. This book demonstrates that amply. The stories here range from just a few pages to short novella length. Some have splashes of humor while others are dark and bleak throughout. What they all share though is Wolfe's unflagging imagination and ability to absorb his readers into the universe he creates for his stories, however fleeting the time the reader may spend in that universe ultimately may be. Among writers, Wolfe is an anomaly for his refusal to tell stories in a linear path, and this only adds to the awe and sense of wonder of his work, both as in this volume, in his short work and in his novel-length fiction. It's hard for me to pick a story I would consider to be my favorite or the best in the book. I would probably count Seven American Nights as the most reflective of what to expect among those included herein though. Others of note are the Island/Doctor/Death stories, Petting Zoo (probably the most elegiac of the tales), The Fifth Head of Cerberus (which will slingshot the reader directly into Wolfe's first successful long work), and The Hero as Werwolf (which goes off in a direction I was pleasantly surprised to never see coming). Overall, this is clearly the strongest representation possible of Wolfe's short fiction, but I hope it will serve only as a springboard for readers new to Wolfe into his other work. Although his work is intentionally difficult--as anyone who reads this will have to acknowledge--it is both thoughtful and rewarding, and I hope this will help catapult Wolfe into a more commercially viable place among modern-day authors. Ultimately the best thing about Wolfe's work is this: As with Edgar Rice Burroughs, another great storyteller of the last century, Wolfe's best work is so powerful because he himself is in everything he writes. To those fortunate enough to come across this book and read it in the future, I can say only one more thing: You will be far from disappointed.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Some of Gene Wolfe's best short fiction What can there be not to like about a Gene Wolfe Retrospective? Mr. Wolfe has included his personal favorites, with brief comments following each story, some of which shed light... Read more Published 4 months ago by D. Richman 5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories -- but pricey for an electonic edition I've read many of these brilliant stories in other venues, so have no doubt it is a worthy book. At the moment the electronic edition is priced at over $15, which seems quite... Read more Published 5 months ago by Mike 5.0 out of 5 stars Writing Retrospective Showcases Unique Literary Talent In this retrospective of Wolfe's short fiction, the author himself chooses the works that he considers to be his finest ever. Read more Published 7 months ago by Sacramento Book Review 5.0 out of 5 stars superb anthology This superb anthology lets the 31 tales sell the talent of the author to science fiction and fantasy readers; as the compilation jumps right into the stories. Read more Published 8 months ago by Harriet Klausner Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1 edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765321351
• ISBN-13: 978-0765321350
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wolfe, Gene
  #70 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Short Stories

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Place to Begin or to End Up., March 29, 2009

By	Dmitry Portnoy (Studio City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Some of the best, and best known, works of science fiction are neither novels nor short stories, but something in between: just long enough to fully explore an idea, yet short enough to focus on a single set of events. "The Time Machine," "Who Goes There," (a.k.a. "The Thing,") and "Flowers for Algernon," (a.k.a "Charly") are three examples of the genre adopted into movies. Others were expanded into novels or even series by their original authors: for example, Theodore Sturgeon's turning "Jefty Is Five" into "More Than Human," Isaac Asimov's linking a series of novellas into "The Foundation Trilogy," and Orson Scott Card's stretching "Ender's Game" into a cottage industry that would be the envy of Pere Dumas. I would guess more than half the science fiction novels ever published started out as something shorter (and often better.)

As far as I know, Gene Wolfe himself has done this twice: turning the bleak and brilliant "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" into a single-volume "trilogy" of interlocking mysteries, and expanding an unpublished (possibly untitled) novella into his unprecedented and unsurpassed four-volume masterpiece "The Book of the New Sun." In this, he has shown remarkable restraint. Pretty much unanimously acknowledged as the master of the novella form, Wolfe could have filled ten acclaimed careers simply expanding into novel-length the short fiction collected in this book. "The Eyeflash Miracles" could easily have been a novel, "The Cabin on the Coast" a fantasy-adventure trilogy, "Seven American Nights," what else, a seven book post-apocalyptic epic, "Forlesen," the lifetime output of a couple authors I could name.

But no, they are what they are. "The Best of Gene Wolfe" is a book of books within books, a book of seeds each of which sprouts into a sequoia, but not on the page, in your head. It saves trees by blowing minds, I guess, making this collection both a boundlessly generous feast and an exquisitely torturous tease.

Is it "The Best of Gene Wolfe?" No, the best of Gene Wolfe is still his twelve-novel (untitled) sequence of "Sun" books. ("New," "Long," and "Short," in case you don't know.) But "The Best of Gene Wolfe" is the best of the best. A paradox? Why not. It's a great place to start reading him. Or a great place to finish--then start over.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunningly good short story collection, June 29, 2009

By	Stefan Raets "Stefan" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was officially the best science fiction short story collection I've ever read, even beating out my previous favorite, Tangents by Greg Bear. This book is precisely why I stopped giving 5 stars to every book I like: because that would make it impossible to express the level of admiration I feel for the truly special books, the ones that you know you'll read and re-read and recommend to everyone. If you only read one SF short story collection this year, make it this one.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its name, July 27, 2009

By	Jay "SarahsJay" (Douglasville, GA, USA) - See all my reviews

Word for word, Gene Wolfe is almost certainly the finest stylist currently active in the English language. This book demonstrates that amply. The stories here range from just a few pages to short novella length. Some have splashes of humor while others are dark and bleak throughout. What they all share though is Wolfe's unflagging imagination and ability to absorb his readers into the universe he creates for his stories, however fleeting the time the reader may spend in that universe ultimately may be. Among writers, Wolfe is an anomaly for his refusal to tell stories in a linear path, and this only adds to the awe and sense of wonder of his work, both as in this volume, in his short work and in his novel-length fiction. It's hard for me to pick a story I would consider to be my favorite or the best in the book. I would probably count Seven American Nights as the most reflective of what to expect among those included herein though. Others of note are the Island/Doctor/Death stories, Petting Zoo (probably the most elegiac of the tales), The Fifth Head of Cerberus (which will slingshot the reader directly into Wolfe's first successful long work), and The Hero as Werwolf (which goes off in a direction I was pleasantly surprised to never see coming). Overall, this is clearly the strongest representation possible of Wolfe's short fiction, but I hope it will serve only as a springboard for readers new to Wolfe into his other work. Although his work is intentionally difficult--as anyone who reads this will have to acknowledge--it is both thoughtful and rewarding, and I hope this will help catapult Wolfe into a more commercially viable place among modern-day authors. Ultimately the best thing about Wolfe's work is this: As with Edgar Rice Burroughs, another great storyteller of the last century, Wolfe's best work is so powerful because he himself is in everything he writes. To those fortunate enough to come across this book and read it in the future, I can say only one more thing: You will be far from disappointed.