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A review by barts_books
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
3.0
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.