Product Description
From Stargate and Droid to Zero Gravity and Force Field, this historical dictionary is filled with fun and fascinating entries on all things science fiction. It's a unique window into the entire genre, through the words invented and passed along by science fictions most talented writers, critics, and fans.

Each entry includes numerous citations of the words usage, from the earliest known appearance forward. Drawn not only from science fiction novels and short stories, citations are also taken from mainstream publications, fanzines, screenplays, newspapers, comics, songs, and the Internet. This historical look at the language of science fiction shows how many of the words we consider everyday vocabulary, including spacesuit (1929), blast off (1937), and robot (1920), have roots in imaginative literature rather than hard science. In fact, science fiction has created a wealth of language later adopted by the sciences and popular culture. Also, it is often surprising how old some of these terms are. Death Ray, for instance, dates to 1915, and Science Fiction itself has been in use since 1851.

Winner of a 2008 Hugo Award,Brave New Words represents the shared language of the entire genre, including the vocabulary of science fiction criticism and science fiction fans. Not only a useful reference, an informative history, and an entertaining browse, this book is also a document of the enduring legacy of science fiction. It is a must-have for every science fiction writer or fan, whether actifan, passifan, faan, or just a plain old Earther. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Interesting, but could be a LOT better
I have to echo a previous reviewer's comments about typographical and grammatical errors and the maddening lists of synonyms--just add them as additional "related words" in the main entry.

I'm also disappointed in the depth and breadth of coverage.While many of the individual entries are fine, many only cite examples from the first decade of a word or concept's use rather than including a broad spectrum of examples include some which might be recognizable to non-SF fans / family who want to understand what in the heck their SF-fan relative is raving about. Is it really necessary to have 8 examples of a concept's use from publications in 1920s and 1930s, when it has been better used in stories in the past decade?
The breadth of coverage is also lacking.Many important SF terms (yes, some author or story specific, but often still very important culturally) are omitted, even as specific examples within a more general entry.

I was expecting something more along the breadth of Nicholls and Clute's New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and this is not it.It is still an interesting reference, but not at the list price.

Fabulous book, a must-have reference title for sci-fi writers
This review is going to be short simply because nothing I can say could be as helpful in your decision-making as Gene Wolfe's very excellent introduction. I'll give you a minute to read it.

. . .

See? Wasn't kidding was I? Very well done.

Anyway, if you want the opinion of this unpublished non-science ficiton writer, I think that if you're interested in science fiction and if you're interested in language, then you ought to own this book.

This isn't like most of the Oxford Dictionaries I've seen. The definitions are scanty and the etymologies are long - but consider the subject matter. Most of the words in here are either rather common in modern parlance ("android," "spaceship") or highly idiosyncratic ("grok"), neither of which lend themselves well to wordy definitions. And, moreso than in most other subjects, the definitions of the words shift and change over time.

Also entertaining are the short essays between letters. They're entertaining and well-written, but also highly informative and on-point.

This isn't a book to sit down and read cover to cover for most people, but it's an excellent book to scan through and a helpful reference for those sci-fi words you've always wanted to know a bit more about. And, for someone like me who only participates in sci-fi fandom at the very edges, it's a handy glossary for a lot of industry terms as well.

More Novelty Item than Dictionary
I love science fiction... It is one of my favorite genres to read and view in movies and on television. I also love Oxford dictionaries because they tend to have incredibly detailed definitions along with etymology. I enthusiastically ordered this based on the other reviews, but I have to say I was disappointed.

This dictionary is very heavy on etymology and light on definition. Don't expect to get a detailed, four-part definition on anything in this book. The definitions (in my opinion) are very cursory. Most are one-to-two short sentences in length followed by numerous dated references when the term was used (in context).

It becomes apparent just by glancing at the pages that etymology was the author's focus. Even the typefaces used tend to favor the year markers more than the actual term defined. You will get equivalent definitions online at sites like http://www.merriamwebster.com, so there is no added value with this book in terms of detail or breadth of coverage.

This book is also heavy on fan/group definitions which are not of much interest to me personally.

I would suggest you find a copy in your local bookstore to preview before purchasing this dictionary. This is more a novelty/fun item than a serious dictionary of terms.

who knew?
I have been reading science fiction since I was a child, but never in an organized fashion, nor with the exclusive focus of fans or fanatics. This book, which I approached with the idea that it might be too specialized or dry, turns out to be fascinating! It reads like the best histories, with curiosities and discoveries on each page. It is a delight to learn the origins of terms, not least because it illuminates the creativity of sci-fi authors in mining their own knowledge bases for new locutions. Buy this book! You will read it more than you imagine.

Joys and Jibes:Review of "Brave New Words"
This is an impressive reference text and one that can also be read selectively both for erudition and just plain fun.Perhaps the most impressive aspect of BNW, however, is the amount of reading the author Jeff Prucher engaged in to produce the extensive citations contained with the text:a glance at either the Works Cited (281-309) or the Bibliography of SF criticism (310-342) will leave one wondering how Prucher had time for anything in his life over the past decade other than reading.

One of the primary virtues of this book is in fact the Works Cited section which could serve well as a comprehensive reading list for anyone interested in becoming acquainted with SF from its hoary beginnings to a point within a few years of the present; as well, the Bibliography of criticism is an invaluable asset for academics wishing to augment their understanding of specialized niche areas in the SF field.And certainly in regard to these ancillary appendices was, for me at least, the list of author pseudonyms (279-80):who would otherwise know how many alternative names Henry Kuttner had?

Of course the quotations illustrating the various lexical entries in the dictionary are themselves impressive by suggesting through their chronology the length of time a term has been in common use; by the variety of sources for these terms, from novels to short stories to fanzines; and by how well each quotation illustrates a slightly different shading of the meaning of a particular term.I was, however, somewhat disappointed that so few of these citations derived from the Golden Age of SF (essentially pre-1945 and back to the days of Gernsback), but that may be the result of prucher having had difficulty accessing the pulp magazines of this era.It would also have been valuable for the chronological listing of illustrative quotations to have started with the very first instance of each new coinage, although, once again, I realize that such a requirement might have added years to the R & D component of this text.I would also have liked to have seen greater inclusion of some of the newest SF terminology, say, post-2000; sure, we get a gaggle of words coined by the Cyberpunk movement (and even the Steampunks), but very little from the authors writing in the new millennium.

Less forgiveable, however, were the number of typos and (even!) grammatical errors in definitions or the expository discussion sections (I am, of course, not including the quotations in this criticism since one expects them to be reproduced as they first appeared, warts and all).One example will suffice here:"unperson: . . . someone who is treated as if they are less then human" (255).Yikes!Two errors in one small sentence.

I also found the repetition of synonyms annoying:not only do we get a section on 'time travel' but one on 'time traveler', another on 'time-traveling' (as a noun), and yet another on 'time-traveling' (as an adjective).Sure, these are all slightly different uses of the (virtually) identical term, but the overlap is considerable, and I'm not sure the distinctions are either significant or interesting.It strikes me that such, uhm, padding of the material simply gave Prucher an opportunity to cite even more of the quotations he had amassed on his note cards.Similar objections can be raised against the five pages devoted to 'earth' and all its syntactic variations, including the use of hyphens, (43-48) and the eight pages on science fiction/fantasy (170-78).

And, at risk of being slagged by SF fans, I must admit to having grown weary of the space devoted to fandom coinages; I am just not sure how valuable it is to those who might buy this book to examine at length and provide citations from fanzines and electronic media of terms only a fraction of those reading SF are aware of or care about.A few illustrative examples -- or better yet, a whole section on terms from fandom -- might have sufficed.But do I really care about the etymology of 'groggle'?Do I need four pages on the various combos of 'fan' (faan, faanish, fafia, fafiate, fakefan, fanac, faned, fanfic, fan fiction, fanmag, fanne, fanning, fannish, fannishness, fanspeak)?I think not.

However, aside from these minor objections, this is a valuable text, one that should join the library of any serious student of science fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
Think all heroes have washboard abs?Think all heroines wear Size 3 Junior Petite?Think again!Come join Gene Wolfe, Elizabeth Anne Scarborough, Jane Yolen, Jody Lynn Nye, and Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, who along with nineteen other authors, introduce you to some of the funniest, wildest, sexiest, most powerful, and normal (considering these are science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories) fat people on earth and a few other planets.Meet a pirate named "Valkyrie" and a cardsharp named "Fat Moriah". Meet a xeno-fitness instructor and an earth-mage who don't apologize for taking up space. Meet fat cats on a mission and a very different kind of vampire. Meet characters for whom "plus-size" is about body size and heart.Brought together in this first-of-its-kind collection are stories that raise the set point on adventure and redraw the picture of "the hero" along the way. Tales of power and abundance that prove that heroes and heroines come in all sizes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Unique and Exciting
"Such A Pretty Face" puts more than just a new look at an old stereotype.Editor Lee Martindale has put together an amazing collection of size-positive short stories to celebrate a new era of heroes.With contributions from both well-established authors to new-comers in the genre, these stories are inspiring and entertaining.They affirm the beauty and abilities of a snubbed majority - the person of size.This collection is ground-breaking, exciting, and long overdue, but has been well worth the wait...and weight.

Great read - I hope it becomesa series!
No, I haven't any reason to think it will be a series, but I can hope, can't I?

I ran across the book back in July and fell in with the cover painting. Then I saw that it was edited by Lee Martindale, someone I remembered encountering (and respecting) in the size acceptance newsgroups. At that point I probably would have bought it no matter what, but the theme of the anthology cinched it.

I finished it within 48 hours of getting it, and it was wonderful. As usual with any anthology, I enjoyed some stories more than others. I think "Demon Bone" by Teresa Noelle Roberts had to be my favorite story. The poem "Fat Is Not A Fairy Tale" by Jane Yolen and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's story "Worse Than The Curse" were awfully good, though :-) Paula L. Fleming's "Polyformus Perfectus" left me wishing it were the beginning of a novel rather than a short story.

I've already recommended this book to quite a few people, but I have a feeling I'll be handing it out to more. I'll probably buy a hardback copy to keep and loan out the paperback, but I'll be buying some copies to give as gifts as well.

And if I EVER find a print of the cover painting by Doug Beekman, it's going in a place of honor in my living room.

Fat is beautiful...and funny.
This is an anthology about fat people published by Meisha MerlinPublishing.Such SF/F luminaries as Jody Lynn Nye, Gene Wolfe, Jane Yolen,Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, K.D. Wentworth, and a host of others present alook at another view of the hero. A princess is cursed, and starts anew fashion trend, a sizeable selkie is the love of a man's life, aforty-year-old fat bi . . . uh, woman rediscovers the joy of creation on alonely dirt road, and a couple of truly fat cats are far more than theyappear.These and more stories just as exciting grace the pages of thisthoughtful, wildly funny, and excellent volume of stories.

A great concept, and terrific stories
I ended up staying up far too late the night I got this book, because I kept telling myself I'd just read one more.The stories were well-written (I especially loved "Worse than the Curse" and "CastingAgainst Type"), and while the theme was definitely evident in all thestories, it was not hammered in.A touch of spice, rather than anoverwhelming topnote.

Size should not be an issue!
I found Such A Pretty Face a delightful romp from one end to the other.I very much enjoyed the concept that someone's size is irrelevant to their personality and abilities.The characters were people first andfat/large/whatever second, something I think more characters (and people)should try.I intend to buy many copies to give as gifts and wouldrecommend this book to anyone who is tired of the fat versus thinstereotypes.These stories prove that there is more to people than justtheir packaging. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Story for Every Day
The premise behind _Gene Wolfe's Book of Days_ is that each story in the book is written for a different holiday.There's a a story for Lincoln's Birthday, one for Halloween, even one for Armistice Day.The connection between story and holiday sometimes seem tenuous, but it's all in fun.The real treat here is yet another fabulous Gene Wolfe story collection.

If you're familiar with Wolfe you know that his fiction is occasionally opaque.Wolfe stories very often have multiple meanings that require multiple readings to fully understand.Stories like "Paul's Treehouse" fit this description.Two neighbors are sitting on their lawns.One neighbors son has built a treehouse very high in a tree and refuses to come down. Interspersed with this story is background about some unnamed unrest in the city.Suddenly National Guardsmen swarm the backyard.The son throws rocks at the Guardsmen.The End.Don't ask me for an explanation because I have no idea.

Fortunately, for those of us who are 'regular' readers, many of the stories are much simpler.Among the better pieces are "Forlesen", "The War Beneath the Tree", and "Melting"."The War..." has become one of Wolfe's more well-known pieces.A boy plays with his sentient toys on Christmas Eve.The toys watch packages being placed under the Christmas tree with apprehension.When everyone has gone to sleep, the new toys emerge.The old toys fight them and throw the new toys into the fire.The story ends on a chilling note that I'll let the reader discover for himself.

Gene Wolfe has never disappointed me.He is a writer of quality and passion.His intricate stories can amuse me for hours.He is a top-notch writer and I strongly encourage all fans of speculative fiction to read his works.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Hailed as "one of the literary giants of science fiction" by The Denver Post, Gene Wolfe is universally acknowledged as one of the most brilliant writers the field has ever produced. Winner of the World Fantasy Award for best fiction collection, Storeys from the Old Hotel contains thirty-one remarkable gems of Wolfe's short fiction from the past two decades, most unavailable in any other form.

Storeys from the Old Hotel includes many of Gene Wolfe's most appealing and engaging works, from short-shorts that can be read in single setting to whimsical fantasy and even Sherlock Holmes pastiches. It is a literary feast for anyone interested in the best science fiction has to offer.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not all bad, but Wolfe has done much better
Gene Wolfe is famous, and rightly so, for his New Sun books and countless imaginative and thought-provoking (and sometimes head-scratching) short stories. Storeys from the Old Hotel gathers what must be the comparatively mediocre leftovers. On the whole, these feature Wolfe's most frustrating qualities: oblique story-telling, endless dialogue, and seemingly lacunose plots. On his better days, these can be worked up to levels inconceivably ingenious (Book of the New Sun, for example), but can sometimes (as with this collection) leave one wondering, "why bother?"

There are, however, some stories worth reading here: the first Liavek story is more entertaining than the usual Gene Wolfe and actually has a surprisingly effective ending. "The Marvelous Brass Chess-Playing Automaton" is another very entertaining piece, with the good kind of Wolfean twists. "Straw" may seem incomplete at first, but keep thinking about it. "Love, Among the Corridors" is a moving retelling of the Galatea story, with role-reversal and addition. "From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton" is hilarious metafiction. "Death of the Island Doctor" has a special, old-school-graduate-student charm. Finally, "Redwood Coast Roamer" is a set of flash-fiction stories quickly sketched on a long train ride, but they're surprisingly good at every turn.

Completists will want this one, if only for the diamonds in the rough. For others, I would suggest Endangered Species or The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories.

Amazing
The very title is a gentle pun:"storeys" rather than "stories", and it opens the door to another of Gene Wolfe's just slightly cockeyed universes.I usually read Wolfe's books with an unabridged dictionary nearby, and I am never annoyed at interrupting my reading in order to refer to it.As with all his books, reading him is a slow process, and yet that only makes me feel that I am getting more for my money.

His characters are real.While they are all characters in the other sense of the word, none seems unbelievable.

Read this book.And read "Free Live Free."

A book for completists...
This isn't a bad collection, but it isn't a great collection -- which means that, for Gene Wolfe, it's a lesser book. Shorter stories than is typical of Wolfe's other collections, well written but mostly lacking the punch of the stories in "The Island of Dr. Death" or "Strange Travellers." Entertaining, occasionally brilliant, very quirky, even funny in places: essential Wolfe for those to whom Wolfe is essential.

A fascinating and eclectic collection
I am having a hard time trying to figure out what I should say in this reveiw. I think this mostly because these stories are so varied and all of them well written. I guess I'll just list my favorites: "Sightings atTwin Mounds"; "Westwind";"Redbeard";"Cherry Jubilee"; "Trip, Trap"; "Straw"; and"The Packerhaus Method".

Look at what some publishers pass up!
I should try to load this review down with penetrating insights into Mr. Wolfe's methods and modus, and his (to me, lofty) place in the post-modernliterary world, but I get toungue (finger?) -tied and flounder and it comesoff sounding lame.Suffice it to say that this short story collection isinteresting in that it is comprised almost entirely of stories that werenever published or published only with great difficulty.Not all, or evenmost, of these stories are science fiction (but then, what of Mr. Wolfe'swork has ever been exclusivly SF?And who cares?)These tales form adiverse collection ranging from a various ghost stories, wide rangingfantasy pieces, a light meditation about life as seen from a train, and, asalways (Mr. Wolfe's forte'), some very incisive comments on humans and whythey do the weird things they do.

My own favorites are "TheSightings at the Twin Mounds," "The Death of the IslandDoctor," "Redwood Coast Roamer," "A SolarLabyrinth," and "Redbeard."

If you've never read Wolfe,this is a good place to start.If you have read Wolfe and you don't havethis book, then what the heck are you waiting for? ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Settle down.
I don't agree with Wright's thesis, but people complaining that it is written in the academic tone, or comes with a bibliography?What?It is an academic book of litcrit from a university press-- what were they expecting?Wright knows his stuff, & his nuts & bolts are illuminating.Simple as that, even if you find fault with his arguments-- that is how a dialogue is supposed to go.

An academic critique - with all the academic faults
Tylor Monroe (below) is a little harsh - but not very. This book is an academic critique of Wolfe's masterpiece, and like a lot of contemporary academic literary criticism, cannot get out of its own way. Lots of theory, lots of jargon, little illumination of the work for the average reader. This is the sort of book which gets on the author's resume, counts toward his publication list for tenure - and is immediately forgotten!

I do not want to say that that all of his ideas are worthless; just that they are very hard to extract from the jargon, and may not be worth the effort.

A highly enlightening guide to why Wolfe's narrative technique is so gripping
Gene Wolfe's four-volume (plus coda) work The Book of the New Sun is widely regarded as one of the greatest works in science fiction, with a setting of great mystery and plot of enormous complexity. Since its publication in the 1980s, it has won many admirers, but few detailed examinations, and most of what's in print, such as the guides of Andre-Driussi and Borski, are amateurish and self-published. In ATTENDING DAEDALUS: Gene Wolfe, Artifice, and the Reader (Liverpool University Press, 2003), Peter Wright presents the first critique of academic quality on Wolfe's masterpiece.

ATTENDING DAEDALUS begins with a general introduction to Wolfe's body of writing, and two of his early stories are explored in depth, "Trip, Trap" and "In the House of Gingerbread". What I found especially enlightening here is that Wright presents the long series of critical reactions to Wolfe's work, even admitting that CASTLEVIEW is a problematic novel, and showing that OPERATION ARES was worth surpressing.

Wright's examination of the Urth cycle is based on two aspects of the work that have gained wide consensus through discussion on the Urth mailing list and other fora. The first is the deceitful religiosity of the book. While the Hierogrammates seem divine, the Claw a holy relic, and the deluge upon the coming of the New Sun sacrificial, humanity is really only being manipulated by the inhabitants of Yesod into furthering their own ends. God is, in the final analysis, nowhere in the picture. The second is the unreliability of Severian as narrator. Wolfe attended introductory courses in psychology in Texas and later in Ohio, and Wright conjectures that here Wolfe would have studied historic cases of perfect memory, providing a model for Severian's behaviour. Just as historic mnemonists, such as "S." studied by Aleksandr Romanovich Luria, were incapable of reflecting on their experiences, instead merely re-remembering events without analysis, so Severian stands between the reader and the true events of the work.

With these in mind, Wright's main thesis is that the Book of the New Sun is the epitome of a very complicated literary technique devised by Wolfe in which the reader is consistently challenged and baffled, and yet consistently given the necessary keys to unlocking the plot. Wolfe also consistently reminds the reader that what he is reading is fiction through a continual stream of metaliterary allusions and jibes. Wright's assertion that all of Wolfe's novels after the Book of the New Sun are meant to provide a series of elucidations for its mysteries is sure to be controversial, but is for me nonetheless quite convincing in many instances.

If you are a dedicated fan of Wolfe, having sought out everything he's ever put written and read the Urth cycle more times than you can remember, I would highly recommend ATTENDING DAEDALUS. With the intricacies of plotting revealed here, I appreciate Wolfe's skill more and more, and see him as one of the most significant English-language writers of our time. Don't heed what naysayers claim, this book is entirely dedicated to Wolfe's oeuvre and is very relevant to those investigating the Urth cycle.

arguably one of the worst books i have ever read
i bought this book assuming that it would be similar to robert borski's "a solar labyrinth", in that it would hopefully shed some of light on some of the interesting and random little aspects of the book of the new sun that the casual reader would never notice or deduce.however, this is not the case at all.be prepared for long-winded blather and lots of "big words".i place "big words" in quotes, because within the first few pages of this novel, it becomes quickly evident that wright is far more concerned with attempting to impress the reader with his own intelligence, as opposed to providing any real content.the book amounts to little more than wright patting himself on the back over how intelligent he believes himself to be, while simultaneously essentially calling anyone else who has an opinion about the book of the new sun too stupid to really understand it.there is nothing at all in the way of actual content - most of the book is devoted to wright picking out random bits of text and then supporting his own beliefs about them with unrelated quotes (often hacked up and paraphrased to the point that they have come meaningless) from other book critics who (frequently) do not even have a background in science fiction.don't get me wrong - i absolutely love gene wolfe.however, i believe wright is giving him far too much credit for supposedly intentionally placing all these little allusions and whatnot throughout the book.sadly, the entire book sounds like a desperate author painstakingly trying to convince himself that his theories are correct by overanalyzing minute parts of the novel that fit vaguely within the confines of his boring ideas. as wright notes in the intro, this book originally started as his doctoral thesis - and unforunately, it reads like one.i'm sure this book would be great if you needed to skip on down to some professors' lounge at harvard and impress them with long-winded and essentially meaningless dialogue about "ulysses" (which wright practically spends more time discussing than wolfe's work), but if you want to learn something about the book of the new sun, dear god please look elsewhere.

as an aside, if you decide to purchase this book despite my best efforts to warn you of its terribleness - amazon shows this book's length at 240 pages.be warned - it's really not at all. expect more than 30 pages of footnotes and bibliography, as well as nearly 50 more pages that barely give the book of the new sun any mention (as these are dedicated to more vague and generally disinteresting dissections of minute parts of wolfe's other novels and short stories).if you want to actually read something interesting that provides legitimate insight into the book of the new sun itself, i highly recommend borski's "a solar labyrinth". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the greatest
I read this "tetralogy" many years ago and it continued to rattle around my brain and I would often remember it as the most amazing SF read I had ever had. Recently I had the urge to read it again and I am appreciating it in a whole new way. This is a book like Lord of the Rings, that is, it leaves you wondering how one human brain could conceive and execute such a thing. Gene Wolfe's erudition is remarkable, his vision fantastical, his language outlandish and extravagant, but curiously restrained and simple in parts.
He must have had the full oxford dictionary at hand as he wrote; you will never encounter more obscure but real English words anwhere. A helpful clue to his language and themes lies in knowing he got much of his background from a reading of Byzantine history. Lots of Byzantine words and themes in there!
His relatively simple narrative is interspersed with surprisingly diverse philosophical and religious musings that take you by surprise and frequently baffle you. Like LOTR, I suspect multiple rereading would continue to yield gold. Wow! Just read it. (Make sure to reread it later; you will miss a lot the first time around). ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
This invaluable collection of Avram Davidson's resonant, wittyshort stories describes some incidents in the career ofmany-times-Doctor Engelbert Eszterhazy, loyal subject of the TriuneMonarchy of Scythia- Pannonia-Transbalkania, located in anineteenth-century Europe whose political landscape will be, after alittle reflection, familiar to most fantasy readers. Enquire withDoctor Eszterhazy into curious matters--- the lurley; the old womanwho lived with a bear; gingerbread men; dancing goats; and more. NB:Read the stories in the order written, beginning with "Polly Charms",and turning back to read the later stories at the front. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The unrivaled master of historical myth
Long before the words "magical realism" ever cropped up in literary criticism, Avram Davidson was quietly creating a spectacular body of erudite, eloquent, evocative history-as-myth.The Dr. Eszterhazy stories, along with the Vergil novels and "Adventures in Unhistory", are the pinnacle of his accomplishment.

No one has ever had a better ear for dialect, a better sense of the self-importance of minor officials, a better notion of how Balkan politics play out in the back-alleys of minor capitals.And certainly no one has ever had such a perfect (and reverent) sense of the ridiculous, when it comes to the probable behavior of the Vicar-at-Large of the Unreconciled Zwinglians, or the demands of the Frores for an independent Bureau of Weights and Measures, or the universal value of a glass of shnopps, wudky, or St. Martin's.

If you do not love these stories, you're probably just not ready for them yet.

The more you know about European history, the funnier!
Each of the "short stories" is long enough for a meaningful theme.The elderly Catholic titular queen of Carinthia's summary of the history of the Reformation alone is worth the price of the book, as Dr. Calvin flees from France to Germany, changes his name to Luther, is thrown out by the local ruler, goes to Switzerland, changes his name to Zwingli, and that's why the Switzers have to come to France to be confirmed.

Imagine if phrenology, alchemy, etc., were real sciences
Avram Davidson imagines a world where science is slightly skewed: alchemy works, phrenology (studying the bumps on a skull to determine personality) is a real science, etc. The author takes each "scientific" dead end of the late 19th century (and earlier centuries) and builds witty, cohesive stories around each one. His characters are great and all his plots neatly resolve. The more you know about European history, the more fun you'll get out of his books (Mr. Davidson is, I believe, a professor of an arcane branch of European history). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Wolfe, but not new Wolfe
This volume contains three stories which appear in Wolfe's "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories" collection. They are: "The Island of Doctor Death", "The Death of Doctor Island" and "The Doctor of Death Island" (hence the title). All three are worth reading, but available in the "Other Stories" collection at less than collectable prices. For serious Wolfe collectors only. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wolfe's least tricky work, a highly entertaining mystery
PANDORA, BY HOLLY HOLLANDER is perhaps Gene Wolfe's most mainstream novel. A murder mystery set in a small town in Illinois, the novel contains little of the fantastic elements of his other works, such as his acclaimed masterwork The Book of the New Sun. The book also lacks the puzzles for which Wolfe is notorious, so that the reader gets pretty much everything on the first time through.

The narrator of PANDORA is Holly Hollander, a 17-year old girl who, though plainly immature, is no ditz. She has a thing for mystery novels and can think quite logically. The plot of PANDORA is that Holly's mother buys an locked box marked "Pandora" to be the star attraction of the annual town fair. Tickets are sold, and whoever wins the raffle gets whatever is in the box. I can't say too much to spoil the plot, but the box unleashes death and Holly is determined to find the culprit.She meets a criminologist, Alladin Blue, who seems to know more than he should about the people of her small town.

PANDORA was the third of Gene Wolfe's turn-of-the-90's trilogy of books with contemporary settings. It is perhaps the least substantial, both THERE ARE DOORS and CASTLEVIEW better reward repeat reading with their numerous riddles. Nonetheless, PANDORA is entertaining, and I'd recommend it to any fan of Gene Wolfe. Nonetheless, for people who haven't read anything by Wolfe, I'd suggest starting with the Book of the New Sun, his acclaimed four-volume work.

An intriguing mystery written two-fold
This is a great mystery, with odd twists and thrilling turns, told with a refrshingly new voice about a very unseemly murder.Although not overtly at first (ignoring the title), it uses every bit as much symbolism and allusions and references and all that kind of literary stuff that make you wonder--as people who read Gene Wolfe's work already know about--what you're gong to catch the next time you read it.Arthur'd be proud. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Reday to start reading the first book again
'The Citadel of the Autarch' is the final volume in Gene Wolfe's 'The Book of the New Sun', although 'The Book of the New Sun' is itself followed by 'The Urth of the New Sun'.
The plot follows Severian's journeys as he finds himself caught up in the Commonwealth's war with the Ascians, before returning to Nessus. The last half of the book many (but not all) questions are answered and plots resolved. Really a wonderful book as soon as I finished it I wanted to pick up the first one again to reread it to catch all the things that I missed before that had now become clear(er). 'The Book of the New Sun' is not an easy read but it is well worth the effort.

Not Free SF Reader
The Autarch, as the name suggests, is a ruler. Despite all Severian's
wanderings, meanderings, derelictions of duty, and adventures, it seems
that the Autarch sees him as future leadership material. His final fate
is to be decided in this fourth book.

Long Live Severian
Like the other three books of this series, the Citadel is a gorgeously written account of Severian the Torturer's journey to the Autarch's throne in a far future. Gene Wolfe's story is outstanding, if only for the fabulous otherworldly reality he has fashioned with beautiful language and a singular voice. The Urth he has created is real, filled with layered depth and detail. The story reaches a satisfying endpoint in this volume -- I hesitate to call it a conclusion, because like a real history, it could continue forever. This series is one of the best of all time.

Autarch lost in glare of the new sun
How can I review a novel I've never received? ... Read more

Product Description
Back in print after two decades, this fantasy tells of a young man who lives in a village deep in the forest in medieval times. Mark finds himself torn between his hero worship for charming highwayman Wat and his growing suspicion of Wat's cold savagery. And Mother Cloot, who may have sorcerous powers, works in equally suspicious ways--perhaps for evil, perhaps for good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Better than you think
I've read this book a few times. It's a short read, yet each time I read it I realise I've previously missed a lot of what's going on. Kinda like Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" (which I have also read several times, with the same general result). A lot of the action is only hinted at, and it's up to the reader to fill in the gaps and work out what is really going on.
This book will make you think. Highly recommended, particularly if you are interested in History.

Unimpressive
A well told story but that somehow left me with a feeling
of emptyness. Rather unsatisfying.
Yes, I found it in the fantasy section of my local
bookstore and yes, it is written by Gene Wolfe, but
I did not find much of the classical elements of the
fantasy genre in the book. It is in fact quite
realistic.
A little village is torn apart between a ruthless
bandit and the king's men, but a good point of the story
is that it keeps teasing the
reader into wondering who really are the good guys and who are
the bad guys of the story. Is this a romantic,
Robin Hood-like type of outlaw? This situation is resolved at
the end.

Not bad, just not as good as most Wolfe
I like Gene Wolfe a lot.The Fifth Head of Cerberus is one of the best and most intricate SciFi books ever written.The Book of the New Sun is very entertaining AND literate - not a common combination for the genre.The Devil in a Forest isn't quite on the same level...

It was obviously written for a younger audience as previous reviewers have pointed out, and though it still maintains some of the level of characterization I expect from Wolfe, the writing just isn't as complex as that found in his other works.Yet, the Wolfe-themes of the indeterminancy of Good and Evil are there -- as well as a critical look at religion and superstition.

Consequently, I don't recommend it to anyone other than those who find reading other Wolfe difficult, and hardcore Wolfe fans who wish to complete the bookshelf.

A slight but (of course excellent) book by Wolfe
This book is aimed at a younger audience than Wolfe's other works.It would probably appeal to intelligent young teens or preteens more than Peace or The Death of Dr Island etc., the books I would recommend to adultsreading him for the first time.If you've read his other novels or want tointroduce a young friend to this greatest of contemporary fantasy writers,don't hesitate to try this.The Devil in a Forest has surprising depthsand is probably Wolfe's most successful work as Bildungsroman.

The perfect book to begin your Gene Wolfe obsession
While not the usual literary labyrinth we are used to from Gene Wolfe, The Devil in a Forest is a great read. Wolfe manages to turn the self-righteous townsfolk into characters as flawed as the bandits, and the king's men areeven worse.If you've never read Wolfe before, this is a good place to geta preliminary feel for his writing. ... Read more

Product Description
The best stories from the first ten volumes of the anthology series. Contains Nebula Award winning stories The Secret Place, by Richard McKenna; Mother to the World, by Richard Wilson; The Planners, by Kate Wilhelm; Passengers, by Robert Silverberg; and other outstanding stories by George Alec Effinger, Carol Emshwiller, James Salles, Joanna Russ, Thom Lee Wharton, Avram Davidson, Harlan Ellison, Gardner Dozois, Gene Wolfe, RA Lafferty, Ursula K Le Guin, Carol Carr, Langdon Jones, Philip José Farmer, Joanna Russ, Ted Thomas, and Ruth Allison and Jane Rice (writing as Allison Rice). ... Read more

Product Description
Gene Wolfe is producing the most significant body of short fiction of any living writer in the SF genre. It has been ten years since the last major Wolfe collection, so Strange Travelers contains a whole decade of achievement. Some of these stories were award nominees, some were controversial, but each is unique and beautifully written.
Amazon.com Review
Strange Travelers is a rich and exciting tapestry of eclectic tales sure to please, whether this is your first foray into the worlds of Gene Wolfe or a return journey. The story lines run the gamut from traditional science fiction with a twist to a delightful retelling of a Russian folk tale.

"To the Seventh" is a classic science fiction story about a chess game between God and the Devil. The pieces on the cosmic chessboard are represented by beings scattered across the universe. The hero of the story, Mack Chance, is asked by God, in the guise of a tactical war computer, to undertake a suicidal mission. His ship has the capability and fuel to jump 300,000 parsecs in two jumps of 150,000 parsecs each, but God asks him to accept an assignment 900,000 parsecs away, in the heart of enemy territory on the belief that miracles can happen:

"You answered without reflection. This time I want you to reflect, Captain Chance. Do you believe in miracles?"

Mack reflected, tussling with successive layers deceptively labeled "soul," "core," and "innermost being"--tearing each to bits and throwing each aside, only to find that it kept creeping back. At length he said, "Where you're concerned, yes sir. I do, sir. I mean--"

Those six jumps equate to the six moves a chess pawn would have to move forward to arrive at the last row of a chessboard and be subsequently "Queened." If you're familiar with chess and know the difficulty of queening a pawn you can almost guess the outcome of the story. But the path Chance takes, which meanders through the universe with a stop near Portland, Oregon, is one that will delight and titillate.

"And When They Appear" is a tale of a young boy who is being cared for by his parents' computerized house in a post-apocalypse world. Sherby, too young really to understand the evil in the world, is kept entertained by computer-generated holograms while a roving band of looters steadily approaches the house. With the power to override the house program, Sherby innocently creates a situation in which the house is destroyed and Sherby himself is "rescued" by a rather seedy and degenerate character. Thankfully, Wolfe spares the reader most of the details of Sherby's future.

The other strange tales in Wolfe's collection include a thought-provoking campfire horror story set in the far future; the story of the "mother" of intelligent robots being pursued by one of the beings she unwittingly helped create; and the adventures of three female time travelers, castaways on the shores of Earth. There's another horror yarn about a human boy who runs with ghouls and a tale about a boy who gets trapped in his sister's dollhouse each time he sleeps.

Strange Travelers is a broad and deep book by a master wordsmith. Like Wolfe's Castle of Days, Strange Travelers contains a few unclassifiable stories. This only enhances the rich landscape of this collection. Strange Travelers reaffirms Wolfe's adroitness and mastery in the short story genre. It's well worth losing a little sleep over. --Robert Gately ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Too nasty
I'd read most everything by Gene Wolfe that
I could lay my hands on.He tells the most
marvelous stories.But, then I read "And
When They Appear".I guess having my
own children to worry about, I was put
off by how he treated his - albeit fictional -
child.What a horror. I haven't been able
to enjoy Wolfe ever since.Sad

Wonderful, chilling ... accessible?

OK, after "accessible" I should add "compared to some of Wolfe's other collections."This one doesn't have any stories linked to his "Solar Cycle," and it has several stories which appeared in themed anthologies -- "Death of Koshchei the Deathless" appeared in one of the Datlow and Windling Fairy Tale anthologies, "Ain't You Most Done" appeared in an anthology of work inspired by Neil Gaiman's _Sandman_ series, "Queen of the Night" appeared in a collection of vampire stories, "Flash Company" in an anthology of fantasy about music ...Thus, for fans of SF, this is a good introduction to Wolfe.

As long, I should say, as you don't mind some darkness in your SF.You may never recover after reading the Christmas (!) story "And When They Appear"; "One-Two-Three for Me" and "Queen of the Night" are utterly chilling; and most of the stories have, at the very least, some deep dark shadows (which will come as no surprise to Wolfe veterans).But if you're worrying about graphic, visceral horror, don't.Wolfe will terrify, even horrify, but he won't disgust.

The collection contains:
Bluesberry Jam
One-Two-Three for Me
Counting Cats in Zanzibar
The Death of Koshchei the Deathless
No Planets Strike
Bed and Breakfast
To the Seventh
Queen of the Night
And When They Appear
Flash Company
The Haunted Boardinghouse
Useful Phrases
The Man in the Pepper Mill
The Ziggurat
Ain't You Most Done

Some notes:
The collection is framed by the linked tales "Bluesberry Jam" and "Ain't You Most Done?".
"Useful Phrases" is Wolfe doing a Borges story.
"No Planets Strike" and "And When They Appear" join the growing collection of Wolfe Christmas stories (which also includes "La Befana" "War Beneath the Tree" and "How the Bishop Sailed to Inniskeen").
I rarely have a definite favorite in Wolfe collections, but here I have to give special mention to "The Haunted Boardinghouse."

Great style
The stories in Strange Travelers are a wonderful display of Wolfe's broad and varied style.Each story is told in an entirely different voice, making it impossible to get tired of reading them.There was more variety in this collection than there often is in multi-author collections.

A Sampler Box of Bon-Bons With All of Wolfe's Flavors
You really ought to heed Patrick O'Leary's review below because he is a fine author in his own right.This collection demonstrates the incredibly broad range Wolfe is capable of; the New York Times reviewer commented thatthe underlying theme throughout is a sense of entropy in the universe.Iwould not oversimplify to that extent, but will state that each story willdelight in its evocation of mood, atmosphere, and its portrayal offascinating characters engaged in brilliantly bizarre activities.Readthis book and then read The Book of the New Sun and all of Wolfe's othermagical wonderful books.

They may be strange but they are enjoyable...
traveling companions.Ziggurat makes it worth the purchase, When Planets Collide, Counting Cats in Zanzibar etc. are icing on the cake. ... Read more