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Title: The Fifth Head of Cerberus : Three Novellas by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0-312-89020-6 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 15 March, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.53 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent, but where are the Cliffs Notes?
Comment: Out of the many, many fine books Gene Wolfe has done, this is probably considered his greatest single novel (as opposed to the Long Sun, Short Sun, etc series, all of which deserve their critical acclaim) due to its richness and complexity. People looking for an easy way to break into Wolfe's writing won't find it in this book, he piles on the head hurtin' stuff pretty early and it doesn't let up, adding layer upon layer of meaning and detail to the point where the reader cannot ignore it, you have to spend time actively interepreting the novel or reading it becomes a wasted effort. Such is the genius of Wolfe and of not taking the easy way out. The novel actually consists of three fairly separate novellas and while Wolfe could have devised some vague basic linkage and taken three novellas and dumped this arbitrary linkage over them and been done with it, he goes way further than that. The novellas are all different, but they're also all connected in some way, either through offhand scenes or subtle clues or overarching themes or perhaps all of that and more. There's a reason for nearly everything done in the book, from the placement of the novellas to the order of events happening in each section, heck, even the titles are chosen for specific reasons that resonate within the structure as a whole. The first novella sets the scene, a pair of sister planets orbiting each other, colonized by man, and rumored to have once been home to a race of shapeshifters who may have been so good at shapeshifting that they took humanity's place and then promptly forgot they did (the "copy is not the original, or is it?" argument), one of the ideas explored throughout the novel is this question of identity, whether the human race has really been replaced and if so, do the new people count as humans since they're like them in every way. And would anyone even notice? This is not typical SF stuff and it's not told in a typical SF way, for every nuance that I "got" I'm sure a hundred more went over my head, this is a book that demands rereading and is so far from the "So, Zolgar, we meet again" type of SF that fans of literate, intelligent novels will want to jump up and cheer. For all the literary tricks in the novel, it never comes off as pretentious, Wolfe is exploring real themes with real resonance and it all works with the scheme of the novel, none of it can be confused with arty indulgence. Still kind of in print (most bookstores seem to carry at least one copy) it's an excellent introduction to Wolfe, since the longer series can be a bit overwhelming, but again, don't think you're getting off easy. Smaller doesn't mean simpler and shorter doesn't mean less work is involved. People who demand a little more effort from their book and want more than simple entertainment, regardless of genre, should give this a look.
Rating: 5
Summary: Gene Wolfe's First Masterpiece
Comment: How does one even begin to describe The Fifth Head of Cerebrus. Needless to say, very few authors have ever had a first novel that good. In fact, very few authors have ever written any novel that good. A lot of people found the book strange and complicated...well so did I, and that's the whole allure of this book.
Mr. Wolfe has an amazing imagination, as you will immediately see upon reading any of his novels. Fifth Head is filled with haunting visions of a distant colony in the far future; technology is advanced in some areas but antiquated in many others. The society and culture are masterfully rendered.
The second novella is about a young man finding his twin; the viewpoint of these people is so strange and alien that I should have quickly become confused or bored. And yet I didn't; such was Wolfe's mastery of the writing style. No matter how strange things got, you read right along as if you had no other option.
The third novella consists of a military captain reading a prisoner's diary, returning to the society of the first novella. Again, the pure imagination is astounding. The characters seem like real, tangible people, not prefabricated creations placed down for our amusement. They are real people coping with impossibly strange situations.
If you're looking for a good book to read, then read The Fifth Head of Cerebrus. No, it's not light reading, but it's worth every minute. After reading this book, I immediately became a Wolfe fan. Great, amazing stuff.
Oh, and if you liked this book, I recommend Frank Herbert's "Dune" and Dan Simmons' "Hyperion." These books also have outlandish and amazing scenes, worlds, people, technology, etc.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wolfe is the best author alive
Comment: When I originally read this book, I had trouble making it through the first of the three novellas. I wasn't prepared for Wolfe's many layers, and thus missed a great deal of symbolism and hidden meaning.
When I came back to this book and read the final two novellas, something clicked and I realized how beautiful and subtle a writer Wolfe is, filled with ideas. The stories are interpretable many ways, and thus with each reading of them I find myself thinking more and more, and enjoying the book more and more.
For anyone who is interested in the deeper meanings of Wolfe's works, I would suggest searching the Internet Public Library for criticism on him, specifically the Post-Colonial thought found throughout the novellas in Fifth Head of Cerberus.
Get this and all of Gene Wolfe's works.
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Title: Castle of Days by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0312890427 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Free Live Free by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0312868367 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Return to the Whorl : The Final Volume of 'The Book of the Short Sun' by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0312873646 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 06 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: In Green's Jungles (Book of the Short Sun, Book 2) by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0312873638 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 04 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: There Are Doors by Gene Wolfe ISBN: 0312872305 Publisher: Orb Books Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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