The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction

Gene Wolfe is not a name immediately associated with short fiction. Rather, it calls to mind such multititle, interconnected and complex works of science fiction and fantasy as THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN and others. But Wolfe’s readers and long-time followers of science fiction know that he has also produced several collections of short stories and novellas. The latest, THE BEST OF GENE WOLFE: A DEFINITIVE RETROSPECTIVE OF HIS FINEST SHORT FICTION, contains 31 stories, first published between 1970 and 1999, that the author himself considers his finest short works. And he recalls the inspirations or other circumstances that resulted in their creation in brief afterwords following each story. As such, it is highly recommended, but with a few cautions, especially for those new to Wolfe. Reading him can be richly rewarding, but not without some effort and patience. He often reveals the intent of his themes through subtle, seemingly slow inference, sometimes stretched out over the duration of an entire story. His characters are always multidimensional and their motivations difficult to predict. Thus, finishing any of the stories collected here, a reader is either likely to smile and nod appreciatively at having discovered the intention, or else scratch his head and utter a confused, “Huh?”   Knowing (or perhaps remembering) this, there are several treasures to found here. Among them is the opening entry, “The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories,” a sad, touching tale about how fantastic fiction fills the voids in the life of a lonely and scared young boy. Wolfe plays word games with the title and offers two other, completely different stories. One is “The Death of Dr. Island,” a fascinating story about the inhabitants of a satellite planet created solely for psychotherapy.   Other notables include such celebrated works as “The Fifth Head of Cerberus,” which explores identity and destiny in a future where technology and biology make such topics even more challenging. And, “The Hero as Werwolf,” perhaps the most unique and distinctive take on lycanthropy ever written. Wolfe is a superb creator of far-flung worlds and times, especially in the longer of these stories. And the intellectual puzzles he presents — with only a smattering of technological detailing and often little or no action or violence — are among the reasons he is compared to Dickens, Borges, Nabokov and Proust, rather than other genre authors.   This is not lightweight stuff, nor the kind of fiction intended solely to entertain while passing the time. But if you are in the mood for some reading that will stretch your thoughts while immersing you in singular alternative realities, stories that willingly invite repeated readings immediately and over time, by all means don’t miss THE BEST OF GENE WOLFE. —Alan Cranis Buy it at Amazon. OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR: • SOLDIER OF SIDON by Gene Wolfe