Eponine Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I've seen a similar sentiment in advice about how to approach Gravity's Rainbow for the first time. I haven't read Wolfe or Pynchon to judge if it's good advice in either case but it's not something people say about every author. Maybe not about Infinite Jest. Take each scene as it comes and enjoy the prose. The next time you re-read, you can be confused all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I still have no idea wtf Pirate Freedom was actually about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I really dig Gene Wolfe. And I agree with those that the first time through his books, it's best to not worry about the plot too much, because it's really on the re-read that things become clear (as it usually is in works with unreliable narrators). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reckoner Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 OP I was smart enough for Gene Wolfe. I loved Shadow and Claw. I'm going to have to get the second part of TBONS after grad school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I've seen a similar sentiment in advice about how to approach Gravity's Rainbow for the first time. I haven't read Wolfe or Pynchon to judge if it's good advice in either case but it's not something people say about every author. GR is so complex I had to use online guides and the companion interpretation book to 'get' it. After a couple re-reads. GR makes New Sun seem like a Sanderson novel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 A lot depends on at what point in your first read of a Wolfe novel you figure out what's really going on. With The sorcerors House I figured it out really early but with Latro I had no idea til the second read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 GR makes New Sun seem like a Sanderson novel.I found GR tough in some ways, but the overall direction a lot clearer than New Sun the first time round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Long Sun makes New sun seem like a Sanderson novel as well. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Long Sun makes New sun seem like a Sanderson novel as well. :P I love New Sun and started a thread long ago when I finished it saying it was a long, strange strip, but the whole "GW gets better on 2nd read" really held true for me there. The prose is spellbinding, and there's a story there too. But Long Sun on one read was nigh-unreadable. Still planning on getting to Latro one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I shamefully admit I have yet to read Short Sun, which apparently explains a lot of wtf Long Sun was about. Maybe I will finally dive into the madness this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowleper Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I read the torturer series and found it passing (it seemed to plod around without too much direction but the ideas were interesting). When I had to aperiodically explain to people what was going on in the book I was reading, I noticed it almost always had something to do with the protagonists obsession with his sword -- and some lady named 'Dorkus'... So yeah, fantasy. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Eh, New Sun is by no stretch of the imagination fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowleper Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 We might just have to take this up with dorkus and my one of a kind nifty sword. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papirolle Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I shamefully admit I have yet to read Short Sun, which apparently explains a lot of wtf Long Sun was about. Maybe I will finally dive into the madness this summer. Short Sun is also much better than Long Sun. It's his best work after New Sun and maybe Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt b Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Long Sun makes New sun seem like a Sanderson novel as well. :P You think so? I found Long Sun to be a relatively simple and straightforward read. Compared to New Sun, anyway. It's literally the dream of a dying boy. I've never been able to reach that conclusion with The Wizard Knight, my interpretation has always been more literal. On my second time reading it I was definitely watching for hints to that end, but I just couldn't quite make that final leap. Care to point me in the direction of any clues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 We might just have to take this up with dorkus and my one of a kind nifty sword. Dorcas is (as with much of the series), a biblical/religious reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowjack Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 So glad I'm not the only one here who has slogged through a Wolfe book. Or tried to... Sometimes, my sense of self worth really takes a beating reading these boards.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowleper Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Dorcas is (as with much of the series), a biblical/religious reference. And like a lot of sci-fi fantasy names, it is only palatable if you aren't reading it out loud all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 ...but it's not a sci-fi fantasy name, is the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageGuy Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I've never been able to reach that conclusion with The Wizard Knight, my interpretation has always been more literal. On my second time reading it I was definitely watching for hints to that end, but I just couldn't quite make that final leap. Care to point me in the direction of any clues? Been years since I've read it, but I'm pretty sure he starts to wake up in either an ambulance or the hospital a couple times. There are references to...a car accident? Again, it's been a while. And it literally ends with him going to heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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