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A review by smithmick14
The Knight by Gene Wolfe
I'll review Wizard/Knight as one collected work since I read them bound together in the same codex. Wolfe has always danced around sword-and-sorcery fantasy but Wizard/Knight feels like the author really stepping up and deciding to stamp his name on the genre. He does so by combining Arthurian fairytale with Norse mythology and even Catholic religious hierarchy. His setting is essentially a medieval Europe where honor alone takes the place of religion and raises deep questions in a subtle reader-led manner that is Wolfe's trademark. The mythology is obviously well-researched but feels internal to the author and synthesized into something new. The themes resonate in a way that makes the novel unique, yet still playing the same notes as its archetypal forerunners.