Status Updates From The Very Best of Gene Wolfe

Two and a half short stories in and yeah Wolfe reputation really is true

Wow they really don't give you a lot of characters for these small chapter updates.

The Island of Doctor Death - I've heard praise here and there for this novella and its subsequent sequels, even still I did not expect this to grab me like it did. A haunting tale of coping with your environment through the magic of fiction which both hides and highlights the dark truths underneath once you know what to look for.

"A Cabin on the Coast" - when you deal with the Fair Folk, you never get what you bargained for. It's ok I guess, and the only story Wolfe didn't select (his editors did).

"Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?" - a carnie strongman meets a charismatic woman who seeks to ride the White Cow Moon. Wolfe effortlessly shows how to construct a world through the scattershot words and memorable voice of his mentally dim but utterly loyal narrator. My heart goes out to Sam.

"The Tree Is My Hat" - an old gods fantasy, taking place on an island in the south Pacific, with special guest Sharknado. Wolfe's characters are slippery, not completely understandable; his worldbuilding nonlinear and oh so expertly crafted.

"Petting Zoo" - it was inevitable that I loved this bittersweet story of a boy and his dinosaur, as Wolfe states in an afternote that he was inspired by Calvin and Hobbes. This one's a masterclass in seamlessly embedding flashbacks, *and* worldbuilding. Nary a word wasted.

"Bed and Breakfast" - What happened one night at the last B&B before the gates of Hell. A fair story, if kind of cringe. At least it kept my attention.

"And When They Appear": finally, a story I could not put down, to break the run of stinkers. This one's a Christmas story, yet our protag Sherby gains agency but not wisdom, so it's not a Christmas story.

"Game in the Pope's Head": a pointless acid trip about a serial killer? Again, why?

"Parkroads---a Review": another inexplicable inclusion in a best-of collection. There is no plot here. Move along.