Subject: (urth) Bit of Wolfe news

From: aaron <aaronsingleton at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:24:59 +0000

I just read this on Sci-fi wire.  A bit of info on GW's next two books.

Multiple-award-winning SF/fantasy author Gene Wolfe told SCI FI Wire that
his latest novel, *An Evil Guest*, takes place in the same world as his
novella "Memorare," which was a finalist for both the Hugo and Nebula
awards.

"I'd written 'Memorare,' laid in a world in which a low-cost star drive had
been discovered in the near future, and I wanted to set another story
there," Wolfe said in an interview.

But while that sounds like a traditional science fiction story, *An Evil
Guest* includes many other elements, such as wizards and werewolves.

Years ago, Wolfe heard someone describe a consultant as a "wizard," so he
thought: What if that consultant everybody said was a wizard actually
*was*a wizard? "When I had pictured him in the Oval Office talking to
the
president, I knew what he looked like and what he was like, and I knew that
his name was Gideon Chase," Wolfe said.

In the novel, the wizard Gideon Chase is asked to go after sinister
billionaire William Reis. "Unable to locate Reis, Chase uses his powers to
render a minor actress--Cassie Casey--beautiful, glamorous and immensely
talented," Wolfe said. "Reis takes the bait. He steals it, too."

There are many technological (and other) wonders in the book. "The star
drive is the main technological marvel," Wolfe said. "The money that would
buy you a light plane today will buy you a spacecraft. Cassie's agent says
her hopper [spacecraft] is just a little pink bug, but one she can drive to
Mars. [Also,] Reis can manufacture gold, but his gold is radioactive. There
are aliens living on Earth and keeping out of sight."

Wolfe is currently working on two new books. "*The Sorcerer's House* [is]
almost ready to go to the agency; of course it's been almost ready for about
a year," he said. "I'm still writing the first draft of *Home Fires*, and
the second is going to be a bear." --*John Joseph Adams*
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From: Matthew Keeley <matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:30:42 +0000

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 11:24 AM, aaron <aaronsingleton at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wolfe is currently working on two new books. "The Sorcerer's House [is]
> a year," he said. "I'm still writing the first draft of Home Fires, and the
> second is going to be a bear." --John Joseph Adams
>

Thanks for the news. I'd heard of The Sorcerer's House before - he
really seems to have been doing a lot of work on that one. I'm glad
he's still going forward with it, as the plot sounded quite
interesting. And the emphasis on a house reminds one a bit of Peace.

I recall Wolfe mentioning the plot of another book somewhere, but I
have no idea if that's Home Fires. Interesting title certainly.

-Matt

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From: Adam Thornton <adam at io.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:39:19 +0000

On Oct 10, 2008, at 10:24 AM, aaron wrote:

> "I'd written 'Memorare,' laid in a world in which a low-cost star  
> drive had been discovered in the near future, and I wanted to set  
> another story there," Wolfe said in an interview.

A-HA!

Now I need to go back through _EG_ and see if I can find the passage  
that made me jump and say "Wait, isn't that 'Memorare'?"  because  
there *was* one.

Adam
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From: Matthew Keeley <matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:44:50 +0000

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 11:39 AM, Adam Thornton <adam at io.com> wrote:
>
>
> Now I need to go back through _EG_ and see if I can find the passage that
> made me jump and say "Wait, isn't that 'Memorare'?"  because there *was*
> one.
>
> Adam

I don't have my copy with me, so I can't physically search through the
book... But I did an Amazon search for a bit I remembered:

(p. 53) the dangers of "[touring] the moons of Jupiter in his new
hopper on their honeymoon"

-Matt

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From: Adam Thornton <adam at io.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:49:28 +0000

> hopper on their honeymoon"

Yeah, that was it.

Adam
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From: brunians at brunians.org <brunians at brunians.org>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:11:13 +0000

> that made me jump and say "Wait, isn't that 'Memorare'?"  because

The play Cassie is in at the beginning of the book is called "The Red
Spot" and two of the other characters in the play are talking about taking
their vacation in the moons of Jupiter, which is presented as a risky kind
of a thing to do.

'Memorare' takes place in Jupiter's system or Saturn's? I misremember.

.

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From: brunians at brunians.org <brunians at brunians.org>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:13:45 +0000

>> that

Right. This is in reference to two fictional characters, in the play
Cassie is originally appearing in.

.

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From: Matthew Keeley <matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:22:47 +0000

> their vacation in the moons of Jupiter, which is presented as a risky kind

"The Red Spot," huh? I thought that might be another sf reference, but
apparently it's actually a real thing -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_red_spot#Great_Red_Spot

-Matt

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From: brunians at brunians.org <brunians at brunians.org>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:11:34 +0000

Yes, Jupiter's Great Red Spot has been widely known since shortly after
the invention of the telescope.

.

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