Wulfsyarn: A Mosaic

by Phillip Mann

One year after the starship Nightingale disappears while on a voyage of mercy delivering refugees back to their homeworlds, the near-comatose pilot is found, and a machine called Wulf must discover the truth behind the tragedy. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Phillip Mann was born in 1942 and studied English and Drama at Manchester University and later in California. He worked in the New China News Agency in Beijing for two years but has lived in New Zealand since 1969, working as a theatre critic, drama teacher and university Reader in Drama.

Series:
* Pawl Paxwax, the Gardener
* A Land Fit for Heroes

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was fourteen. Any memories of its plot or resolution had since completely evaporated from my mind, and marking it as 'to-read' several months ago sparked no recognition.

A week ago, twenty three years after first opening Wulfsyarn, I picked Mann's book up again and started reading. Four or five pages in I recognised the unique protagonist - Wulf, an autoscribe, an AI mind housed in a shell that resembles a 4.5 foot tall Spartan's helmet floating above the ground (he's hard to miss, and equally hard to forget).

This presented a dilemma for me. I don't read books twice, and my rekindled memory of this one consisted entirely of a residual sense of boredom.

I was tempted to put it down and move on, but I recently read Mann's The Disestablishment of Paradise, and loved it, rating it as one of my favorite SF books of the last few years. The Disestablishment of Paradise is a gentle, philosophical work of SF with moments of real feeling and beauty and it stands out in a genre prone to breakneck plots, railgun battles, galaxy-wide conspiracies etc. etc. (not that I don't love a good racy, conspiracy-laden plot sparkling with railgun volleys!)

So, wondering whether my teenage self with my adolescent taste for high-speed narratives and 'splosions may have misjudged this book, I resolved to give it thirty pages to see how it went.

I'm very, very glad that I did so. Wulfsyarn is a fascinating piece of SF, and it's a story that completely drew me in, keeping me up late and looking for excuses to retreat to my bean bag and read.

Wulfsyarn is the story of a man's recovery from ruin, and of course the ruin itself.

John Wilberfoss is a member of the Gentle order of St. Francis Dionysus, an order who, many centuries from now, are the main spacefaring power left after wars that have devastated much of the civilised galaxy. The order uses its fleet of mercy ships to reunite species and worlds that have been cut off, and as hospitals for the sick, the hurt, the dying of any and all species. Wilberfoss joined the order after killing an assailant in a bar brawl, and he has long since redeemed himself, serving the order well while marrying and raising a family.

Wilberfoss is unaware that he has been under observation for many years, sized up by the order as a potential captain for their new hospital ship- The Nightingale - a gargantuan ship controlled by a bio-crystalline AI that in its final stage of development will come to reflect the mind of the person who is chosen to helm it. Wilberfoss is chosen for this prestigious task, but what he and the leaders of his order don't know is that a long-held flaw in his personality will pose a dire threat to both him and every being on board.

This intriguing story is narrated by Wulf, a centuries old AI who after many upgrades has become a self-aware machine historian with an interest in the strange contradictions and habits of human beings. Wulf, along with an AI autonurse named Lily, is caring for Wilberfoss after he has returned from the maiden voyage of the Nightingale, a voyage which ended in horrifying disaster. Through Wulf's conversations with Wilberfoss, and his meditations on the nature of memory, delusion, and pain we learn what happened, and how Wilberfoss came to survive.

All this is told well, and in a very engaging way. Phillip Mann is an SF writer of real skill and sensitivity, and I loved this book. Wulf's gentle and thoughtful narration was just what I was looking for after reading more kinetic works, and the pathos of Wilberfoss and his many trials inWulfsyarn really resonated with me.

Reading this novel was a multifaceted pleasure for me - not only did I get to enjoy a great story, but I also got a lesson in how taste can shift in one's own lifetime, and how revisiting things you once disliked can pay surprising dividends. Fourteen year old me was clearly somewhat of a philistine, and I'm glad I ignored my memories of this book.

4.5 Spartan helmet-shaped stars.


P.S: Mann founded the drama school at my old university in New Zealand, and he has produced many seasons of theater, including numerous ancient Greek works. His classical influences are clear in Wulfsyarn, most obviously in Wulf's Greek-helmet like form. If you love the stories and myths of the ancient world as I do you'll enjoy spotting the numerous classical references he makes.

[haxxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colectia cyborg de la editura Pygmalion are multe nestemate ascunse. Pacat ca s-a oprit la nr. 35 si nu a continuat. Avea multe bunatati in pregatire, unele au fost preluate de alte edituri, altele au ramas forever nepublicate, cum ar fi „Beggars in Spain” de Nancy Kress sau „Babel 17” de Delany.

Dar sa revenim la volumul de fata.. unde e analizata capacitatea mintii umane de a se reface dupa un colaps, pe o tema religioasa inventata, la ceva timp in viitorul apropiat, totul inglobat intr-un cadru SF. O poveste fascinanta si terifianta in acelasi timp.. O capodopera. Nu pot spune mai multe decat ca-l recomand inclusiv celor care nu sunt atrasi de SF - 4,5*

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gently philosophical SF with a harder edge, paced well and keeping all of its mysteries to the end; includes a truly great Sense of Wonder moment.

[Mekerei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a interesting concept. I heard an interview of Phillip Mann. He described how he wrote this book and the complexes he faced.

Basically Wilberfoss is a cargo pilot; he has a choice of piloting the Nightingale or staying with his wife and children. He chooses the Nightingale, so starts his journey "self-questioning".

There are several incidents which push Wilberfoss further and further into despair. Essentially this is about the unraveling of Wilberfoss.

Four stars

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite but a book which illustrates the saying that "no good deed goes unpunished". It also recalls the the Greek railings as to hubris. It is a very interesting alternative view of the far future.

[Anh]

Rather too fixated on rape and religiousity. Too boring to continue.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting mixture of science fiction and fantasy. The pace of the story picks up towards the latter part of the book.