How would you rate Wolfe as a short story writer?

Tony Ellis · 26 Jun 2003, 09:08 · from urth-v0306.mbox · original

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From: Tony Ellis <tony.ellis at futurenet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (urth) How would you rate Wolfe as a short story writer?
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 10:08:37 +0100
Message-ID: <urth-v0306-3540 at digest.urth.net>
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Sam Keyes wrote:
> So maybe it's not that Wolfe is weaker in short stories,
> but rather that short stories, formally, are usually weaker--or, I ought
> to add, weaker at asking the questions and playing the games that Wolfe
> likes to do, which are usually on a grand scale.

I=3DB9m always surprised when I see people post that they don=3DB9t rate Wo=
lfe so
much as a short story writer. If they=3DB9re expecting the big, multi-layer=
ed
mysteries of his novels, as you suggest, that might explain why.

Personally I enjoy Wolfe every bit as much for his short stories as for his
novels, and I've read about 95% of them. I love a good stylist and a I love
a writer who knows how to be concise, and Wolfe excels in both these areas.

I agree that some stories are a lot better than others, but I still find th=
=3D
e
average Wolfe short more rewarding than the average short by most other SF
writers. I also find it very hard to imagine an entire canon of 300-odd
short stories all as good as Kevin Malone, The War Beneath the Tree, Agains=
=3D
t
the Lafayette Escadrille etc =3DAD gems which I have read over and over aga=
in
simply for the pleasure of the writing

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