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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a perfect short introduction for those people who want to 'dip their toes' in Gene Wolfe's writing style before jumping into The Book of the New Sun...I recommend reading this once and then spending some time on the internet to learn what you missed so you can understand how he writes before committing to the 1000 page BoTNS...even though you'll still miss plenty.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Fifth Head of Cerberus is definitely an unconventional book. What matters here is not only the story and/or characters, but also how the story is told. Therefore, if you like stories that rely on known tropes and/or story-beats, and linear storytelling... this is not for you.
I read the SF Masterworks edition, and it has three "chapters" and each is a novelette. Thus, there are three distinct stories, all set in the same world (the colony planet of Saint Anne), but each novelette has its individual arcs. Now, the oddity is the interplay between those stories, between how the characters connect, but also what you, as a reader, need to actively do to finish the connection between those stories.
Let me elaborate.
The first novelette is the homonym to the book, "The Fifth Head of Cerberus"; do not expect Greek mythology because there is nothing of that here. This story is narrated in first-person past, and is a framed narrative; it is narrated by Number Five, who is writing the story of his twisted childhood, where his father subjected him to some experiments. These experiments caused Number Five to have some memory issues (and he has also been through a lot, plot-wise), so this is an incredibly biased narrator.
That story is set in the world of Saint Anne, who was colonised by off-worlders. These people drove the anesse (the aboriginals) out and it's assumed they are extinguished... but there was a twist here—that the anesse were (tree- ?) shapeshifters. Five's aunt is a historian (anthropologist?) who was a theory about their disappearance. This theory is Veil's Hypothesis, which states that all the residents have been replaced by the aboriginal shapeshifters.
However, everything regarding the anesse is, within the first story, an anecdote—part of the worldbuilding, and that's it. The plot of that first novelette is around Number Five, what his father is doing, and minor oddities of the colony. When that novella concludes, Five's story arc is somewhat closed.
The second novelette is written by a tertiary character in the first novelette, an anthropologist we meet briefly when he goes to visit Five's aunt. This is a recount of a myth (or legend? or story?) about one anesse, Sandwalker—and it's bizarre. This is a recount, so it cannot be taken literally. Things are explained in a mythical way, with a mysticism that speaks of ancient legends rather than actual facts. We meet strange creatures like the shadowchildren, and a world that is very strange. Often, I found myself re-reading and pondering simply because of that added layer of myth.
As a reader, this second novelette felt similar to Space Odyssey, when it is narrating Moonwatcher's story... except that Clarke was far more explicit, and Wolfe was being Wolfe—namely, writing a heavily biased narrator.
The third novelette is about a police officer going through a disorderly array of documents accounting for the whereabouts of the anthropologist (who wrote novelette #2, and who met with the aunt in #1). The visible story here is what the police officer attempts to uncover while scavenging through documents that are not classified and certainly not sorted out. In this story the focus is, somehow, what happened to the anthropologist.
The overarching line, however, is what happened to the anesse. The police officer often remembers the aunt's theory (Veil's Hypothesis), because the box of documents has both accounts of the anthropologist, but also fragments of his research... so everything intertwines. Because the anthropologist met with Number Five, there was also some information there.
So, why does the reader need to finish the plot? It is up to you to piece the information scattered between the three novelettes, discard whatever you think was biased, subjective, or not real, and determine whether Veil's Hypothesis was right or wrong. There are details but, in pure Wolfe's style, they are misleading, contradictory, and sourced from in-book material that is also untrustworthy.
I particularly found it very engaging because it was a way of engaging the reader in a story beyond reading. It requires a reader to actively think of the plot, and piece parts together, what in turn generates a different form of engagement. By all means, this is not a traditional book and, most likely, if you are a reader who describes themselves as "character-driven", this is not for you.
That said, if you are up for a rollercoaster of confusion, theorising, and staring at the wall while trying to understand—this is for you. Are you looking for a groundbreaking, different book that will help you experience reading differently? Go for it. Do you want something unique and/or ideal to discuss with others? Also perfect. Finally, if you never read Gene Wolfe before, do not start here.
I particularly loved The Fifth Head of Cerberus (the three novellas), came to a bunch of theories about the anesse, and tabbed the entire book. But then again, tastes are different and I'm a novelty-driven reader.
I read the SF Masterworks edition, and it has three "chapters" and each is a novelette. Thus, there are three distinct stories, all set in the same world (the colony planet of Saint Anne), but each novelette has its individual arcs. Now, the oddity is the interplay between those stories, between how the characters connect, but also what you, as a reader, need to actively do to finish the connection between those stories.
Let me elaborate.
The first novelette is the homonym to the book, "The Fifth Head of Cerberus"; do not expect Greek mythology because there is nothing of that here. This story is narrated in first-person past, and is a framed narrative; it is narrated by Number Five, who is writing the story of his twisted childhood, where his father subjected him to some experiments. These experiments caused Number Five to have some memory issues (and he has also been through a lot, plot-wise), so this is an incredibly biased narrator.
That story is set in the world of Saint Anne, who was colonised by off-worlders. These people drove the anesse (the aboriginals) out and it's assumed they are extinguished... but there was a twist here—that the anesse were (tree- ?) shapeshifters. Five's aunt is a historian (anthropologist?) who was a theory about their disappearance. This theory is Veil's Hypothesis, which states that all the residents have been replaced by the aboriginal shapeshifters.
However, everything regarding the anesse is, within the first story, an anecdote—part of the worldbuilding, and that's it. The plot of that first novelette is around Number Five, what his father is doing, and minor oddities of the colony. When that novella concludes, Five's story arc is somewhat closed.
The second novelette is written by a tertiary character in the first novelette, an anthropologist we meet briefly when he goes to visit Five's aunt. This is a recount of a myth (or legend? or story?) about one anesse, Sandwalker—and it's bizarre. This is a recount, so it cannot be taken literally. Things are explained in a mythical way, with a mysticism that speaks of ancient legends rather than actual facts. We meet strange creatures like the shadowchildren, and a world that is very strange. Often, I found myself re-reading and pondering simply because of that added layer of myth.
As a reader, this second novelette felt similar to Space Odyssey, when it is narrating Moonwatcher's story... except that Clarke was far more explicit, and Wolfe was being Wolfe—namely, writing a heavily biased narrator.
The third novelette is about a police officer going through a disorderly array of documents accounting for the whereabouts of the anthropologist (who wrote novelette #2, and who met with the aunt in #1). The visible story here is what the police officer attempts to uncover while scavenging through documents that are not classified and certainly not sorted out. In this story the focus is, somehow, what happened to the anthropologist.
The overarching line, however, is what happened to the anesse. The police officer often remembers the aunt's theory (Veil's Hypothesis), because the box of documents has both accounts of the anthropologist, but also fragments of his research... so everything intertwines. Because the anthropologist met with Number Five, there was also some information there.
So, why does the reader need to finish the plot? It is up to you to piece the information scattered between the three novelettes, discard whatever you think was biased, subjective, or not real, and determine whether Veil's Hypothesis was right or wrong. There are details but, in pure Wolfe's style, they are misleading, contradictory, and sourced from in-book material that is also untrustworthy.
I particularly found it very engaging because it was a way of engaging the reader in a story beyond reading. It requires a reader to actively think of the plot, and piece parts together, what in turn generates a different form of engagement. By all means, this is not a traditional book and, most likely, if you are a reader who describes themselves as "character-driven", this is not for you.
That said, if you are up for a rollercoaster of confusion, theorising, and staring at the wall while trying to understand—this is for you. Are you looking for a groundbreaking, different book that will help you experience reading differently? Go for it. Do you want something unique and/or ideal to discuss with others? Also perfect. Finally, if you never read Gene Wolfe before, do not start here.
I particularly loved The Fifth Head of Cerberus (the three novellas), came to a bunch of theories about the anesse, and tabbed the entire book. But then again, tastes are different and I'm a novelty-driven reader.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
I think this book is absolutely brilliant, but I don't think I care for Wolfe's writing, which makes this difficult for me to rate. If someone whose style I liked better had written it, I might have given it 5 stars, because I do think it's fantastic.
I can't go too much into the plot, because I do think this book is best read naive.
Basically, two (twin) planets, Sainte Croix and Sainte Ann have been colonized by humans a long, long time ago. There are mysterious aborigines that may or may not have existed (on Ste Ann). If they did, they were not human but could shape-shift to look and act like humans.
The book is composed of three stories that pull elements of this twin system, the societies of both planets, questionable aborigines and anthropological study together in interesting ways. There are interesting themes delved into - nature vs nurture (inheritability of traits), evolutionary theories, post colonialism, etc.
It's good. It's very interesting. I just don't think I'm a fan of Wolfe's style.
I can't go too much into the plot, because I do think this book is best read naive.
Basically, two (twin) planets, Sainte Croix and Sainte Ann have been colonized by humans a long, long time ago. There are mysterious aborigines that may or may not have existed (on Ste Ann). If they did, they were not human but could shape-shift to look and act like humans.
The book is composed of three stories that pull elements of this twin system, the societies of both planets, questionable aborigines and anthropological study together in interesting ways. There are interesting themes delved into - nature vs nurture (inheritability of traits), evolutionary theories, post colonialism, etc.
It's good. It's very interesting. I just don't think I'm a fan of Wolfe's style.
Three linked novellas about cyclic conquest and colonization. From the setting itself - the twin worlds of Saint-Croix and Sainte-Anne (endlessly circling each other) - to the layers of castes and inhabitants - first the native(?) Annese, half-legendary and maybe-probably extinct, then French human colonists, then non-French human colonists. The title novella, first in the triptych, is about the tyranny of generations. The second is literally "A Story," possibly of Annese provenance, but one of those only written down after the conquest, so the influence of the conqueror is obscure but there. The third is a twisted Kafkaesque mystery, starting from the never-explained initials of the title (we know they're the initials of a character, whose nature and place in the story is even more mysterious) and running right through the multiple overlapping narratives.
In other words, Wolfe is one hell of a writer. I think now that he is probably better at novella length or longer (odd for an sf writer!) even though some of the stories in "The Death of Doctor Island and Other Stories and Other Stories" were quite good and I really couldn't get into his later novel "Home Fires." This might be a bit twisty for a first read, definitely for a first excursion into sf.
In other words, Wolfe is one hell of a writer. I think now that he is probably better at novella length or longer (odd for an sf writer!) even though some of the stories in "The Death of Doctor Island and Other Stories and Other Stories" were quite good and I really couldn't get into his later novel "Home Fires." This might be a bit twisty for a first read, definitely for a first excursion into sf.
I struggled with how to rate this collection of three connected novellas. The title story is 5 star, or better, so I would encourage people to read it but the other two stories fall short
I wanted to try this because I've heard so many good things about Wolfe's Book of The New Sun series. That's a four book committment though and famously known as being written in an inaccessible style. So I thought I'd give this standalone a go to see if I can dig Wolfe's work.
I can now see what they mean about his storytelling. It's subtle to say the least. I will only touch loosely on the plot. This is 3 separate short novellas about the same alien worlds. The first and third are fairly conventional, at face value, science fiction tales. The middle is more fantastical, dream like and very obscure. By the time you get to the end the conclusion will likely leave you scrambling around to try and tie all the threads into a coherent linear plot. This is I can tell you is challenging.
However, to his credit Wolfe's prose is brilliant. Lyrical but not overbearing, there is an easy flow to it as the pages whizz by. I do prefer a central plot to be a little more accessible though so I can't really give this more than 3 stars.
To help decipher the book there is a total spoiler rider introduction in the SF Masterwork edition that should really be an after forward. Goes without saying, do not read this before the novel.
As to the Book of the New Sun. I'm going to add it to my TBR and give it a try in the future.
I can now see what they mean about his storytelling. It's subtle to say the least. I will only touch loosely on the plot. This is 3 separate short novellas about the same alien worlds. The first and third are fairly conventional, at face value, science fiction tales. The middle is more fantastical, dream like and very obscure. By the time you get to the end the conclusion will likely leave you scrambling around to try and tie all the threads into a coherent linear plot. This is I can tell you is challenging.
However, to his credit Wolfe's prose is brilliant. Lyrical but not overbearing, there is an easy flow to it as the pages whizz by. I do prefer a central plot to be a little more accessible though so I can't really give this more than 3 stars.
To help decipher the book there is a total spoiler rider introduction in the SF Masterwork edition that should really be an after forward. Goes without saying, do not read this before the novel.
As to the Book of the New Sun. I'm going to add it to my TBR and give it a try in the future.