For someone who's never read Wolfe's longer fiction I'd recommend taking a couple of weeks to digest "The Book of the New Sun". This was originally published as a trilogy of novels. Although it is not as long as "The Lord of the Rings" nor "The Great Book of Amber" it is nearly as complex as the former and more so than the latter.
I'd warn any new reader that it must be read slowly and preferrably re-read after a few months, as it is much more than it would seem with a rapid reading.
I'd rate it "The Book of the New Sun" as one of the most difficult and complex stories that I've ever read. I only read "Shadow of the Torturer" and just couldn't keep going. I might try reading it a second time and then go forward with it.
It's the polar opposite of a beach book. Definitely need a lot of time to concentrate on it.
I loved that book; unfortunately, jus didn't have the rest of the series available at the time. Some day, when I have them all, I'll read them again. Much like Donaldson's "Thomas Covenant", somehow reading the books one by one, as opposed to reading them in a complete series, just doesn't feel right.
I'm pretty new to being a Wolfe fan, for years I avoided his stories. Now, I keep wondering why. Man is a master.
Wolfe is a true genius, on par with the classical fiction writers. I'm glad that Calico Reaction has discovered him.
You'll probably like it better the second or third time through. The story doesn't come together for a modern tv-generation American until they're able to slow down to a speed comparable to what it takes to read some of the 18th and 19th century classics.
I'd warn any new reader that it must be read slowly and preferrably re-read after a few months, as it is much more than it would seem with a rapid reading.
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It's the polar opposite of a beach book. Definitely need a lot of time to concentrate on it.
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I'm pretty new to being a Wolfe fan, for years I avoided his stories. Now, I keep wondering why. Man is a master.
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You'll probably like it better the second or third time through. The story doesn't come together for a modern tv-generation American until they're able to slow down to a speed comparable to what it takes to read some of the 18th and 19th century classics.
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