(urth) The Distant Suns of Gene Wolfe

[Joel Sieh]

On 6/1/07, Daniel D Jones <ddjones at riddlemaster.org> wrote:
> The world today is very different from what it used to be.  Publishing today
> is a business, and solely a business.  Publishers publish books because they
> think they can sell enough of them to turn a profit.  Artistic considerations
> play little or no role in the decision of whom to publish.  There may be a
> few small exceptions out there, but they aren't significant in the publishing
> world.

So it goes with all forms of media nowadays, even video games.  Some
video game gems are relegated to cult status, either because they are
developed by a small company without the marketing clout of larger
companies, or they are too "different" to attract enough mainstream
gamers.  Even so, some of these manage to make money.

It's a good thing the internet exists, so we have a convenient way to
access alternate media.  The only problem is finding the good amongst
all the junk.  :)  That said, I can't say I've found too much
literature online that has caught my interest, save for old stuff on
project gutenberg, and that doesn't really count since it all was
traditionally published in the first place.

> I suspect that, even among Wolfe's fans, very few would describe one of his
> books as a fun read.  It's an intense, rewarding and often illuminating
> experience, but it's seldom enjoyable in the same sense as reading, say,
> George R R Martin or even fluff like David Eddings.  And reading today
> competes with video games and reality television and Ultimate Fighting
> matches for attention.

I guess I must be one of those few.  Fun for me: epiphanies, engaging
style and description, some drama, and when characters do "cool"
things.  Some examples:

Style:  tBotNS hooked me in the first chapter at the bookstore,
because of the style.  The way Gene Wolfe uses words, and the old
language he includes, captures my attention.

Description:  The strange world Wolfe built kept me along through
Shadow and Claw, when some others I know got sick of the series.  It's
also part of what kept me going through Nightside the Long Sun, which
was an otherwise slow read.

Drama:  This is what made Sidon better for me than the first two
Soldier books, even though it was still sparse.  His interactions with
Myt'Ser'eu and his foster daughter engaged me.  The drama, pain,
tragedy, and love expressed in the Long and Short Sun books is what
made them entertaining for me.

"Cool" moments:  The fight scenes in tBotNS, Soldier books, and
Wizard/Knight.  They tend to be brief, but brutal and/or flashy, and
have the tendency to make the main character look like a bad-ass.  I
know this counts as "fluff", but I like it like I like a good action
movie.  These scenes, along with scenes such as Severian's various
resurrections, Able purposefully missing the target in the archery
contest only to cause an avalanche, Gylf's transformations, etc.

Epiphanies:  These are probably the best parts for me.  Dorcas
vomiting up the lead balls, Severian realizing Dorcas was his
grandmother, Severian realizing that the claw saved him in his fight
with Agilus, and then later Severian realizing that the claw was
really nothing special at all, everything Apu-Punchau, etc.  These
really entertained me.

I guess it's different for everyone.