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Simply the best fantasy writer ever, as far as we are concerned, Wolfe also overlaps into science fiction. His writing is very evocative, and often drops inadequate characters into impossible situations. A real delight. My favourites is There Are Doors, but it’s hard to go wrong with Wolfe.

Unlike most genre writers, Gene Wolfe can work just as effectively in different modes - if you've tried his individual fantasies and like them, you should try the Long Sun/Short Sun books, even if you generally avoid such sagas. If you like the epic fantasy tales, but haven't tried the individual books, surprise yourself!

In the blurb on the back of one of Wolfe's books he's described as one of the greatest living authors - and I for one can't argue with this.

Castleview -
In a typical Wolfe juxtaposition of the everyday and the extraordinary, the Arthurian legends come alive for US auto dealer Will Shields. Moving to a small town near Chicago, Shields and his family are plunged into a wild ride of mysterious events. This is a book to read on a wet weekend - you won't want to put it down. An absolutely relelentless pace keeps you turning the pages. As usual with Wolfe, a lot is subtle - the details are never over-stated, but the effect is magical. The ending seems rushed, but otherwise a masterpiece.

Endangered Species - A wide-ranging collection of short stories from science fiction to fantasy, this is simply a great read. Sadly not available at the moment.

The Fifth Head of Cerberus -
This was the one that made Wolfe's name. Three linked stories with a strange, dreamlike quality. Most memorable is the central tale of the children of a brothel-keeper and an alchemist, who play in the slave market under the watchful eye of their robot nursemaid. He's trying a bit too hard to be arty in this one, but it's still a class act.

Free Live Free -
Four bizarre characters live free of charge in a run-down boarding house in Chicago. Each is a failure of some sort, yet there's something very interesting about them. They set out to find the missing owner of their house. Just what the mysterious high country is and what it is has to do with his disappearance will lead them to some wonderful and aweful (sic) happenings.   New 27 January 1999

Innocents Abroad -

Also in paperback from March 2005:
These superb short stories rely on taking a largely real world situation and giving it an unnerving twist. Wolfe has taken the torch of sophisticated fantasy and horror from Ray Bradbury and is holding it high. While he has none of Bradbury's whimsy, he has all the genius. It's not uncommon to finish a story and think "what happened there?" Its necessary to need read slowly, appreciating all the nuances. One of the best books of the year - simply brilliant.  New 14 June 2004

Latro in the Mist -
If you are looking for spaceships and warp drive, or even conventional swords and sorcery, this isn't the book for you. It's arguably mostly historical fiction, with Wolfe's usual superb eye for detail - all that makes it fantasy is the acceptance that the gods really exist, and can be seen by Latro, a man who forgets every day what has gone before. A fascinating, unique book (technically two books, Soldier in the Mist and Soldier of Arete combined into one volume).   New 7 May 2003

Pandora by Holly Hollander -
Written as if by an all-American teenager, this is a delightful romp, and murder mystery too. It's a real crossover, as it ought to be pure crime fiction, but there's an unmistakeable feel of fantasy about it. Why is Holly's uncle in a mental institution? What is in the strange box her mother brought home? What are the strange phone calls to her best friend's brother about? His ability to make you think "what the hell is going on?" in an intensely pleasurable way rivals Bradbury, but with a much harder edge.

There are Doors -
Wolfe shines in this modern-day fantasy. The hero is transported to an alternate world thanks to a literally living doll. As usual with Wolfe, happenings are bizarre and the main characters less than perfect. Delicious.

 NEW SUN SERIES
Set on Urth, this is Wolfe's first great fantasy series. It's much more 'pure' fantasy than his SF-based Long/Short Sun series, but it doesn't matter - it's still great. Set a million years in the future, this is the first-person narrative of Severian the lowly apprentice torturer, blessed and cursed with a photographic memory, whose travels lead him through the marvels of far-future Urth, and who--as revealed near the beginning--eventually becomes his land's sole ruler or Autarch. Each of the first two volumes contains two of the books, with the third featuring the later (but equally good) single volume sequel.

The Book of the New Sun Volume 1 (Shadow and Claw) - New 27 August 2002

The Book of the New Sun Volume 2 (Sword and Citadel) - New 27 August 2002

The Urth of the New Sun - New 27 August 2002

 LONG SUN SERIES
The four books in the Long Sun series (2 in each volume) explore the world of a generation ship, carrying a people who have known no other environment to a new home on a fresh planetary system. The 'long sun' in question is the artificial sun of the ship. But this is Gene Wolfe, so the story of Silk and his struggle with the dark forces on the ship, plus the gradually increasing awareness of the artificial intelligences and perhaps something more (as always with Wolfe, this isn't pure SF, there's fantasy too), make this a gripping read.

Litany of the Long Sun (Nightside of the Long Sun and Lake from the Long Sun) - New 27 August 2002

Epiphany of the Long Sun (Calde of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun) - New 27 August 2002

 SHORT SUN SERIES
These books follow on from the Long Sun books, putting the main character Horn who narrated those books centre stage. As usual though, with Wolfe, there's much more than the basic story of his attempt to return to the generation ship Whorl and bring back his hero and mentor Silk to bring peace to the world of Blue. All three books very much form a whole - there are many points (and in fact the middle section of the action) that don't get revealed until the final volume. On Blue's Waters can be read on its own quite satisfactorily (though  you'll want to know what happens next), but you can't read In Green's Jungles without the Return to the Whorl to fill in the details. In Green's Jungles requires a little patience just because it is quite a complex interweaving of events, but the whole 3 volume series will amply reward the effort. It's superb.

On Blue's Waters - New 27 August 2002

In Green's Jungles - New 27 August 2002

Return to the Whorl - New 27 August 2002

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