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The Sorcerer's House
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 to even buy furniture, and is immediately confronted by supernatural and fantastic creatures and events.
His life is utterly transformed and we read on, because we must know more. 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.
His life is utterly transformed and we read on, because we must know more. 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.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2010
77 people are currently reading
3021 people want to read
About the author
Gene Wolfe
513 books3,634 followersGene Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. He was a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field.
While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement was a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. He lived in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
A frequent Hugo nominee without a win, Wolfe nevertheless picked up several Nebula and Locus Awards, among others, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. He was also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/genewolfe
While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement was a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. He lived in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
A frequent Hugo nominee without a win, Wolfe nevertheless picked up several Nebula and Locus Awards, among others, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. He was also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/genewolfe
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
April 10, 2010
Caveat: This book is dedicated to me, so I may well be immediately biased in its favour.
It's an epistolary novel. Very dark, very strange, dislocating and dream-like. An ex-prisoner has inherited (or has he?) an abandoned house, containing a were-fox, a ghostly butler, and, possibly, the contents of the Tarot. Twins occur and reoccur, identities are exchanged, people are not what they appear to be...
I'm loving it, but am reading it only a few pages at a time, to make it last.
...
Right, I finished it. And now, more than anything else, I want to read it again. Some of the twists, yes, I guessed, but the full way the book opens out made me start to reread immediately. I think the book, like the house, is bigger than it first appears.
As a side note, I have a mad theory that you can always find a Wolf in a Gene Wolfe book, and it will always be the key, or a key, to the text. This book does nothing to disprove my theory.
...
Am now rereading. I love the patterns in the book. (I spoke about the tarot earlier: the book consists of two sets of 22 chapters, a doubled set of trumps). I love that a lazy reader would read a book that is not as good as the one that Gene Wolfe wrote, while a reader who is working gets a book that, like the Sorcerer's House itself, appears small and straightforward, and then grows on the inside.
Gene Wolfe once defined good literature as (I quote from memory) something that can be read with pleasure by an educated reader, and reread with increased pleasure, and this is one of those.
It's an epistolary novel. Very dark, very strange, dislocating and dream-like. An ex-prisoner has inherited (or has he?) an abandoned house, containing a were-fox, a ghostly butler, and, possibly, the contents of the Tarot. Twins occur and reoccur, identities are exchanged, people are not what they appear to be...
I'm loving it, but am reading it only a few pages at a time, to make it last.
...
Right, I finished it. And now, more than anything else, I want to read it again. Some of the twists, yes, I guessed, but the full way the book opens out made me start to reread immediately. I think the book, like the house, is bigger than it first appears.
As a side note, I have a mad theory that you can always find a Wolf in a Gene Wolfe book, and it will always be the key, or a key, to the text. This book does nothing to disprove my theory.
...
Am now rereading. I love the patterns in the book. (I spoke about the tarot earlier: the book consists of two sets of 22 chapters, a doubled set of trumps). I love that a lazy reader would read a book that is not as good as the one that Gene Wolfe wrote, while a reader who is working gets a book that, like the Sorcerer's House itself, appears small and straightforward, and then grows on the inside.
Gene Wolfe once defined good literature as (I quote from memory) something that can be read with pleasure by an educated reader, and reread with increased pleasure, and this is one of those.
September 21, 2015
Review for non-Gene-Wolfe fans: if you're looking to get into Gene Wolfe, I think either this, the "Best of" collection, or Evil Guest would be a good place to start. The story reads like an excellent fantasy/cozy mystery with lots of twists.
Review for Gene-Wolfe fans:
First pass is a four - the surface-level story felt just slightly predictable, with lots of items that seemed telegraphed. "Yes, yes, of course there's a werewolf..." That kind of thing. Twist at the end was lovely.
I read through the discussion here and at Wolfewiki, and I feel like something's being overlooked - twins, twins, say the discussions, and I'm like, "So why is *three* of something coming up so consistently?"
Will report back after second pass.
Review for Gene-Wolfe fans:
First pass is a four - the surface-level story felt just slightly predictable, with lots of items that seemed telegraphed. "Yes, yes, of course there's a werewolf..." That kind of thing. Twist at the end was lovely.
I read through the discussion here and at Wolfewiki, and I feel like something's being overlooked - twins, twins, say the discussions, and I'm like, "So why is *three* of something coming up so consistently?"
Will report back after second pass.
September 5, 2014
I picked this up to read a couple of chapters, and ended up staying up to finish it. It's deceptively simple to read, to just race through: epistolary novel, check; unreliable narrator, check; creepy twins and doors to Faerie, check. It's Gene Wolfe, though, so you can bet it's not as simple as that, and reading other reviews -- particularly Neil Gaiman's, to whom the book is dedicated -- showed me I missed a few tricks. Which is fine: I like books with rereadability, even if I'm not really inclined to reread this one in particular. If you can craft a book so it reveals more of itself over time, that's good going, in my books.
Obviously, everything I said about the narration is true. It is an epistolary novel, with a central character who has a very distinct character-set. He can turn his life story around so that you pity him or hate him, cast him as the villain or pity him as one who has been cast in that role, and I think that's entirely intentional. It's not that he's unintentionally creepy. I actually found the character to be more so than the supernatural events around him -- a certain lack of affect, the feeling that something's come loose inside this guy.
I'm not overwhelmed with the treatment of women in this book -- every woman wants to sleep with Our Hero, for example, and quickly opens up to him, and I don't see why. He's not charming, he's unsettling. But maybe that's because we see him through his own report of himself to his brother... I don't know. I'm not a fan, anyway. Even if it works for the character, I could have done with a female character who really stood out.
I do think the narration is very clever, the way Wolfe makes the epistolary novel work for him, and works around situations where there might be some difficulty with the form in a way that... well, it seems contrived, but it also fits the world and characters.
Worth a try, I think, though I probably agree with other reviewers that it's not Gene Wolfe's best.
Obviously, everything I said about the narration is true. It is an epistolary novel, with a central character who has a very distinct character-set. He can turn his life story around so that you pity him or hate him, cast him as the villain or pity him as one who has been cast in that role, and I think that's entirely intentional. It's not that he's unintentionally creepy. I actually found the character to be more so than the supernatural events around him -- a certain lack of affect, the feeling that something's come loose inside this guy.
I'm not overwhelmed with the treatment of women in this book -- every woman wants to sleep with Our Hero, for example, and quickly opens up to him, and I don't see why. He's not charming, he's unsettling. But maybe that's because we see him through his own report of himself to his brother... I don't know. I'm not a fan, anyway. Even if it works for the character, I could have done with a female character who really stood out.
I do think the narration is very clever, the way Wolfe makes the epistolary novel work for him, and works around situations where there might be some difficulty with the form in a way that... well, it seems contrived, but it also fits the world and characters.
Worth a try, I think, though I probably agree with other reviewers that it's not Gene Wolfe's best.
April 9, 2012
4 Stars
What a fun fantasy/fairy tale read, is The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe. I had fun and was taken away from the very fist word to the last. For sheer reading pleasure, this novel would get full marks. This is a supernatural mystery with a strong fairytale like telling. Our protagonist Bax, is truly an unreliable narrator, and he confesses as much several times through out this book.
The writing style and quality is what separates this book from main stream fantasy. Wolfe is a master at painting a detailed picture, filling it with colorful clues, and leaving out just enough to make you have to think. He deftly uses symbolism and makes things difficult to take at face value. Things are not always what they seem to be. Couple, this masterful storytelling and put it in a well done epistolary format, and you will quickly find yourself churning from one chapter to the next to fill in more of the details.
I am not going to give away any spoils therefore I will only tell you that as a modern day fairy tale this book is complete with: houses that change size, ghosts that go bump in the night, men that are wolves, foxes that are women, candles that are more, and magic too. The mystery of the house and of the murder are the driving forces behind this story. There are several plot twists and major events that shape the outcome. The ending is satisfying, albeit a bit thin in the answers department.
All the while I read this one I kept thinking about the similarities that it shared with the incredible Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. Many of the interesting characters that come into Bax's life were reminiscent of the Mythagos from the aforementioned book. The unreliability of the narrator, the almost real life setting, and the under lying symbolism are all incredibly similar. It really added to my enjoyment.
Like a good Neil Gaiman book, Gene Wolfe is a master at telling the modern day adult fairytale. If this interests you, then you will not be disappointed with this book.
What a fun fantasy/fairy tale read, is The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe. I had fun and was taken away from the very fist word to the last. For sheer reading pleasure, this novel would get full marks. This is a supernatural mystery with a strong fairytale like telling. Our protagonist Bax, is truly an unreliable narrator, and he confesses as much several times through out this book.
The writing style and quality is what separates this book from main stream fantasy. Wolfe is a master at painting a detailed picture, filling it with colorful clues, and leaving out just enough to make you have to think. He deftly uses symbolism and makes things difficult to take at face value. Things are not always what they seem to be. Couple, this masterful storytelling and put it in a well done epistolary format, and you will quickly find yourself churning from one chapter to the next to fill in more of the details.
I am not going to give away any spoils therefore I will only tell you that as a modern day fairy tale this book is complete with: houses that change size, ghosts that go bump in the night, men that are wolves, foxes that are women, candles that are more, and magic too. The mystery of the house and of the murder are the driving forces behind this story. There are several plot twists and major events that shape the outcome. The ending is satisfying, albeit a bit thin in the answers department.
All the while I read this one I kept thinking about the similarities that it shared with the incredible Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. Many of the interesting characters that come into Bax's life were reminiscent of the Mythagos from the aforementioned book. The unreliability of the narrator, the almost real life setting, and the under lying symbolism are all incredibly similar. It really added to my enjoyment.
Like a good Neil Gaiman book, Gene Wolfe is a master at telling the modern day adult fairytale. If this interests you, then you will not be disappointed with this book.
August 1, 2024
Magic, mayhem, Faerie, and the mystery of twins and identity seem to be Wolfe’s main concerns in this story. Baxter Dunn, a recently released ex-con, finds himself, for reasons that neither he nor the reader can understand, the inheritor of a strange old mansion on the edge of a small town. The story is epistolary and unfolds as Bax enumerates his adventures amongst the strange people and events that seem to be drawn to, or from, the house itself via letters to (and occasionally from) secondary characters.
This is a short, and relatively breezy, book that still bears the Wolfean hallmarks of puzzles, confusion, and ambiguity that will no doubt bear re-reading if only to catch the (no doubt numerous) hints and clues that I missed on my first read. Still, I would definitely class this as lesser Wolfe, and while I ultimately enjoyed it the story seemed to rush to the finish in the final few chapters. There was also a somewhat stilted feeling to some of the prose, and some of the characters seemed to have an odd way of speaking. For example, Wolfe seems to be allergic to contractions and will apparently almost never use them even when they seem, to me at least, to be much more likely from the mouth (or pen) of a given character. Wolfe’s penchant for making his main characters irresistible to the opposite sex is also on full display. Of course, given that most of the story comes to us in letters penned by the main character, and we all know Wolfe’s penchant for unreliable narrators, it’s (as always) an open question exactly how much of what Bax tells us is true.
I think I’d probably only recommend this to a Wolfe completist, or to a newcomer that doesn’t want to invest the time and effort into Wolfe’s ‘major’ works, but wants to get a sense of the kinds of trickery he can get into.
This is a short, and relatively breezy, book that still bears the Wolfean hallmarks of puzzles, confusion, and ambiguity that will no doubt bear re-reading if only to catch the (no doubt numerous) hints and clues that I missed on my first read. Still, I would definitely class this as lesser Wolfe, and while I ultimately enjoyed it the story seemed to rush to the finish in the final few chapters. There was also a somewhat stilted feeling to some of the prose, and some of the characters seemed to have an odd way of speaking. For example, Wolfe seems to be allergic to contractions and will apparently almost never use them even when they seem, to me at least, to be much more likely from the mouth (or pen) of a given character. Wolfe’s penchant for making his main characters irresistible to the opposite sex is also on full display. Of course, given that most of the story comes to us in letters penned by the main character, and we all know Wolfe’s penchant for unreliable narrators, it’s (as always) an open question exactly how much of what Bax tells us is true.
I think I’d probably only recommend this to a Wolfe completist, or to a newcomer that doesn’t want to invest the time and effort into Wolfe’s ‘major’ works, but wants to get a sense of the kinds of trickery he can get into.
September 2, 2023
I enjoyed this epistolary novel a great deal. Written in the form of letters, ex-convict Bax tells his identical twin brother, friends and acquaintances some unusual happenings around an abandoned Black House (which is rumoured to be a sorcerer's castle) that he is "temporarily squatting" in. The writing is lovely, the characters distinctive, the plot strange and twisty (if somewhat predictable), sometimes dreamy, dark, but no too dark. Finding out what sort of quirky new characters and mysteries are reveled as the novel progresses was entertaining. This is the type of book you can breeze through and enjoy, but you can also re-read it and find new things. This book is like the Black House - bigger on the inside than the outside, with new rooms popping up all the time.
September 28, 2015
Sadly, though still quite readable, this is one of the lesser Gene Wolfe works, in my opinion, which is why I missed it up 'til now.
Though thankfully, the "Unreliable Narrator" technique he loves so much is at least somewhat under control in this one.
Though thankfully, the "Unreliable Narrator" technique he loves so much is at least somewhat under control in this one.
February 25, 2011
an epistolary novel about a misterious house on the border between faeryland and reality. I enjoyed the wit and the ambiguity of the plot, especially as it features several pairs of twins. I am interested in reading more from Gene Wolfe, as I understand this book was more a lightweight effort, and I think it is mostly about having fun and letting one's imagination fly freely.
May 23, 2019
Man this book just fuckin sucks
January 10, 2017
I've heard of Gene Wolfe for quite some time, but have for some reason put off reading him. This is most likely because he is presented as something like the Thomas Pynchon of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Everyone who praises him will then tell you how difficult he is to read and how you probably won't "get it." While his plots have sounded fascinating at times, I've never really wanted to commit to what was presented before me. I decided that would finally change in 2017 and gave this one as a shot as the plot intrigued me.
The novel is told in epistolary form with most letters being from Bax, an ex-con recently out of prison. He spins us an unbelievable yarn (well, he's mostly telling it to his brother George and sister-in-law Millie) about how he inherits a house under mysterious circumstances (from a man he didn't even know) and all the magic going ons at the old place.
While the term unreliable narrator is the first thing most literature fans will think of when reading that plot description, from what I have heard of Wolfe, that is one of the things that is just presumed when you start one of his stories. It is fascinating though trying to sift the truth out amidst all the lies. Bax is a fascinating narrator, and his perceptions of the events seem to often go completely against what else we know (for example, his assurances that George is such a great guy, despite every moment he speaks in text he comes off as violent and rude). Certainly this novel would benefit from a reread.
One of the most frustrating (and yet delightful) aspects of the novel is that it feels more a mystery than a fantasy. While magic is introduced, Bax will often mention it casually, in favor of focus on his "playing the great detective" moments where he's investigating the original owner. So many events happen that I wanted further explanation of, or at least for the character to point out "this is strange, I should really look into that", but it shows Bax has a bit of a one track mind, and if it doesn't fit into what he is currently looking for, the events will be mentioned only as briefly as needed. With some books I would call this a fault, as it seems dangling plotlines that are never fully discussed, in this though I feel it adds to our unreliable narrator.
Well, while I may not be completely converted into Wolfe's cult like fanbase, I will say I found this a delightful read, full of fun and a surprising amount of humor (Nicholas' phone call is one of the more genuinely laugh out loud moments I've read in a long while). I'll certainly look into more of Wolfe's novels.
As a brief aside, there are several theories about what really happened in the novel in the discussion page. I have added my own (not quite satisfactory) theory to the page as well. I won't post it here due to length, and my usual attempts to avoid spoilers, but I would be happy to hear if anyone has their own interpretation.
The novel is told in epistolary form with most letters being from Bax, an ex-con recently out of prison. He spins us an unbelievable yarn (well, he's mostly telling it to his brother George and sister-in-law Millie) about how he inherits a house under mysterious circumstances (from a man he didn't even know) and all the magic going ons at the old place.
While the term unreliable narrator is the first thing most literature fans will think of when reading that plot description, from what I have heard of Wolfe, that is one of the things that is just presumed when you start one of his stories. It is fascinating though trying to sift the truth out amidst all the lies. Bax is a fascinating narrator, and his perceptions of the events seem to often go completely against what else we know (for example, his assurances that George is such a great guy, despite every moment he speaks in text he comes off as violent and rude). Certainly this novel would benefit from a reread.
One of the most frustrating (and yet delightful) aspects of the novel is that it feels more a mystery than a fantasy. While magic is introduced, Bax will often mention it casually, in favor of focus on his "playing the great detective" moments where he's investigating the original owner. So many events happen that I wanted further explanation of, or at least for the character to point out "this is strange, I should really look into that", but it shows Bax has a bit of a one track mind, and if it doesn't fit into what he is currently looking for, the events will be mentioned only as briefly as needed. With some books I would call this a fault, as it seems dangling plotlines that are never fully discussed, in this though I feel it adds to our unreliable narrator.
Well, while I may not be completely converted into Wolfe's cult like fanbase, I will say I found this a delightful read, full of fun and a surprising amount of humor (Nicholas' phone call is one of the more genuinely laugh out loud moments I've read in a long while). I'll certainly look into more of Wolfe's novels.
As a brief aside, there are several theories about what really happened in the novel in the discussion page. I have added my own (not quite satisfactory) theory to the page as well. I won't post it here due to length, and my usual attempts to avoid spoilers, but I would be happy to hear if anyone has their own interpretation.
February 28, 2010
The Sorceror's House is a beautifully subtle new novel by master fantasy and SF author Gene Wolfe. The novel's protagonist is a recently released convict who, seemingly by complete coincidence, comes into possession of an abandoned house. As he moves in, he discovers that the house already has a few odd inhabitants...
A large part of the enjoyment of this novel is the process of discovery, as the protagonist slowly finds out more and more about the odd nature of the house and its inhabitants, as well as the relations between the other people living in his new town. Because I don't want to spoil this process of discovery, I won't say much more about the plot of the novel, aside from the fact that it will slowly suck you into its own twisted reality, and that it's perfectly suited to be read and re-read, because everything, from the very first page on, will have acquired a new meaning by the time you're done reading The Sorceror's House for the first time.
Fans of Gene Wolfe know that this author likes to play games with unreliable narrators, such as the protagonist of the SOLDIER books, whose memory is wiped out at the end of every day, or Severian from The Book of the New Sun, who claims to have a perfect memory. In the case of The Sorceror's House, the novel actually consists of a series of letters. The vast majority are written by the erudite and intriguing main character, and addressed to his twin brother, his former cell mate, or his brother's wife. It's the epistolary format of The Sorceror's House that sets up lots of opportunities to twist the reader's perspective, because it allows the writer of the letters to tailor the content (not to mention tone) to the addressees. The very last letter of the novel is a perfect example — and I guarantee you’ll have a smile on your face when you read it.
I wouldn't call The Sorceror's House a major novel in Gene Wolfe's impressive oeuvre, at least when compared to masterpieces like The Book of the New Sun or THE WIZARD KNIGHT, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a supremely elegant fantasy novel, with a memorable narrator and a Twin Peaks-like atmosphere of "everyone in this small town has a secret". If you're already a fan of the Wolfe, definitely pick up a copy of The Sorceror's House... and if you're not, maybe this quote from Neil Gaiman (about THE WIZARD KNIGHT) will convince you: "Gene Wolfe is the smartest, subtlest, most dangerous writer alive today, in genre or out of it. If you don't read this book, you'll have missed out on something important and wonderful and all the cool people will laugh at you."
(This review was written for the Fantasy Literature website: www.fantasyliterature.com --- come check us out!)
A large part of the enjoyment of this novel is the process of discovery, as the protagonist slowly finds out more and more about the odd nature of the house and its inhabitants, as well as the relations between the other people living in his new town. Because I don't want to spoil this process of discovery, I won't say much more about the plot of the novel, aside from the fact that it will slowly suck you into its own twisted reality, and that it's perfectly suited to be read and re-read, because everything, from the very first page on, will have acquired a new meaning by the time you're done reading The Sorceror's House for the first time.
Fans of Gene Wolfe know that this author likes to play games with unreliable narrators, such as the protagonist of the SOLDIER books, whose memory is wiped out at the end of every day, or Severian from The Book of the New Sun, who claims to have a perfect memory. In the case of The Sorceror's House, the novel actually consists of a series of letters. The vast majority are written by the erudite and intriguing main character, and addressed to his twin brother, his former cell mate, or his brother's wife. It's the epistolary format of The Sorceror's House that sets up lots of opportunities to twist the reader's perspective, because it allows the writer of the letters to tailor the content (not to mention tone) to the addressees. The very last letter of the novel is a perfect example — and I guarantee you’ll have a smile on your face when you read it.
I wouldn't call The Sorceror's House a major novel in Gene Wolfe's impressive oeuvre, at least when compared to masterpieces like The Book of the New Sun or THE WIZARD KNIGHT, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a supremely elegant fantasy novel, with a memorable narrator and a Twin Peaks-like atmosphere of "everyone in this small town has a secret". If you're already a fan of the Wolfe, definitely pick up a copy of The Sorceror's House... and if you're not, maybe this quote from Neil Gaiman (about THE WIZARD KNIGHT) will convince you: "Gene Wolfe is the smartest, subtlest, most dangerous writer alive today, in genre or out of it. If you don't read this book, you'll have missed out on something important and wonderful and all the cool people will laugh at you."
(This review was written for the Fantasy Literature website: www.fantasyliterature.com --- come check us out!)
December 11, 2017
Finally I am able to break the jinx, and finish a book in this month. It was like I just could not push myself to finish any book I started. But luckily for me The Sorcerer's House has broken this jinx for me.
Gene Wolfe is not an easy author to read, you got to have some technique when tackling Wolfe because he just gives you so many clues, that sometimes it becomes over bearing when reading his book.
Another technique which he applies in his books is that of unreliable narrator, you just can't trust the guy who is telling you his story. But you have to separate the lies from truth, otherwise you quickly go off rails.
I think the best way to read a Wolfe book is through a group read, because it really helps bouncing ideas of each other. But it's not compulsory that all your friends likeWolfe.
My solution was to follow the podcast Alzabo Soup. I am not saying that these guys will give you like cheat codes for the book, but it helps to look at the text from some other person's point of view, it shows you that you have missed something or gives you completely new outlook altogether.
I think no other author out there offers what Gene Wolfe offers i.e. you can interpret the story from completely different perspectives, and this for me at least makes him an unique author.
But the biggest thing required when starting any Wolfe book is patience and you should be able to research a bit regarding the name of the characters or some folklore which is told in the story.
This is the most accessible book I have read of Wolfe so far, and you won't be disappointed if you manage to finish the book.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Gene Wolfe is not an easy author to read, you got to have some technique when tackling Wolfe because he just gives you so many clues, that sometimes it becomes over bearing when reading his book.
Another technique which he applies in his books is that of unreliable narrator, you just can't trust the guy who is telling you his story. But you have to separate the lies from truth, otherwise you quickly go off rails.
I think the best way to read a Wolfe book is through a group read, because it really helps bouncing ideas of each other. But it's not compulsory that all your friends likeWolfe.
My solution was to follow the podcast Alzabo Soup. I am not saying that these guys will give you like cheat codes for the book, but it helps to look at the text from some other person's point of view, it shows you that you have missed something or gives you completely new outlook altogether.
I think no other author out there offers what Gene Wolfe offers i.e. you can interpret the story from completely different perspectives, and this for me at least makes him an unique author.
But the biggest thing required when starting any Wolfe book is patience and you should be able to research a bit regarding the name of the characters or some folklore which is told in the story.
This is the most accessible book I have read of Wolfe so far, and you won't be disappointed if you manage to finish the book.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
July 23, 2014
It was super-fun; now "pure fun" and Gene Wolfe is something that is usually incongruent since his books like the awesome various Sun series are dark and demanding, but this one is just a zany novel end to end written as some 44 letters and an epilogue, most letters addressed by main hero Bax(ter) Dunn to his twin brother George or George's wife Millie, with several addressed to a former cellmate and several addressed by others mostly to Bax
A holder of 2 PhD's (for reasons to be discovered reading the novel) Baxter Dunn is just out of prison for defrauding George and several of his business partners (of as he puts it, insignificant sums for them, but it was the pride of being taken in by a seemingly unworldly scholar...) and living at a motel in the middle of nowhere he sees a house that seems abandoned but with some little work could me made livable; soon he actually finds out that the house was his, deeded by a mysterious disappeared and presumed dead Z. Black and actually even sooner he finds out that the house is much larger inside that it seems and it has lots of mysteries, some that could be deadly
Later the mysteries even thicken and we meet a cast of ultra-eccentric characters among some more normal ones, though slowly it is clear what is going on and some of the revelations are easy to guess; but that is beside the point since the main attraction of the book is as a zany not to put down novel that will entertain and enchant ( like with all books of its kind as long as you do not question it too much)
Strong A to A+ depending on reread, how it stays in my memory..
A holder of 2 PhD's (for reasons to be discovered reading the novel) Baxter Dunn is just out of prison for defrauding George and several of his business partners (of as he puts it, insignificant sums for them, but it was the pride of being taken in by a seemingly unworldly scholar...) and living at a motel in the middle of nowhere he sees a house that seems abandoned but with some little work could me made livable; soon he actually finds out that the house was his, deeded by a mysterious disappeared and presumed dead Z. Black and actually even sooner he finds out that the house is much larger inside that it seems and it has lots of mysteries, some that could be deadly
Later the mysteries even thicken and we meet a cast of ultra-eccentric characters among some more normal ones, though slowly it is clear what is going on and some of the revelations are easy to guess; but that is beside the point since the main attraction of the book is as a zany not to put down novel that will entertain and enchant ( like with all books of its kind as long as you do not question it too much)
Strong A to A+ depending on reread, how it stays in my memory..
May 10, 2012
The epistolary form of this novel grew rather aggressively tiresome around page 100. It didn't help that I did not like the character's voice. I found it impossible to care about any of the characters--most particularly the narrator/hero--or any of the events in the story. I often found myself wanting to read something else just to get away from the book--rather the opposite of what I hope to feel when I pick up a new novel. Neil Gaiman's effusive reviews (both here and elsewhere)actually tempt me to wonder if I shouldn't reconsider my opinion of his own works. I will settle for supposing that perhaps he owed Mr. Wolfe a sizeable debt of some sort.
June 29, 2010
WOW! Wolfe is one of my hero's. It would be a dream to be able to write like him
May 13, 2010
Engaging and Evocative
A story painted with a patchwork of detailed corresponces between the protagonist and a handful of close acquaintances, I have to admit that I was at first a little put off because of this approach. Really, how well could any story be told in a form that's almost synonymous with "telling"?
I have been shamed. Yep, and happily so, because otherwise I'd have ripped the book to shreds with my teeth while kicking it with both legs, hissing and spitting all the while. Plus, it was a library book.
Through each letter, the world around Bax, our intellectual, recently incarcerated narrator, expands, gaining character, characters, atmosphere, and dimension, much more dimension than I imagined could be possible through mere letters. But each "mere" letter expresses so vividly and seamlessly a growing level of suspense and enchantment that sometimes you forget these are just letters.
There's also a distinct (surprising) sense of horror and menace that builds around Bax as he unveils the almost random stream of events and good-fortune that befalls him, skillfully leading up to revelations that you may or may not have expected. One of them I didn't (my poor brain coils). Some I did (fah).
Overall, a truly masterful piece of writing (although I was a little disappointed at how the ending wrapped things up too quickly, and somewhat confusingly). Still, it really does require subsequent readings, it's that intricate.
A story painted with a patchwork of detailed corresponces between the protagonist and a handful of close acquaintances, I have to admit that I was at first a little put off because of this approach. Really, how well could any story be told in a form that's almost synonymous with "telling"?
I have been shamed. Yep, and happily so, because otherwise I'd have ripped the book to shreds with my teeth while kicking it with both legs, hissing and spitting all the while. Plus, it was a library book.
Through each letter, the world around Bax, our intellectual, recently incarcerated narrator, expands, gaining character, characters, atmosphere, and dimension, much more dimension than I imagined could be possible through mere letters. But each "mere" letter expresses so vividly and seamlessly a growing level of suspense and enchantment that sometimes you forget these are just letters.
There's also a distinct (surprising) sense of horror and menace that builds around Bax as he unveils the almost random stream of events and good-fortune that befalls him, skillfully leading up to revelations that you may or may not have expected. One of them I didn't (my poor brain coils). Some I did (fah).
Overall, a truly masterful piece of writing (although I was a little disappointed at how the ending wrapped things up too quickly, and somewhat confusingly). Still, it really does require subsequent readings, it's that intricate.
May 28, 2010
The house of shifting size, with doors that may lead to other worlds -- not an original device, but always an interesting one. Unfortunately the setting and related magical characters are much stronger than the "normal" ones, creating an oddly uneven story. The first half, which explored the nature of the house and its magic in a more subtle, gradual way was much better than the second half, where Wolfe tried to get the plot moving. That was rather convoluted, and weakened by the author's difficulties in conveying emotion. Still, I enjoyed this one more than my first novel of his, An Evil Guest.
June 23, 2010
I was very interested to read this book as Neil Gaiman had mentioned he was reading it. As I enjoy what Mr. Gaiman writes, I hoped I would enjoy something he was reading. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
The narrative was through letters between the characters describing what had happened and the views of those not involved directly. The twists and turns the storyline took upon itself didn't add false directions but rather seemed to make the story drag on longer than it needed to.
The narrative was through letters between the characters describing what had happened and the views of those not involved directly. The twists and turns the storyline took upon itself didn't add false directions but rather seemed to make the story drag on longer than it needed to.
October 3, 2025
Turns out I am not the intended audience for this book. Imagine my disappointment: there’s a talking Fox (criminally under-utilized), and a whole parade of fantastic creatures just showing up inside, outside, and around this haunted house...and instead of focusing on them, the book spends time showcasing macho talk.
First quote that made me think, wow, this is definitely written by a dude:
And there was more. So much more. So much worse.
Now, the story is written as an epistolary novel (told through letters between the cast), which is a great format you don’t see often (I’m a fan). With that said: not all characters need to be sympathetic or likeable. A single paragraph showing how awful some of them think of women is plenty. I don’t need it repeated, especially when there’s a mystery to solve and, again, FOXES TO BE TALKED TO.
Also: the main character, he’s one of those MCs–entirely rational in the face of the supernatural. Which, good for him, but boring for me as a reader. Like when some random woman with long hair talks about creepily consuming men, and his reaction is: “Must be a psychotic episode.”She was a werewolf.
The story takes its sweet time to go anywhere, leaving an impression of a fever dream...which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Neil Gaiman spoke highly of this book, and the style does get close to his storytelling: dreamlike, confusing, and definitely not for everyone.
Alas…this book could’ve been great.
First quote that made me think, wow, this is definitely written by a dude:
“...That was the greatest night of my life. You are the only one I would tell this to, Bax. With the other guys I say it was the night I screwed some bitch, and sometimes it is a bitch I really screwed and sometimes just one I wanted to...”
And there was more. So much more. So much worse.
Now, the story is written as an epistolary novel (told through letters between the cast), which is a great format you don’t see often (I’m a fan). With that said: not all characters need to be sympathetic or likeable. A single paragraph showing how awful some of them think of women is plenty. I don’t need it repeated, especially when there’s a mystery to solve and, again, FOXES TO BE TALKED TO.
Also: the main character, he’s one of those MCs–entirely rational in the face of the supernatural. Which, good for him, but boring for me as a reader. Like when some random woman with long hair talks about creepily consuming men, and his reaction is: “Must be a psychotic episode.”
The story takes its sweet time to go anywhere, leaving an impression of a fever dream...which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Neil Gaiman spoke highly of this book, and the style does get close to his storytelling: dreamlike, confusing, and definitely not for everyone.
Alas…this book could’ve been great.
February 26, 2024
Definitely the funniest and oddest of Wolfe's works I've read so far. The tone is often a little silly, yet I also often found myself feeling creeped out or generally unsettled, to the point where I stopped reading this before bed. Bax is Wolfe's most obviously deceptive and weaselly protagonist that I've encountered, and he is extremely entertaining to read.
There's some usual Wolfe gender weirdness and things get kind of racial too. Again, the protagonist is an exceptional asshole as we have established, but the way he handles some of aspects relying on other cultures (specifically the treatment of Winkle the Fox and Japanese culture) feel a bit careless and iffy to me on Wolfe's part.
There's some usual Wolfe gender weirdness and things get kind of racial too. Again, the protagonist is an exceptional asshole as we have established, but the way he handles some of aspects relying on other cultures (specifically the treatment of Winkle the Fox and Japanese culture) feel a bit careless and iffy to me on Wolfe's part.
May 15, 2021
Mind-melting fun. So? Many? Twists? Is that ending what I think it is . . .?
An epistolary fantasy (or is it?) with multiple (?) unreliable narrators (or are they?). Like most Wolfe novels this has many layers of meaning and can be read in different ways. I had more fun with this one than many Wolfe novels, and the plot was quite a bit tighter.
An epistolary fantasy (or is it?) with multiple (?) unreliable narrators (or are they?). Like most Wolfe novels this has many layers of meaning and can be read in different ways. I had more fun with this one than many Wolfe novels, and the plot was quite a bit tighter.
August 6, 2020
Gene Wolfe was a very subtle writer. The kind of subtle that makes you miss things the first few times around, but this is okay because there were other things to notice along the way and the things you missed make rereading more enjoyable. This one was fun the first two times, there's a lot of subtlety going on and at the end you sit and ponder the implications for weeks on end and just know that there is more meaning to uncover; plenty to look for the next time around. And there will be a next time around. Highly recommended, if only so that you can explain to me the things I missed.
September 30, 2015
Epistolary novel from the master of the narrative sleight of hand, set in a modern day haunted house, newly occupied (as a squatter) by an ambidextrous ex-con named Baxter. He writes a series of letters to his twin brother, whom he had previously embezzled, for which he earnt his prison sentence.
In unlikely circumstances the house becomes Baxter's by right, but he may not be the only occupant, as another set of twins -this time young boys- seem to live there with him; and the house itself appears to have a life of it's own, changing size and layout with each passing day.
As if that wasn't enough, Baxter could in fact be a sorcerer, or he could be a rampant fantasist, or he could be a very clever and nasty man with a murderous agenda...
The Sorcerer's House is very familiar territory for Wolfe, with pretty much all his favourite tropes in place. These include an unreliable narrator, the importance of onomastics, key plot developments glossed over and told only in retrospective dialogue, the appearance of werwolves and vampires, pedantic politeness and the necessity of a second read before discovering the real story underneath the apparent one.
With all those elements, as well as the dubious encroachment of the land of Farie, the book is good, knock-about fun, most similar in style, setting and tone to his previous contemporary Farie story Castleview, though generally speaking of a piece with all of his other recent work, for Wolfe has tended to repeat himself somewhat in his latter career, to my partial disappointment.
The familiarity ensured that, though as always I enjoyed reading Wolfe's latest, I wasn't as enthralled by all his tricks as a new reader may be. Also on the debit side, the characters never really convinced as people, whilst the puzzles predominated over emotional plausibility, faults I often find when Wolfe writes a book set in the present time.
Still, nobody writes such a confounding narrative as Wolfe, so this review will no doubt be subject to a makeover by the time of my second and third re-reads!
In unlikely circumstances the house becomes Baxter's by right, but he may not be the only occupant, as another set of twins -this time young boys- seem to live there with him; and the house itself appears to have a life of it's own, changing size and layout with each passing day.
As if that wasn't enough, Baxter could in fact be a sorcerer, or he could be a rampant fantasist, or he could be a very clever and nasty man with a murderous agenda...
The Sorcerer's House is very familiar territory for Wolfe, with pretty much all his favourite tropes in place. These include an unreliable narrator, the importance of onomastics, key plot developments glossed over and told only in retrospective dialogue, the appearance of werwolves and vampires, pedantic politeness and the necessity of a second read before discovering the real story underneath the apparent one.
With all those elements, as well as the dubious encroachment of the land of Farie, the book is good, knock-about fun, most similar in style, setting and tone to his previous contemporary Farie story Castleview, though generally speaking of a piece with all of his other recent work, for Wolfe has tended to repeat himself somewhat in his latter career, to my partial disappointment.
The familiarity ensured that, though as always I enjoyed reading Wolfe's latest, I wasn't as enthralled by all his tricks as a new reader may be. Also on the debit side, the characters never really convinced as people, whilst the puzzles predominated over emotional plausibility, faults I often find when Wolfe writes a book set in the present time.
Still, nobody writes such a confounding narrative as Wolfe, so this review will no doubt be subject to a makeover by the time of my second and third re-reads!
September 25, 2019
There's some neat slipstream weirdness to this fantasy novel, and its epistolary format hints at interesting nuances of narrator reliability, but I just couldn't get past the obnoxious treatment of all the female characters. Every woman in this story is either a perky flibbertigibbet, a nubile temptress, or an old hag, and nearly all of them want to sleep with the protagonist on sight. Several succeed at this aim, including a shapeshifting fox whose human form he praises as 'a submissive oriental.' Charming! Later on, two women are stripped and one of them raped in a two-page subplot that doesn't connect to anything else in the book.
I can sometimes stomach archaic attitudes in older works of fiction, but this was written in 2010. There's simply no excuse, and those issues overwhelm any positive qualities of the text. I'm sorry to have to pan a title that one of my Patreon donors recommended, and I wish I could have better enjoyed all the magical transformations, appearing and disappearing rooms, and hidden twins, but this is the worst sort of throwback. It hearkens to an era of the genre when only white men got to be portrayed as actual people rather than objects, and that's all the more tiresome from a modern author who should know better.
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I can sometimes stomach archaic attitudes in older works of fiction, but this was written in 2010. There's simply no excuse, and those issues overwhelm any positive qualities of the text. I'm sorry to have to pan a title that one of my Patreon donors recommended, and I wish I could have better enjoyed all the magical transformations, appearing and disappearing rooms, and hidden twins, but this is the worst sort of throwback. It hearkens to an era of the genre when only white men got to be portrayed as actual people rather than objects, and that's all the more tiresome from a modern author who should know better.
[Want to nominate your own books for me to read and review (or otherwise support my writing)? Sign up for a small monthly donation today at https://patreon.com/lesserjoke!]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
April 11, 2014
I'm left with an overwhelming feeling of "huh?".
March 15, 2016
In which Wolfe messes with our heads to splendid effect (as usual)...
November 12, 2025
Gene Wolfe is all out of f***s to give.
Wolfe is a bastard. I mean that in the nicest way possible. While I felt I was getting something of a handle on Wolfe’s approach from his short stories and earlier works, his later works (from 2005 on) prove Gene just DGAF.
Oh you thought 2008’s An Evil Guest was a neat little noir love triangle romance? Fuck you it’s a tale of Cassiopea/Perseus with Lovecraftian Cthulu thrown in for good measure.
Here’s 300 pages, figure it out. Deuces - Wolfe out!
How about a spooky house? Sure. Things that go bump in the night? I’m here for it. Straightforward little tale. All good. I got this.
How about werewolves, werefoxes, vampires, evil twin brothers, stolen identities, sorcerers, Japanese house spirits, all wrapped up in a reimagining of Keats’ epic narrative poem “Lamia” about a mythological Greek serpent woman and her slaying(?) by Apollonius. (NONE of this is apparent on a first read).
You’ve got 300 pages – go.
Welcome to Gene Wolfe and 2010’s “The Sorcerer’s House.”
“The Sorcerer’s House,” an epistolary novel that follows Baxter “Bax” Dunn, a recently released convict who by a strange legal turn he becomes the owner of a long-abandoned, decaying house in the Midwestern town of Medicine Man and moves in, only to discover that the house conceals a series of uncanny phenomena and shifting identities that the letters slowly reveal rather than straightforwardly narrate.
The Sorcerer’s House is distilled Wolfe at his best/worst. Like pure-grain alcohol. Concentrated and intense and an example everything he does best: an unreliable, quietly cunning narrator; an epistolary frame that fragments perspective; and prose that rewards/demands re-reading while also being so deeply subtextual that the reader may get lost and never find their way back to the path.
Bax’s letters to his twin brother George, sister-in-law Millie, former cellmates, often mundane in surface detail, require the reader to assemble the true shape of events from what is said and, crucially, from what is left out (why are there two separate chapters titled “Silver Bullets”?). That interplay between reportage and omission is the book’s engine; the story advances by implication as much as by incident.
The book’s verifiable particulars give Wolfe the scaffolding for his subtler operations. Bax’s sudden legal status as owner of the house, the house’s uncanny alterations, and the recurring presence of other figures whose loyalties and identities shift are plain facts of the plot and of Wolfe’s design. Small, apparently incidental encounters in early letters acquire new resonance once later correspondence reframes them, so that the book’s “mysteries” are often retrospective clarifications rather than single dramatic disclosures.
Wolfe’s allusions and illusions are less obvious and it takes a close reading to identify certain seductive or predatory female figures and the book’s morally ambiguous enchantments like the Greek Lamia and Apollonius and house-spirit folklore such as the kikimora. This subtlety (which is less subtle when the samurai comes out) lets Wolfe have mythic archetypes to be felt rather than quoted: a character’s allure or a room’s ministrations may read like a Lamia’s consuming glamour or a house-spirit’s domestic mischief without ever becoming a literal retelling of those myths.
The epistolary form gives the novel an episodic texture; Wolfe balances episode and cumulative momentum so that what might at first seem diffuse tightened into pattern for the attentive re-reader. Stylistically, the book is compact and sly. Wolfe keeps technical and local detail close enough to ground the uncanny, while letting implication do the work. The reader’s pleasure is not merely in solution but in the realization that what once seemed incidental was always part of an intricate geometry.
Late era Wolfe novels firmly embraced the “puzzlebox” approach. Which is a dangerous thing for any Hellraiser fan. But even knowing the “solution” of “The Sorcerer’s House” doesn’t make the experience any less rewarding. It’s kind of like blind-lucking your way into solving one side of a Rubik’s cube.
Great job, but 5 sides remain. Deuces! Wolfe out!
Wolfe is a bastard. I mean that in the nicest way possible. While I felt I was getting something of a handle on Wolfe’s approach from his short stories and earlier works, his later works (from 2005 on) prove Gene just DGAF.
Oh you thought 2008’s An Evil Guest was a neat little noir love triangle romance? Fuck you it’s a tale of Cassiopea/Perseus with Lovecraftian Cthulu thrown in for good measure.
Here’s 300 pages, figure it out. Deuces - Wolfe out!
How about a spooky house? Sure. Things that go bump in the night? I’m here for it. Straightforward little tale. All good. I got this.
How about werewolves, werefoxes, vampires, evil twin brothers, stolen identities, sorcerers, Japanese house spirits, all wrapped up in a reimagining of Keats’ epic narrative poem “Lamia” about a mythological Greek serpent woman and her slaying(?) by Apollonius. (NONE of this is apparent on a first read).
You’ve got 300 pages – go.
Welcome to Gene Wolfe and 2010’s “The Sorcerer’s House.”
“The Sorcerer’s House,” an epistolary novel that follows Baxter “Bax” Dunn, a recently released convict who by a strange legal turn he becomes the owner of a long-abandoned, decaying house in the Midwestern town of Medicine Man and moves in, only to discover that the house conceals a series of uncanny phenomena and shifting identities that the letters slowly reveal rather than straightforwardly narrate.
The Sorcerer’s House is distilled Wolfe at his best/worst. Like pure-grain alcohol. Concentrated and intense and an example everything he does best: an unreliable, quietly cunning narrator; an epistolary frame that fragments perspective; and prose that rewards/demands re-reading while also being so deeply subtextual that the reader may get lost and never find their way back to the path.
Bax’s letters to his twin brother George, sister-in-law Millie, former cellmates, often mundane in surface detail, require the reader to assemble the true shape of events from what is said and, crucially, from what is left out (why are there two separate chapters titled “Silver Bullets”?). That interplay between reportage and omission is the book’s engine; the story advances by implication as much as by incident.
The book’s verifiable particulars give Wolfe the scaffolding for his subtler operations. Bax’s sudden legal status as owner of the house, the house’s uncanny alterations, and the recurring presence of other figures whose loyalties and identities shift are plain facts of the plot and of Wolfe’s design. Small, apparently incidental encounters in early letters acquire new resonance once later correspondence reframes them, so that the book’s “mysteries” are often retrospective clarifications rather than single dramatic disclosures.
Wolfe’s allusions and illusions are less obvious and it takes a close reading to identify certain seductive or predatory female figures and the book’s morally ambiguous enchantments like the Greek Lamia and Apollonius and house-spirit folklore such as the kikimora. This subtlety (which is less subtle when the samurai comes out) lets Wolfe have mythic archetypes to be felt rather than quoted: a character’s allure or a room’s ministrations may read like a Lamia’s consuming glamour or a house-spirit’s domestic mischief without ever becoming a literal retelling of those myths.
The epistolary form gives the novel an episodic texture; Wolfe balances episode and cumulative momentum so that what might at first seem diffuse tightened into pattern for the attentive re-reader. Stylistically, the book is compact and sly. Wolfe keeps technical and local detail close enough to ground the uncanny, while letting implication do the work. The reader’s pleasure is not merely in solution but in the realization that what once seemed incidental was always part of an intricate geometry.
Late era Wolfe novels firmly embraced the “puzzlebox” approach. Which is a dangerous thing for any Hellraiser fan. But even knowing the “solution” of “The Sorcerer’s House” doesn’t make the experience any less rewarding. It’s kind of like blind-lucking your way into solving one side of a Rubik’s cube.
Great job, but 5 sides remain. Deuces! Wolfe out!
September 12, 2023
Dear George: Why does Bax torment me with his letters? I can hear it even as I write. You know the answer, and know equally that I might ask questions of my own.
A man recently released from prison takes up residence in a home that’s said to be haunted in this fast-paced Wolfe novel. Suddenly strange things start happening. Enter a magic device. A fey dance. Werewolves. A vampire butler. But can we trust that it all happened as described?
A Sorcerer’s House is told almost entirely through letters from our main character Baxter “Bax” Dunn to his estranged twin brother George as well as a few letters to a former cell mate Shel and to two other characters. The story clips along as events described in the letters grow increasingly bizarre.
I can’t get too in-depth without spoiling key elements of the book, but suffice to say we have an unreliable narrator and format, and puzzling out what might have happened is part of the experience.
Most Wolfe fans will adore this one. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, like some of his other work, there’s fair criticism to be leveled at his representation of women and the roles and agency they get in this story.
All told though, still a ride worth taking and seems to be a great starting point for new Wolfe readers. 4/5.
A man recently released from prison takes up residence in a home that’s said to be haunted in this fast-paced Wolfe novel. Suddenly strange things start happening. Enter a magic device. A fey dance. Werewolves. A vampire butler. But can we trust that it all happened as described?
A Sorcerer’s House is told almost entirely through letters from our main character Baxter “Bax” Dunn to his estranged twin brother George as well as a few letters to a former cell mate Shel and to two other characters. The story clips along as events described in the letters grow increasingly bizarre.
I can’t get too in-depth without spoiling key elements of the book, but suffice to say we have an unreliable narrator and format, and puzzling out what might have happened is part of the experience.
Most Wolfe fans will adore this one. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, like some of his other work, there’s fair criticism to be leveled at his representation of women and the roles and agency they get in this story.
All told though, still a ride worth taking and seems to be a great starting point for new Wolfe readers. 4/5.
September 23, 2018
An excellent epistolary novel that can be comfortably wedged in the ghost story, mystery, suspense, or fantasy sections of your library.
Baxter Dunn, a scholarly ex-felon (I think Wolfe must be most at home when his narrators "happen" to be scholars), leaves prison to find himself the inheritor of a mysterious mansion, his benefactor completely unknown to him. The book primarily consists of letters from Bax to his twin brother George, detailing his adventures, though other correspondents play roles of various importance.
I hesitate to say this book isn't as demanding as Wolfe's other work, but I will say I think the story on its surface can be more easily enjoyed in one quick read. It's a subtle book, and a layered one. Several times I thought the twists easily guessed, and then a chance bit of dialogue had me turning back four or five chapters. As all fans of Lupine texts expect, I think I'll find a whole other story waiting for me beneath the first one when I revisit it.
Baxter Dunn, a scholarly ex-felon (I think Wolfe must be most at home when his narrators "happen" to be scholars), leaves prison to find himself the inheritor of a mysterious mansion, his benefactor completely unknown to him. The book primarily consists of letters from Bax to his twin brother George, detailing his adventures, though other correspondents play roles of various importance.
I hesitate to say this book isn't as demanding as Wolfe's other work, but I will say I think the story on its surface can be more easily enjoyed in one quick read. It's a subtle book, and a layered one. Several times I thought the twists easily guessed, and then a chance bit of dialogue had me turning back four or five chapters. As all fans of Lupine texts expect, I think I'll find a whole other story waiting for me beneath the first one when I revisit it.
April 9, 2011
http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-sorc...
Gene Wolfe’s The Sorcerer’s House is a mystery, a thriller, and a fairytale. Baxter Dunn is about as honest as can be expected of an ex-con, and at the beginning he is just trying to start a new life for himself. Despite his twin brother’s refusal to help him get back on his feet, Baxter quickly acquires a house and some great big tracts of land. If you can believe him, both acquisitions were unintentional.
To Baxter’s surprise, the house included several additional features. Boys break into the house in the night, then disappear, leaving only mysterious implements behind. There are creatures chained in rooms he has never seen before and cannot locate again. And a visitor leaves behind severed limbs for another resident of the house, despite the fact that Baxter lives alone- at least by day.
A modern fairytale
Though not marketed as such, this recent novel by Gene Wolfe is a modern fairytale of the best breed – one without all the noisome explanations that weigh down many such stories. The most delicious aspect of the fey is how it remains inexplicable, no matter how much of it you see. Gene Wolfe is uniquely suited to write such a book as many of his works keep his readers in the dark as to the mechanisms by which their worlds operate. In some cases, this is frustrating – here it’s delightful.
To keep us in the dark this time, the novel is entirely comprised of the characters’ letters. Not only do these letters expose us to each character’s prejudices, but they also open us up to exploitation by the characters. If the characters are not honest to each other, we are none the wiser unless they recant.
One arguable weakness of this strategy is that there is an occasional sense of deus ex machina, particularly at the climax. We have no idea what powers are at work, and thus when the powers all come into play, the fact that the outcome is favorable seems suspect. Frankly, though, magic is complicated: if I understood magic, I’d probably read academic journals on economics for entertainment instead of fantasy.
A thriller
The pacing of the book is a touch off. At the beginning the plot is almost painfully slow. Supernatural events are thrown into a slush of mundane activities but have no real impact. The only important consequence of the mysterious housebreakers is that the broken window must be fixed again. Also, the epistolary format lacks the adrenaline of a traditional narrative. Our narrators have had time to absorb what has happened to them before they put it in print. Shocking revelations for the reader do not seem to create the same emotion in the characters in many cases, which makes empathy difficult.
On the other hand, once the novel gets rolling, it really rolls. Better still, the characters act believably – or at least the human ones do. The characters with some supernatural background do the inexplicable, but that is only to be expected, and they throw a wrench into mortal plans.
The posse
Speaking of characters, the protagonist very quickly collects quite the cast of supporting characters. With few exceptions, these supporting characters tend to be shallow enough that I managed to confuse two rather major characters almost half way through the book. To some extent, this is part of the mystery. A recurring theme in the tale is the question of perception, and whether those who appear trustworthy can be trusted. As such there are characters whose motivations we may not know.
Obviously a deeper picture of those characters would only heighten the suspense at discovering their true natures, but I’ll allow some leniency there. The epistolary format makes it reasonable, if not forgivable, for the narrator to focus on his suspicions and major events rather than tidbits which might give the reader further insight. Unfortunately, even if those characters whose motives are in doubt are excluded, we are left with a number of one dimensional actors. Though not strictly stock characters, they can be easily summed up. The spirit guide. The second overzealous butler (you’ll see). And so on. Shocking things happen to and in the vicinity of these characters, but they frequently fail to react meaningfully to even the most stressful situations.
A mystery
When viewed as a mystery, this novel is truly masterful. The reader is given a perfect mix of clues and red herrings, alongside things that only the protagonist could bring to light. If I had to do a tally of who figured out what first between myself and the narrator, I’m not sure who would win.
The greatest thing here is that we’re not only concerned with finding the murderer, but also with all the aspects of the mysterious house and its connections to the narrator and events. In the end, these plot lines don’t connect in any logical fashion except for the fact that the narrator binds them, but such is life. Of course, we never find out the answers to everything, and the book does lack closure to a great extent. Just enough curiosity is left unsated to gnaw at the back of your mind for a few days after finishing.
Why should you read this book?
You should read this book when you miss the fairytales of your childhood, where you never learned how the witch captured the princess in the first place. Trustworthy narrators are for those who lack the mental fortitude to question everything they read, and Gene Wolfe’s minimalist style makes you feel like four-fifths of the other books on your shelf are fluff.
Gene Wolfe’s The Sorcerer’s House is a mystery, a thriller, and a fairytale. Baxter Dunn is about as honest as can be expected of an ex-con, and at the beginning he is just trying to start a new life for himself. Despite his twin brother’s refusal to help him get back on his feet, Baxter quickly acquires a house and some great big tracts of land. If you can believe him, both acquisitions were unintentional.
To Baxter’s surprise, the house included several additional features. Boys break into the house in the night, then disappear, leaving only mysterious implements behind. There are creatures chained in rooms he has never seen before and cannot locate again. And a visitor leaves behind severed limbs for another resident of the house, despite the fact that Baxter lives alone- at least by day.
A modern fairytale
Though not marketed as such, this recent novel by Gene Wolfe is a modern fairytale of the best breed – one without all the noisome explanations that weigh down many such stories. The most delicious aspect of the fey is how it remains inexplicable, no matter how much of it you see. Gene Wolfe is uniquely suited to write such a book as many of his works keep his readers in the dark as to the mechanisms by which their worlds operate. In some cases, this is frustrating – here it’s delightful.
To keep us in the dark this time, the novel is entirely comprised of the characters’ letters. Not only do these letters expose us to each character’s prejudices, but they also open us up to exploitation by the characters. If the characters are not honest to each other, we are none the wiser unless they recant.
One arguable weakness of this strategy is that there is an occasional sense of deus ex machina, particularly at the climax. We have no idea what powers are at work, and thus when the powers all come into play, the fact that the outcome is favorable seems suspect. Frankly, though, magic is complicated: if I understood magic, I’d probably read academic journals on economics for entertainment instead of fantasy.
A thriller
The pacing of the book is a touch off. At the beginning the plot is almost painfully slow. Supernatural events are thrown into a slush of mundane activities but have no real impact. The only important consequence of the mysterious housebreakers is that the broken window must be fixed again. Also, the epistolary format lacks the adrenaline of a traditional narrative. Our narrators have had time to absorb what has happened to them before they put it in print. Shocking revelations for the reader do not seem to create the same emotion in the characters in many cases, which makes empathy difficult.
On the other hand, once the novel gets rolling, it really rolls. Better still, the characters act believably – or at least the human ones do. The characters with some supernatural background do the inexplicable, but that is only to be expected, and they throw a wrench into mortal plans.
The posse
Speaking of characters, the protagonist very quickly collects quite the cast of supporting characters. With few exceptions, these supporting characters tend to be shallow enough that I managed to confuse two rather major characters almost half way through the book. To some extent, this is part of the mystery. A recurring theme in the tale is the question of perception, and whether those who appear trustworthy can be trusted. As such there are characters whose motivations we may not know.
Obviously a deeper picture of those characters would only heighten the suspense at discovering their true natures, but I’ll allow some leniency there. The epistolary format makes it reasonable, if not forgivable, for the narrator to focus on his suspicions and major events rather than tidbits which might give the reader further insight. Unfortunately, even if those characters whose motives are in doubt are excluded, we are left with a number of one dimensional actors. Though not strictly stock characters, they can be easily summed up. The spirit guide. The second overzealous butler (you’ll see). And so on. Shocking things happen to and in the vicinity of these characters, but they frequently fail to react meaningfully to even the most stressful situations.
A mystery
When viewed as a mystery, this novel is truly masterful. The reader is given a perfect mix of clues and red herrings, alongside things that only the protagonist could bring to light. If I had to do a tally of who figured out what first between myself and the narrator, I’m not sure who would win.
The greatest thing here is that we’re not only concerned with finding the murderer, but also with all the aspects of the mysterious house and its connections to the narrator and events. In the end, these plot lines don’t connect in any logical fashion except for the fact that the narrator binds them, but such is life. Of course, we never find out the answers to everything, and the book does lack closure to a great extent. Just enough curiosity is left unsated to gnaw at the back of your mind for a few days after finishing.
Why should you read this book?
You should read this book when you miss the fairytales of your childhood, where you never learned how the witch captured the princess in the first place. Trustworthy narrators are for those who lack the mental fortitude to question everything they read, and Gene Wolfe’s minimalist style makes you feel like four-fifths of the other books on your shelf are fluff.
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