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A review by comadivine11
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
4.0
An interconnected set of 3 novellas. My rating for each of the stories is 1) 5 stars 2) 3 stars and 3) 4 stars.
I found the first novella to be the most compelling. As with most of Wolfe's stories, the reader is never 100% sure what is going on but I found this story to be the most straightforward. Deals with the character "Number 5" and his relationship with his father, brother, and aunt.
The second novella was by far the most confusing for me and least engaging. A story written by John Marsh, a minor character from novella 1. Deals with the myths of the aborigines of the sister planet. Set before the events in novella 1.
A mish-mash of journal entries from John Marsh and an investigative officer during John Marsh's imprisonment. Set after the events of novella 1. This story connects a few of the dots and clues that we learned in both of the preceding novellas but still leaves a lot of things open to interpretation. A reread at some future date would probably provide an even better understanding of this book.
I found the first novella to be the most compelling. As with most of Wolfe's stories, the reader is never 100% sure what is going on but I found this story to be the most straightforward. Deals with the character "Number 5" and his relationship with his father, brother, and aunt.
The second novella was by far the most confusing for me and least engaging. A story written by John Marsh, a minor character from novella 1. Deals with the myths of the aborigines of the sister planet. Set before the events in novella 1.
A mish-mash of journal entries from John Marsh and an investigative officer during John Marsh's imprisonment. Set after the events of novella 1. This story connects a few of the dots and clues that we learned in both of the preceding novellas but still leaves a lot of things open to interpretation. A reread at some future date would probably provide an even better understanding of this book.