_The Wizard_ by Gene Wolfe - too much like previous Wolfe

JavaJosh · 04 Nov 2005, 13:23 · from rec.arts.sf.written.2005.mbox

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From: "JavaJosh" <javajosh at gmail.com>
Subject: _The Wizard_ by Gene Wolfe - too much like previous Wolfe
Date: 4 Nov 2005 05:23:00 -0800
Message-ID: <1131110580.237908.247530 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written

_The Wizard_ is volume two of "The Wizard Knight" saga. It trades
engenue magic for the magic of erudition - a dissapointment since
Wolfe's work is repleat with the latter, short on the former, and all
things being equal innovation would be preferred. Indeed, the plotting,
pacing, and most importantly the voice returned to Severian and Silk in
force.

Much time is spent away from Able in the beginning of this book, and
instead follows Toug. Able returns after about 100 pages 20 subjective
years from Skai, where he's been feasting and fighting with the
Valfather and his Overcyn children, but only a short time has passed on
Mythregar. In addition, much time is spent in Jotunland, the land of
the Frost Giants, and truth be told this place isn't nearly as
interesting as the many varied places in _The Knight_. It is cold,
rocky, and filled with miserable people, and we spend about 200 pages
there. The last 200 pages are an almost surreal battle with the
Osterlings.

The strange, revelatory Wolfe-gene shows itself much more strongly in
this book. There are several of the frustratingly opaque turns of plot
and dialogue which, to my mind, only serve to alienate the reader and
remove him from the action. At least *I* feel alienated when I come to
a full stop and ask myself, "What on earth was *that*, and why did that
happen?"

These Wolfian revelations seem to all take on the same pattern - the
protagonist is in one place, and another major character enters with
some urgent information, and is interrupted by the entrance of another
major character who begins to confess something, when the protagonist
must call for a fourth major character to confess something of his own,
but as soon as the fourth character enters, the protagonist quite
coldly states that they wish to kill the first character, but that it
must wait, and finally the protagonist leaves the room to go do
something, with all 4 major characters presumably staring at each other
wondering what the hell just happened. Mix in a lot of metaphysical
confusion and even issues of mundane identity and you get a bitter,
choking draught of a scene.

This happened only twice in _The Knight_ and it certainly wasn't as bad
as in, most especially, _The Book of the New Sun_ when any lengthy
passage with Severian acting rationally came as a relief.

It may occur to someone reading this to deride me for my lack of
comprehension and inability to either anticipate these episodes, or
failing that, understand them after the fact. While this is possible
from your perspective, it is not from mine. It is clear to me that
Wolfe enjoys createing tension from half-truths and incomplete
communication, and that these scenes describe crescendos of such
tension and are something that he enjoys writing. Sometimes peices are
wrapped up later, sometimes not. The problem is not that, as a reader,
I disagree with the actions of the protagonist, it is that the protag's
action is completely incomprehensible, alien and inconsistent with past
actions.

It didn't help that Able's voice in this book crept even closer to
Severian's and Patera Silk's, when it was already so very close. What
was really startling was that Toug's voice moved perceptibly in that
direction as well. Toug was Sir Able's squire, and while its possible
in that position he'd start talking like his master, it didn't read
like that.

I'm not sure what Wolfe's sources were for this - probably Lord
Dunsany, which I haven't yet read. Maybe _A Once and Future King_. For
all its problems, it's a thinking man's romp through faerie to be sure,
but _The Knight_ was the better romp by far.

Reading this review, I realize that it's fairly poor as it is a first
draft. But frankly, I doubt I'll have time or the inclination to write
it again, so this will have to do. While reading _The Wizard_ many
questions and ideas came up for me, but now that the novel is ended I
find that my interest has already waned and those questions forgotten.
Maybe if I find a magical stream to restore my memory...

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