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A review by katiecatbooks
Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe
2.0
Slow. Long. Mystifying.
Story: So this story is about Latro, a Greek soldier who was injured in battle and has only about a 12 hour short-term memory. Everyday he writes in a scroll so the next day he can look back and read what he needs to know. While this is a great premise, it doesn't work in this case. Each chapter begins at the point Latro chooses to explain, and like Latro, the reader is left with large missing chunks and the story is just too disjointed.
Language: Each chapter generally follows a C A B order, where Latro tells his current situation, goes back to explain how it all started, and fills in details of what happened in between. This gets very old as many chapters are filled with the running gag of meeting new people and strangers being given a show of Latro's memory. While Latro travels far and wide, descriptions of setting are lacking, so a desert has as much substance as a boat.
Characters: Latro is simple minded. I don't know about you, but if I woke up everyday not remembering anything, I would be a bit startled and shocked. Latro however takes everything in stride, fa-de-da style. Conveniently, he has two sidekicks that are able to give him stability, one of which acts as his seeing-eye dog and explains the world to him. Latro is extremely trusting and follows everything this character says as true. This reader is skeptical.
I struggled through it , and I'd like to try to read the next book, but this alternate history fantasy did not impress.
Story: So this story is about Latro, a Greek soldier who was injured in battle and has only about a 12 hour short-term memory. Everyday he writes in a scroll so the next day he can look back and read what he needs to know. While this is a great premise, it doesn't work in this case. Each chapter begins at the point Latro chooses to explain, and like Latro, the reader is left with large missing chunks and the story is just too disjointed.
Language: Each chapter generally follows a C A B order, where Latro tells his current situation, goes back to explain how it all started, and fills in details of what happened in between. This gets very old as many chapters are filled with the running gag of meeting new people and strangers being given a show of Latro's memory. While Latro travels far and wide, descriptions of setting are lacking, so a desert has as much substance as a boat.
Characters: Latro is simple minded. I don't know about you, but if I woke up everyday not remembering anything, I would be a bit startled and shocked. Latro however takes everything in stride, fa-de-da style. Conveniently, he has two sidekicks that are able to give him stability, one of which acts as his seeing-eye dog and explains the world to him. Latro is extremely trusting and follows everything this character says as true. This reader is skeptical.
I struggled through it , and I'd like to try to read the next book, but this alternate history fantasy did not impress.