The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
nayneyneigh's review against another edition
4.0
This is a pleasant surprise after the first installment which unimpressed me. Wolfe saved the grand, heroic adventures worthy of Beowulf or Lancelot for the second half and it was a delight to experience. Many of mysteries are given clear explanations (not all, this is a Gene Wolfe novel) by the end. I'm glad I returned to keep this series.
jdashcastillo's review against another edition
4.0
âIâm an oath-breaker, since I broke that one when the Osterlings were besieging Redhall. Some of you were there, and will not forget the storm I raised. Tonight Iâm going to break it again, openly and for as long as I can.â
Very solid book and having Wolfeâs take on a more traditional fantasy approach was really cool. I did like The Knight a bit more than this and felt like I wasnât really as invested at certain points following Toug and Svon. All in all the ending, especially the last chapter, really solidified this book for me as a solid read.
Very solid book and having Wolfeâs take on a more traditional fantasy approach was really cool. I did like The Knight a bit more than this and felt like I wasnât really as invested at certain points following Toug and Svon. All in all the ending, especially the last chapter, really solidified this book for me as a solid read.
ronsos's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the combination of Celtic legends in the storytelling along with the cosmology based on Norse and Christian concepts. The early and late parts of the story were really enjoyable, but that long middle section in Jotunland was a real drag.
Wolfe has a way of telling you stuff that isn't what he's really telling. It can be intriguing at times but also frustrating when characters are endlessly dancing around a topic.
Reviewing this as a single novel since that's what it is.
Wolfe has a way of telling you stuff that isn't what he's really telling. It can be intriguing at times but also frustrating when characters are endlessly dancing around a topic.
Reviewing this as a single novel since that's what it is.
thinde's review against another edition
2.0
This continuation of the series only magnified the flaws of the first book. While the characters were sympathetic, the story was a hot mess.
I had to struggle to finish. An editor could have trimmed half of the narrative branches and the story would still have been unnecessarily complex.
I had to struggle to finish. An editor could have trimmed half of the narrative branches and the story would still have been unnecessarily complex.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
5.0
In Wolfe's classic duology, he provides a memorable examination of the assumptions and philosophy of not just fantasy fiction, but the entire tradition of adventurous, fantastic literature dating back to the chivalric romances through the medium of a knight who in some senses is no real knight at all - and in others is the realest of them all. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2022/05/16/a-chivalrous-sorcerer/
mcnevinh's review against another edition
5.0
Five stars. I reread paragraphs, and chapters, immediately after finishing them, for their sheer beauty and surprise. Gene Wolfe is definitely coming with me to the desert island; I would want either this, or The Book of the New Sun (including its end coda, The Urth of the New Sun.)
But how to explain this one? It feels like living inside Myth. The story is told in the form of an endless letter to the main character's brother, after the hero--Sir Able--has disappeared from our world. A line of dialogue or description can change one's entire sense of what is transpiring. Heroism can suddenly appear a monstrous as he describes what happened. He'll come to major events and say, "I don't want to talk about that." Mysteries transform into still other mysteries, and into dazzling revelations, with masterful finesse. And brief recognitions can reframe the book's universe.
There are clearly people, like me, who will absolutely love this duology. Others will hate it for many of the same reasons. I understand why they would. I'm not saying they're wrong, but I do expect to reread this myself, probably more than once.
But how to explain this one? It feels like living inside Myth. The story is told in the form of an endless letter to the main character's brother, after the hero--Sir Able--has disappeared from our world. A line of dialogue or description can change one's entire sense of what is transpiring. Heroism can suddenly appear a monstrous as he describes what happened. He'll come to major events and say, "I don't want to talk about that." Mysteries transform into still other mysteries, and into dazzling revelations, with masterful finesse. And brief recognitions can reframe the book's universe.
There are clearly people, like me, who will absolutely love this duology. Others will hate it for many of the same reasons. I understand why they would. I'm not saying they're wrong, but I do expect to reread this myself, probably more than once.
glassglassmadeof's review
5.0
quite possibly my favorite wolfe text currently. disability justice long before the conversation was as open as it is nowadays, but rendered with intense chivalry and care, and in characteristic fashion, leading one to question the very basis of our worldâs fabric to increase âthe stock of harmless good cheer in the worldâ as justin mcelroy might say
theatlantean's review against another edition
1.0
Okay, I have only looked at the first, and read a few pages. I thought I'd see what was going on with this one first...
The answer is, incomprehensible nonsense, that grows tired by about the third paragraph. There are a few books that work with a vernacular style of writing. Pilgerman, A Clockwork Orange and Feersun Endgin come to mind. But characters portrayed only by their wonky way of talking are usually tiresome. Pratchett makes good use of it in the odd character.
But when it is the main protagonists in the first two chapters, it is seriously annoying. When I find myself reading 2 chapters of a book that fails to entertain, says nothing, and speaks in a difficult to follow lingo, I throw it away. Gene Wolfe has been good in the past. He has also been stultifyingly dull. This is one of the latter. Some reviews suggest these books are somehow original in the fantasy market. Rubbish. There is nothing new here, and the literary trick of having a boy in a man's body has little mileage any more... since Tom Hanks in Big, actually, and that was due to the skill of the actor.
Avoid.
The answer is, incomprehensible nonsense, that grows tired by about the third paragraph. There are a few books that work with a vernacular style of writing. Pilgerman, A Clockwork Orange and Feersun Endgin come to mind. But characters portrayed only by their wonky way of talking are usually tiresome. Pratchett makes good use of it in the odd character.
But when it is the main protagonists in the first two chapters, it is seriously annoying. When I find myself reading 2 chapters of a book that fails to entertain, says nothing, and speaks in a difficult to follow lingo, I throw it away. Gene Wolfe has been good in the past. He has also been stultifyingly dull. This is one of the latter. Some reviews suggest these books are somehow original in the fantasy market. Rubbish. There is nothing new here, and the literary trick of having a boy in a man's body has little mileage any more... since Tom Hanks in Big, actually, and that was due to the skill of the actor.
Avoid.