The new Gene Wolfe fantasy novel is told entirely in a series of letters. Only Wolfe could have made this so gripping, a surprising page-turner of a book. In a contemporary town in the American midwest where he has no connections, an educated man recently released from prison is staying in a motel. He writes letters to his brother and to others, including a friend still in jail. When he meets a real estate agent who tells him he is the heir to a huge old house, long empty, he moves in, though he is too broke even to buy furniture. He is immediately confronted by supernatural and fantastic creatures and events. His life is utterly transformed. We read on, because we must know more and we revise our opinions of him, and of others, with each letter. We learn things about magic, and another world, and about the sorcerer Mr. Black who originally inhabited the house. And then, perhaps, we read it again.
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"A complex, spellbinding web of otherworldly sorcery and hauntings. Both terrifying and touching, this book of wonders speaks eloquently about the nature of responsibility and family." (Publishers Weekly)"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Gene Wolfe is winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and many other awards. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He lives in Barrington, Illinois.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
As the Big, Bad Wolfe opens his fairy-tale box of storytelling tricks...
3 Sep 2010
By Murray
Format:Hardcover
Baxter Dunn, a scholarly man with a chequered past, is penniless and just out of prison. In search of a place to stay, he happens on an untenanted and slightly dilapidated old house in the town of Medicine Man, and, rather than just breaking into it and squatting, he decides to offer to repair and look after it in exchange for being allowed to live there rent-free. But when he tracks down the managing agents, he's in for a surprise: the house is his, and has only been waiting for him to come along and claim it.
Told in a series of letters (mostly to Baxter's identical twin brother, who has good reason to hate him), Dunn's story becomes increasingly fantastic, as he delves into the mystery of the Mr Black who once owned the locally-infamous "Sorcerer's House", and as he explores the labyrinthine house itself (which "grows when people live in it, and shrinks when they don't"), meets the good/bad twins Emlyn and Ieuan who seem to belong to another century, acquires a butler (or two), and a footman (who is also a dog), as well as a pet/lover in the form of a facefox -- a creature that is the reverse of a werefox, being a fox that can take human form, rather than the other way round. There is also a vampire and several werewolves. The house's windows, sometimes, overlook a vast forest with a distant, gleaming tower. It's one of those house-on-the-borderland "vasty houses" one finds so often in the literature of the fantastic -- not to mention dreams.
Wolfe has a reputation for being a writer whose stories have hidden depths, which often require a second reading to get the most from them, but this could just be down to the fact that he likes playing with significances.... Read more ›
Told in a series of letters (mostly to Baxter's identical twin brother, who has good reason to hate him), Dunn's story becomes increasingly fantastic, as he delves into the mystery of the Mr Black who once owned the locally-infamous "Sorcerer's House", and as he explores the labyrinthine house itself (which "grows when people live in it, and shrinks when they don't"), meets the good/bad twins Emlyn and Ieuan who seem to belong to another century, acquires a butler (or two), and a footman (who is also a dog), as well as a pet/lover in the form of a facefox -- a creature that is the reverse of a werefox, being a fox that can take human form, rather than the other way round. There is also a vampire and several werewolves. The house's windows, sometimes, overlook a vast forest with a distant, gleaming tower. It's one of those house-on-the-borderland "vasty houses" one finds so often in the literature of the fantastic -- not to mention dreams.
Wolfe has a reputation for being a writer whose stories have hidden depths, which often require a second reading to get the most from them, but this could just be down to the fact that he likes playing with significances.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Sorcerer's House is an entertaining and fun story about a house that is situated both in our world and in another world full of magic and terrifying beings. The main character, Bax, is an academic just released from prison. For mysterious reasons he very soon finds himself to be the unexpected owner of the Black House, a building known by the locals to be haunted. The whole novel consists of letters from Bax, most of them addressed to his hostile twin brother George, and also some letters written from other people to Bax.
Gene Wolfe is my favorite author, and he is widely appreciated for his high literary standards. In my opinion, this is a very good book, but still not one of Wolfe's best ones. I get the impression that it is written in a kind of laidback style, something the author enjoyed writing but did not put too much effort into. It is an easy read with a lot more dialog than in most of Wolfe's books, and perhaps for that reason I feel that is not going to last so long in my memory as some other of his books. But in spite of that, don't miss it!
Gene Wolfe is my favorite author, and he is widely appreciated for his high literary standards. In my opinion, this is a very good book, but still not one of Wolfe's best ones. I get the impression that it is written in a kind of laidback style, something the author enjoyed writing but did not put too much effort into. It is an easy read with a lot more dialog than in most of Wolfe's books, and perhaps for that reason I feel that is not going to last so long in my memory as some other of his books. But in spite of that, don't miss it!
By Robo maker
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
No one tells it like Gene, and this novel is no exception. I have liked all his work since I discovered the shadow of the torturer 30 years ago so maybe I'm biased, but I really enjoyed this
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