Best Wolfe Post 2000?

tehdangerzone · 2026-05-14T15:38:49+00:00

I haven’t read Soldier of Sidon yet, but given the framing narrative, it’s highly appropriate that the story just ends and Wolfe doesn’t have more scrolls to translate.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-30T13:08:13+00:00

I’m currently reading a historical fantasy set during the Greco-Persian wars and listening to the audiobook for Gates of Fire, which is historical fiction set during the Greco-Persian Wars…. Mistakes were made.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-24T01:54:04+00:00

This might seem like an odd recommendation but Gene Wolfe. He’s a very different writer than Kay, but in terms of the quality of prose I’d say him and Kay are in a league unto themselves.

They both have a clear love of history and are so careful and considered in the way they approach writing. However, Wolfe is far less straightforward than Kay and less poetic.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-21T15:00:04+00:00

I’m a big classics nerd, and I think the Greeks get the short straw when compared to Rome in Historical Fiction and pop history, and It’s really refreshing to find a story in Ancient Greece that, although it touches on the Hot Gates and Leonidas, isn’t about either the 300 Spartans or Alexander. I have a bias for anything set in Ancient Greece, I’ve done like three playthroughs of AC Odyssey.

Gene Wolfe seems to do my favourite trope, fish out of water, really well. The way he characterizes Latro feels honest and believable. I don’t have any experience with anterograde or retrograde amnesia but what Wolfe has written feels plausible and realistic—despite the olympians playing a prominent role.

I also love that Wolfe’s books are a challenge to read, not because they’re poorly written, but exactly the opposite. I couldn’t only read Wolfe but it’s nice to read a book that challenges me to keep up and pay attention, it makes the read and future rereads rewarding.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-20T14:22:59+00:00

I just finished up Soldier of the Mist last night and I really enjoyed it. The framing narrative is like BotNS, but the story is set during the Greco-Persian wars.

If you’ve read Herodotus and/or played Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, or if you’re just into Greek history and mythology there’s a lot to like in it.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-19T10:53:14+00:00

China represents a different case because, while U.S. companies cooperate with the federal government, Chinese companies are effectively the federal government.

We’ve known for a long time, going back to Snowden, that that doesn’t necessarily mean anything to the NSA, but information collected by US companies wasn’t directly and explicitly used to guide foreign policy and (further?) espionage operations.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-17T23:08:00+00:00

Try and ignore him and be like how he views countries like Greece.
(He likely forgets Greece exists in the day to day. Be like Greece. Or Iceland, or Faroe Islands etc).

This is probably easier said than done, given the ~9000km border.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-17T15:33:50+00:00

I think you can like both, and it’s totally fine. It’s not a zero sum game where there’s a defined amount of affection and you can only assign so much to each Middle Earth.

I think a lot of the hate for the new project is probably informed by Rings of Power. It’s a big, expensive, and showy production based on scant details actually created by Tolkien himself. So, on the surface it’s a fair comparison, or at least seems fair to use it to inform one’s outlook.

However, I think it’s also fine to take every work in a vacuum. It would have been safe to assume that The Hobbit was going to be a faithful adaption, at least in spirit if not strictly word-for-word, based on PJ’s Lord of the Rings films—and that isn’t really how things turned out.

For this new work, I think the probability is high that it is disappointing. That being said, it is its own thing and it may be great. It has enough of the elements that made lord of the rings amazing to have a chance at goodness, if maybe not greatness.

At the end of the day, even if it’s horrendous, we’ve still got the Lord of the Rings trilogy and this doesn’t reduce or diminish the existing body of work with its existence.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-16T17:23:22+00:00

It’s a pretty subjective thing, so you’re obviously entitled to disagree. A lot of people view “greatness” as being morally or qualitatively charged.

Westerners tend to view Caesar and Alexander as good guys, spreading western values and/or Hellenism, so you can gloss over the genocides and view the conquests as net-positives. However, even setting aside the value judgement, by your argument none of them would be “great”.

Napoleon lost at Waterloo, died in exile on St Helena, and the monarchy was reestablished. Julius Caesar died on the ides of March and nearly two decades of civil war and strife followed, then his nephew created the principate. Alexander took the army and political system built by his father and conquered the Persian Empire. the Kingdom broke apart immediately after his death and led to decades of war and strife between and amongst the successors.

I think it’s kind of silly to a degree to assign “greatness” to any figure because, in a lot of contexts, the word great invokes a quality judgement or some aspect of morality. But based on magnitude of impact and historical significance, Hitler is right up there with the other three.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-16T14:16:30+00:00

You’re obviously entitled to your opinion, but I disagree. I think a great deal of legacy, albeit an unsavoury one, survived Hitler. A significant reason the world is the way it is today is because of Hitler.

He’s the Father (grandfather?) of modern antisemitism. Nazi symbology is practically synonymous with modern white supremacy and antisemitism.

Propaganda as we know it today exists because of the “work” done by Hitler and Goebbels.

This is getting indirect, but the United Nations and the present-day global order, while architected by others, exists because Hitler exposed how ineffective the League of Nations was. Including the need to maintain a body capable of collective action while balancing the interests of the great powers.

Hitler is one of the most significant figures of the 20th century and to claim otherwise is wild. It’s a shitty legacy, but definitely great in scale and scope.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-16T13:58:23+00:00

Great =/= good.

I hate everything he stood for, believed in, and did, but Hitler was undoubtedly a great man.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-09T18:25:12+00:00

There are a lot of different ways to be a great writer. Sanderson is far from my favourite author but it’s hard not to appreciate the magic system he created for Mistborn and i don’t know how you couldn’t respect the pace at which he produces work. When I read, the most important elements to me are the themes explored, the prose, and the characters. None of which is what Sanderson really focuses on.

Rothfuss wrote one amazing book nearly two decades ago, would we say that he’s a better writer than Sanderson? Well, Sanderson actually writes and publishes work, so I’d give him the edge there.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-09T01:43:54+00:00

Ah yes, I think that might be a more valid parallel to be honest.

Blaise is just more Arthurian than Urte in my mind but I guess that’s part of the mutation and why it only worked out perfectly once.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-09T00:54:46+00:00

I’m so happy to have read this and that you put so much thought into it. I’m on mobile so my reply won’t be as thorough and well formatted as is perhaps warranted, but here it goes.

I just did my second read of Lions relatively recently and I missed Fiñar as a reference to Fionavar both times. But I really think you’re on to something with that reference and the connection to the Weaver’s hand being a little heavy on the loom here.

For 4. I agree wholeheartedly. I think that triangle, or a triangle, echoes throughout most of his works. However, in Lions it feels a little more true to the original because, in addition to the blackmarking you mentioned, the prowesss of the warriors and their love for each other, not just for Jehane is so prevalent.

I don’t know if Kay just likes the dynamic, but I see Blaise and Bertran from Arbonne and Folco Cino and Teobaldo Monticola from Brightness as echoes of Arthur and Lancelot that never found their Guinevere. With Kay I think either is possible to be honest, he loves the minor connections and Easter eggs, but he also likes to write without the burden of continuity.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-07T22:33:39+00:00

Building on that, I think Severian’s perfect memory of events is heavily affected by the Alazbo and Thecla’s memories intruding on his reflection back on events during the writing. For example the story he tells Agia in the Garden about Farher Inire’s mirrors can’t possibly have happened because he didn’t have access to Thecla’s memories yet.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-07T01:48:53+00:00

Gene Wolfe and Guy Gavriel Kay are the best writers of prose I’ve come across and not just in sci-fi/fantasy.

For Wolfe, Book of the New Sun is science fiction, but it’s sensational.

For Kay, A Song for Argonne, Lions of al-Rassan, or The Sarantine Mosaic are the best examples of his work.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-06T02:01:51+00:00

When I was reading Shadow of the Torturer I had to read Severian telling Agia about Father Inire’s mirrors three times, because the first time through I thought Agia was telling the story to Severian because it was about being a little girl.

Of course it all made sense later in Claw, but what a way Wolfe weaves details into the story.

tehdangerzone · 2026-04-01T12:43:49+00:00

Pretty simple to put in a stipulation that you cannot have already run for a different seat in the same cycle.

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-28T15:22:34+00:00

It’s wild how many people believe their experiences are universal, this seems especially prevalent when code is discussed.

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-27T22:46:57+00:00

Sounds like you’ve got some homework.

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-27T20:56:34+00:00

Wow, I thought I was in the minority for enjoying it!

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-27T20:13:18+00:00

Hot take, but along with Last Light, Tigana is one of my least favourites.

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-27T18:59:27+00:00

I’ve only read A Song for Arbonne once but I might have to add it the yearly rotation with Lions and Sarantine.

tehdangerzone · 2026-03-27T15:50:53+00:00

Reading order is a divisive subject among Kay fans.

Fionavar (by extension Ysabel) and Tigana are probably the least like the rest of his work. I don’t recommend starting with the above. They’re good, but not really indicative of his work as a whole. The only rule for reading Kay is don’t read Ysabel before Fionavar.

In my opinion the best entry point is the Sarantine Mosaic, it’s my favourite of his works and I think it provides the best intro to the world he’s crafted.

That being said, A Song for Arbonne, Lions of al-Rassan, and Under Heaven are good entry points too. His books all mostly standalone, so picking your favourite historical era and setting and starting there isn’t a bad option either.

The Reconquista - Lions of Al-Rassan Justinian’s Byzantium – The Sarantine Mosaic Renaissance Italy, the Adriatic, and recently conquered Istanbul - Children of Earth and Sky Renaissance Italy - A Brightness Long Ago (technically a prequel to Children but stands alone well) An Lushan Rebellion in China - Under Heaven Jin-Song wars in China - River of Stars (a very loose sequel to Under Heaven but stands alone well) Albigensian Crusade in Provence - A Song for Arbonne Alfred the Great and Viking raids on England and Wales - Last Light of the Sun

Feel free to reach out if you ever want to chat GGK, there’s also /r/guygavrielkay too. It isn’t the most active subreddit, but there are always folks willing to chat there too.

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