Subject: Re: Free Live Free

From: fernando gouvea <gouvea at husc4.harvard.edu>
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1987 00:57:05 +0000

matt at inuxg.UUCP writes:
>> Now, does anyone want to discuss [...] why
>> it's so difficult trying to get through "Free Live Free" even
>>though it's written in the most accessible language Gene Wolfe has
>>ever produced?
>
>Funny you should mention this.  I bought Free Live Free a couple of
>weeks ago and after four nights of struggle set it aside.  And this
>is from someone who LOVED TBOTNS series (I have read it four
>times).  Wolfe seems to draw up an interesting bunch of characters
>in FLF but they (the characters) don't go anywhere, and they are
>going nowhere _very_ slowly.
>
>Maybe I was expecting something more like Soldier of the Mist in
>that not only are the characters interesting but the situations
>themselves are interesting and layered in complexity.

I guess I'm strange, but I liked it quite a bit.  I really liked the
way Wolfe took these character stereotypes (all four main characters
are types we've all seen before) and brought them to life.  I found
the book funny, and light, and pleasant to read.  The first time
through, I was a little frustrated by the convoluted ending, but the
second time, when I was no longer worried about figuring out what
was going on, I enjoyed the book a lot.

To be sure, this is minor Wolfe, but I found it quite readable.  I
agree that Soldier of the Mist is something far more substantial,
but I'm surprised people are having trouble finishing Free Live
Free.  Maybe it's just that I like Wolfe and his writing so much
that I don't see the problems you all see.  Those out there reading
this, I vote you give FLF a try.

Fernando