tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post6155115611481731685..comments2024-03-26T17:54:54.592+01:00Comments on Speculiction...: Review of "The Wizard Knight" by Gene WolfeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-51623518608761976572023-01-17T21:52:12.484+01:002023-01-17T21:52:12.484+01:00You're probably right. I don't know enoug...You're probably right. I don't know enough about either to say definitively.Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-31888908090484638282023-01-17T21:51:47.174+01:002023-01-17T21:51:47.174+01:00Better late than never... I have no idea how I mis...Better late than never... I have no idea how I missed this comment, but I did. Apologies.<br /><br />This book, along with The Book of the New Sun, are those rare works of epic fantasy which are able to distill their epicness into the personal, and for me there is no greater lesson in life than a person taking responsibility for themselves, their actions, their decisions, and their role in family and society. Wolfe hits this nail on the head from two strong angles. One is the personal manner in which Able develops as a person (the classic bildungsroman) to becoming responsible for himself, and the other is the manner in which Able becomes an example to others - how to be responsible and inspire others around you to do likewise. The manner in which Wolfe overlays these two aspects on top of a story involving knights, dragons, death, gods, the afterlife, and beyond is utterly fascinating. <br /><br />So I guess the short answer is the perennial nature of the book's substance, along with the fact I couldn't find any flaws with Wolfe's structure, prose, dialogue - anything. There are likely many readers who bounce off the pace or lack of drama (a la George R.R. Martin), but Wolfe never set out to write such an epic - despite the motif. Perhaps I stretch too far, but this is a book that could be read as the Baghavadvita five thousand years from now (i.e. extracted and distanced from its social context and read in isolation as we do such texts today).Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-21655301594456740932023-01-17T02:02:29.569+01:002023-01-17T02:02:29.569+01:00In addition to the Norse mythology, there seems to...In addition to the Norse mythology, there seems to be a bunch of Hindu mythology in there as well. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-47547963930432814012018-11-10T01:19:22.741+01:002018-11-10T01:19:22.741+01:00I am a big fan of your reviews and find you have v...I am a big fan of your reviews and find you have very similiar tastes to myself (I can enjoy reading something literary like the ulysses to intelligent fantasy such as the prince of nothing series)I can see you have given this a rare 5 stars rating but what makes it so special? Could you expand on this slightly? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15923441795656036227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-63934076969830706182012-10-03T18:06:44.891+02:002012-10-03T18:06:44.891+02:00Thanks for not taking my reply too seriously; I re...Thanks for not taking my reply too seriously; I realized after I posted how combative it sounds. <br /><br />Regarding the recommendations, I have not read Meynard's Book of Knights, I was just quoting Wolfe's acknowledgments in The Wizard Knight. But I have read Le Guin's Earthsea and Vance's Lyonesse, take the latter with the grain of salt I offered in the last paragraph. :)Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-21766887010568701222012-09-25T04:44:55.783+02:002012-09-25T04:44:55.783+02:00I see. I misunderstood your original point, then....I see. I misunderstood your original point, then. I myself am not a particular Gaiman fan, and largely ignore what he has to say about books or writing. I also don't read widely enough to know how often his endorsement is requested!<br /><br />I am also a big enough Wolfe fan that what someone else has to say about his work has no effect whatsoever on whether or not I'll read it - just the order in which I'll get to it, and maybe how many times I'll reread it!<br /><br />I will try to check out your recommendations in this article as well; I'm not familiar with them. Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-72814978300586706962012-09-19T09:13:38.149+02:002012-09-19T09:13:38.149+02:00And there is also this proof:
http://www.locusmag...And there is also this proof:<br /><br />http://www.locusmag.com/2002/Issue09/GaimanWolfe.html<br /><br />There is no doubt regarding Gaiman's respect for Wolfe. My complaint is that publisher's are asking Gaiman to produce a lot of copy these days, culminating in such blurbs as "...all the cool kids will laugh at you..." This and other efforts are wholly juvenile, and do not communicate well the tone of the book. Let's be honest, does reading such a quote turn you on or off to reading The Wizard Knight? Moreover, does it suit the book, or Wolfe's writings in general? "Decades of thought" put into that quote, well, I suppose it's possible...<br /><br />I've read Gaiman and I don't think he's the worst writer ever, nor do I doubt his esteem for Wolfe. I'm only bothered by the band-wagon rush publishers are doing to get his name on their books. Such repeated grasping only results in a dissipation of quality, ergo the weak cover copy for The Wizard Knight.<br /><br /> Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7670543499274741427.post-34450993980097153572012-09-19T05:57:07.800+02:002012-09-19T05:57:07.800+02:00Wolfe and Gaiman are very close friends, and my pe...Wolfe and Gaiman are very close friends, and my perspective is that Gaiman greatly admires Wolfe as a writer and as a person. Gaiman has probably put decades of thought into his blurbs for Wolfe's books, as they've known each other for that long.<br /><br />For example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/13/gene-wolfe-hero-neil-gaiman-sfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com