15th out of 44 books
—
186 voters
Soldier of Sidon (Latro #3)
by
Gene Wolfe
Latro forgets everything when he sleeps. Writing down his experiences every day and reading his journal anew each morning gives him a poignantly tenuous hold on himself, but his story's hold on readers is powerful indeed. The two previous novels, combined in Latro in the Mist (Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete) are generally considered classics of contemporary fanta...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
October 31st 2006
by Tor Books
(first published October 2006)
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It's been a long, long time since Wolfe's wonderful pair of novels--Soldier in the Mist and Soldier of Arete--came out and dazzled me to no end. Wolfe's tremendous knowledge of ancient lands, his unique take on a most unreliable narrator, Latro the soldier with no long term memory (the complete opposite from Severian in the Book of the New Sun who cannot forget), and a unique take on ancient mythology. I simply LOVED those books.
20 or so years later, along comes a continuation of the Latro serie...more
20 or so years later, along comes a continuation of the Latro serie...more
I actually debated a bit whether to give this book three stars or four, because while it's very good in a lot of ways, it's also very frustrating in some.
First, the good bits. Gene Wolfe provides a fascinating depiction of the ancient world (primarily Egypt and Nubia), and a very interesting narrator: Latro, because of an old head wound and/or a god's curse, has no long term memory. He forgets everything while he sleeps, and so he keeps a scroll with him in which he jots down accounts of events...more
First, the good bits. Gene Wolfe provides a fascinating depiction of the ancient world (primarily Egypt and Nubia), and a very interesting narrator: Latro, because of an old head wound and/or a god's curse, has no long term memory. He forgets everything while he sleeps, and so he keeps a scroll with him in which he jots down accounts of events...more
Every Wolfe book is a treasure to be savored.
This novel follows the journey of Latro, a Hellene who has been touched by the gods and forgets everything each morning when he wakes. SoS is the third book in the Latro sequence (the previous ones being _Soldier of Arete_ and _Soldier of the Mist_) so don't start off with this one.
Wolfe is an apt historian, and his descriptions of Egypt and Nubia, their people and their gods are both lively and accurate. Wolfe is such a fantastic writer. This book wa...more
This novel follows the journey of Latro, a Hellene who has been touched by the gods and forgets everything each morning when he wakes. SoS is the third book in the Latro sequence (the previous ones being _Soldier of Arete_ and _Soldier of the Mist_) so don't start off with this one.
Wolfe is an apt historian, and his descriptions of Egypt and Nubia, their people and their gods are both lively and accurate. Wolfe is such a fantastic writer. This book wa...more
"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there," was L.P. Hartley's nostalgia-fraught opening line in the novel, The Go-Between. That quality of foreignness, when well captured and faithfully presented, is what ensorcels the devoted reader of historical novels. Its noticeable absence -- as when some medieval captain of archers orders his men to "ready, aim, fire!" -- jars the aficionado's anachronism detector, and harshly cancels the spell.
In Soldier of Sidon, Gene Wolfe's long...more
In Soldier of Sidon, Gene Wolfe's long...more
Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.
It's fairly interesting, but the writing is clean to the point of blandness. There is a very high "what the fuck" factor, as stuff just happens and happens and happens. Latro (or whatever his name is; he's called by at least 4 different names throughout the book) floats from location to location, doing ... stuff.
Random dude #1: Hey Latro! Let's go rescue this guy.
Latro: Okay.
Random dude #2: Hey Latro! We need to go find this magic doodad.
Latro: Sure.
Random dude #3...more
It's fairly interesting, but the writing is clean to the point of blandness. There is a very high "what the fuck" factor, as stuff just happens and happens and happens. Latro (or whatever his name is; he's called by at least 4 different names throughout the book) floats from location to location, doing ... stuff.
Random dude #1: Hey Latro! Let's go rescue this guy.
Latro: Okay.
Random dude #2: Hey Latro! We need to go find this magic doodad.
Latro: Sure.
Random dude #3...more
Imagine a version of the movie "Memento" where the hero has lost his ability to remember anything for more than a short time -- only set in ancient times. That gives a taste of this novel.
It's the third in a series and I didn't read the earlier entries. But I soon caught up. The Greek or Roman soldier Latro retains his grasp on reality by writing down everything that happens to him -- because every day is a blank slate to him. He is on a quest down the Nile River to Nubia and beyond.
Latro also...more
It's the third in a series and I didn't read the earlier entries. But I soon caught up. The Greek or Roman soldier Latro retains his grasp on reality by writing down everything that happens to him -- because every day is a blank slate to him. He is on a quest down the Nile River to Nubia and beyond.
Latro also...more
Gene Wolfe wrote one of the classics of modern science fiction, the four-volume Book of the New Sun. For whatever reason, it has not been accorded the iconic status it deserves, and first, I urge any of you who have not read it to go get ‘Shadow and Claw,’ which collects the first two volumes, and read it immediately.
Wolfe’s other works, though praiseworthy, have not surprisingly fallen short of the standard set by his masterpiece, and the third volume in the Latro series is no different. ‘Soldi...more
Wolfe’s other works, though praiseworthy, have not surprisingly fallen short of the standard set by his masterpiece, and the third volume in the Latro series is no different. ‘Soldi...more
Gene Wolfe’s third volume of the Soldier series is divorced from the first two in several ways. The most obvious is the fact that it was written 17 years after the last volume, leaving quite a cliffhanger for contemporary readers (and actually no indication that there would even be a sequel). The other is the fact that even in-story the events occur at a significant remove from those that transpired in Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete. As Sidon opens we find that Latro has been living ba...more
If I were Gene Wolfe I would never get any writing done, because I would be stopping every two paragraphs to high five myself and punch the sky and yell HOLY CRAP I AM SO AWESOME HOW DO I EVEN DO IT
Four stars because it was easier to read than the first two. Is this guy going soft in his old age? I did not feel challenged; in fact I felt kinda spoon-fed. Good thing i was being spoon-fed FUCKING AWESOME
Four stars because it was easier to read than the first two. Is this guy going soft in his old age? I did not feel challenged; in fact I felt kinda spoon-fed. Good thing i was being spoon-fed FUCKING AWESOME
Demons, gods, goddesses, sprites, magical familiars of sun and moon . . . if one has been touched by the gods in some way, then every ordinary action is fraught with contact. And . . . if one is a brain-damaged warrior, who has no memory of time's passage, then daily contact with these gods and spirits of the universe is even more intense. Wolfe--through his story telling--takes the reader to a time when pharaohs and warriors and civil servants and civilians believed that the gods walked amongst...more
Último libro de la temporada.
Han pasado 20 años desde que Gene Wolfe publicó la primera parte de esta serie de novelas, primero fue Soldado de la niebla y un par de años después Soldado de areté. Aún recuerdo lo bien que lo pasé leyendo esta primera novela con 15 añitos de edad, y quedando para siempre enganchado con la Grecia clásica.
En esta tercera entrega de la serie, Latro el protagonista (muy semejante al amnésico de la película Memento) remonta el río Nilo y se da un paseo por Egipto. Si n...more
Han pasado 20 años desde que Gene Wolfe publicó la primera parte de esta serie de novelas, primero fue Soldado de la niebla y un par de años después Soldado de areté. Aún recuerdo lo bien que lo pasé leyendo esta primera novela con 15 añitos de edad, y quedando para siempre enganchado con la Grecia clásica.
En esta tercera entrega de la serie, Latro el protagonista (muy semejante al amnésico de la película Memento) remonta el río Nilo y se da un paseo por Egipto. Si n...more
Wow. After getting bogged down a couple times in the Book of the Short Sun, I was worried that Wolfe, one of my all-time favorite authors, had lost his touch. But this has that old magic! Taking place 20 or so years after Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete, this is a beautiful resurrection of one of Wolfe's most interesting characters and worlds.
For those who don't know them, these books are the "translated" journal (sort of) of a soldier, originally from ancient Rome. In the first two boo...more
For those who don't know them, these books are the "translated" journal (sort of) of a soldier, originally from ancient Rome. In the first two boo...more
Apr 15, 2008
Keith Frampton
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fantasy fans, writers, anyone who loves what can be done with minial words
After reading the two preceding Latro books, ‘Solider of the Mist’ and ‘Soldier of Arete’ many years ago I was delighted to see a third book. I have just finished it and I am blown away at many levels. Wolfe’s sparse, almost minimalist prose is a delight to read and I am amazed how it manages to convey and express all that he does in seeming simplistic phrases and paragraphs. That, combined with the underlying poignancy of a soldier who forgets himself every time he sleeps and uses a scroll to k...more
Dec 20, 2009
Sarin Vartak
is currently reading it
Gene Wolfe is one of my most favourite authors. If you have seen movie 300 the story of Latro begins after that battle. I have read his Book of New Sun series few years back, but I can't wait to read it again.
Torn between 3 and 4 stars on this one. It had an easier flow than the previous two, and I really enjoyed Latro's adventure, but then it just...ended. I imagine set up for a 4th book?
At this point, I'd like to know just WHO Latro is. Is he a dispossessed avatar of the gods sent to wander? Simply a pawn the gods bless as they use him to further their purposes?
As always, I like his character and that his honor shines through despite his memory loss day after day. I also liked the theme of "the h...more
At this point, I'd like to know just WHO Latro is. Is he a dispossessed avatar of the gods sent to wander? Simply a pawn the gods bless as they use him to further their purposes?
As always, I like his character and that his honor shines through despite his memory loss day after day. I also liked the theme of "the h...more
Oct 02, 2010
Tim
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
fiction,
novel,
fantasy,
historical,
ancient,
egypt,
gods,
amnesia,
exploration,
latro,
wellington,
public,
library
Soldier of Sidon is among the most readable of Wolfe's books, though filled with his usual indirect intrigues.
Latro continues to forget at the end of each day and his adventures continue to end when he has filled in his scroll. Yet Soldier of Sidon ends better than the previous two books in the series.
Latro's closing opinion of his returned wife -- "I think her dishonest, but she is young and willing, and besides who is not?" -- struck me as a great line, though it could have been written by any...more
Latro continues to forget at the end of each day and his adventures continue to end when he has filled in his scroll. Yet Soldier of Sidon ends better than the previous two books in the series.
Latro's closing opinion of his returned wife -- "I think her dishonest, but she is young and willing, and besides who is not?" -- struck me as a great line, though it could have been written by any...more
Gene Wolfe has an amazing ability to evoke time and place without overburdening the reader with too much detail. Some writers of historical novels seem to try to show off their knowledge of their setting by throwing in so many details that it becomes a chore to wade through it all, enough already, just get on with the story. This is a quick read, a good deal of the story moves along based on conversations. My only complaint being that the memory problems of the title character can be a bit tires...more
Oh, I'll never stop loving Gene Wolfe or badass protagonists with amnesia. Ergo, this book is pretty sweet.
The best novel set in Persian-ruled Egypt that I've read.
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Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is 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 is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field.
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fict...more
More about Gene Wolfe...
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fict...more
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“He shook his head. "Everyone fears me, except you, Latro. When a man is respected, no one wants to plant a dagger in his back. When he is feared, everyone thinks upon it, and tests the point.”
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