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jriordan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
christopherc's review against another edition
2.0
THE WIZARD is the second half of "The Wizard Knight", Gene Wolfe's fantasy novel in two volumes. I read THE KNIGHT when it came out and was deeply disappointed by it, enough so that I stopped following Wolfe's work. But as I recently came across a copy of the work's completion, I decided to press on nevertheless.
As THE WIZARD opens, Sir Able returns to Mythgarthr from Skai. 20 years have passed for him in that higher sphere, but only a couple of days for the embassy to the Giants. Most of the novel is dedicated to the adventures of Able, Lord Beel, Idnn and company in Jotunland, and this proved to drag horribly. If you're a Wolfe fan and you thought the tunnels scene in "The Book of the Long Sun" or the whole of SOLDIER OF ARETE went on far longer than necessary, then you'll have the same feeling of wading through a literary mire here. My biggest complaint about THE KNIGHT was that Wolfe's love of the unreliable narrator seemed increasingly a limitation. In this second half of the story, Able's narration is rather more solid, but the pacing is horrible.
That said, THE WIZARD does pick up in its last 200 pages, most of the mysteries raised during the novel are given solutions, and the ending is pretty touching. However, as a whole "The Wizard Knight" is certainly third-rate Wolfe, and though I continue to cherish classic works like "The Book of the New Sun" (much of "The Wizard Knight" retreads) and THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, I detect the start of a precipitous decline in Wolfe's powers here.
As THE WIZARD opens, Sir Able returns to Mythgarthr from Skai. 20 years have passed for him in that higher sphere, but only a couple of days for the embassy to the Giants. Most of the novel is dedicated to the adventures of Able, Lord Beel, Idnn and company in Jotunland, and this proved to drag horribly. If you're a Wolfe fan and you thought the tunnels scene in "The Book of the Long Sun" or the whole of SOLDIER OF ARETE went on far longer than necessary, then you'll have the same feeling of wading through a literary mire here. My biggest complaint about THE KNIGHT was that Wolfe's love of the unreliable narrator seemed increasingly a limitation. In this second half of the story, Able's narration is rather more solid, but the pacing is horrible.
That said, THE WIZARD does pick up in its last 200 pages, most of the mysteries raised during the novel are given solutions, and the ending is pretty touching. However, as a whole "The Wizard Knight" is certainly third-rate Wolfe, and though I continue to cherish classic works like "The Book of the New Sun" (much of "The Wizard Knight" retreads) and THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, I detect the start of a precipitous decline in Wolfe's powers here.
magnaraz117's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
noahsbriskreviews's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
shelly3290_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The first book I've read in ages, you could say years. I didn't understand anything since I started it and when I finished it I found out that it is actually the second book and not the first. It was strangely interesting even though I knew nothing about world building. It was enjoyable though.
tmarthal's review against another edition
I love Gene Wolfe. This is the only High Fantasy/American Transplant series that I truly enjoyed. Most likely because the author does not explicitly try to explain the world and its relationship to America and Earth, and instead leaves it to the reader to understand what their relationships are. You are free to interpret the protagonist like a Thomas Convenant or Conan the Barbarian; the exact situation is up to you.