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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amazing. Intricate. A wonderful piece of science fiction genius. Three novellas that parallel and intertwine. One of Gene Wolfe's finest works.
**2023 reread thoughts: I continue to read this at face value and miss the subtext. In that sense, the novel still works fantastically. I don’t have anything contradictory to say on how difficult it is to appreciate the intratextual without putting a significant amount of research into everything while remaining focused on the stories. I still maintain, much as I did when I first read this 16 years ago, and the subsequent rereads til now, that the prose is gorgeous and that Wolfe crafted something incomparably wonderful with these three intertwined novellas. Dizzying but not baffling, evocative and revolutionary without rhetoric or incitement, intelligent without pedantry, cynicism, or garishness, The Fifth Head of Cerberus is a masterwork of subtlety and labyrinthine structure that defines Wolfe’s oeuvre as not simply obsessive of but explicitly interested in the violences of identity, colonialism, patriarchy, and perspective. He could have never written New Sun and have gifted the literary world so much with this novel as to define him as a master. It is incredible that this is where he started (commentary on Operation Ares notwithstanding.)
It’s not gatekeeping to say that an honest opinion of this book recommends it highly except to anyone who does not enjoy reading. Fifth Head of Cerberus rewards the reader that does not want to leave the pages within the bounds of the covers. Reader beware, then: you will reread this for the rest of your life or never again.
**2023 reread thoughts: I continue to read this at face value and miss the subtext. In that sense, the novel still works fantastically. I don’t have anything contradictory to say on how difficult it is to appreciate the intratextual without putting a significant amount of research into everything while remaining focused on the stories. I still maintain, much as I did when I first read this 16 years ago, and the subsequent rereads til now, that the prose is gorgeous and that Wolfe crafted something incomparably wonderful with these three intertwined novellas. Dizzying but not baffling, evocative and revolutionary without rhetoric or incitement, intelligent without pedantry, cynicism, or garishness, The Fifth Head of Cerberus is a masterwork of subtlety and labyrinthine structure that defines Wolfe’s oeuvre as not simply obsessive of but explicitly interested in the violences of identity, colonialism, patriarchy, and perspective. He could have never written New Sun and have gifted the literary world so much with this novel as to define him as a master. It is incredible that this is where he started (commentary on Operation Ares notwithstanding.)
It’s not gatekeeping to say that an honest opinion of this book recommends it highly except to anyone who does not enjoy reading. Fifth Head of Cerberus rewards the reader that does not want to leave the pages within the bounds of the covers. Reader beware, then: you will reread this for the rest of your life or never again.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reads like if you were playing a pen and paper RPG, with a lot of mysterious and unsolved clues, some of which are never explained, and details only understood if you pay attention.
Interesting concept from most sci-fi by being so futuristic it becomes fantasy with technology appearing in the details. The first story is the most interesting, and the second was not to my taste even though it sets up the premise for the lore of aboriginals existing as shapeshifted humans across two sister planets.
Motifs of whores and slavery were dark yet realistic and fascinating as I have not seen them portrayed in this kind of scifi-fantasy setting.
Interesting concept from most sci-fi by being so futuristic it becomes fantasy with technology appearing in the details. The first story is the most interesting, and the second was not to my taste even though it sets up the premise for the lore of aboriginals existing as shapeshifted humans across two sister planets.
Motifs of whores and slavery were dark yet realistic and fascinating as I have not seen them portrayed in this kind of scifi-fantasy setting.