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8th out of 19 books
—
22 voters
The Sorcerer's House
by
Gene Wolfe
In a contemporary town in the American midwest where he has no connections, Bax, an educated man recently released from prison, is staying in a motel. Hewrites letters to his brother and to others, including a friend still in jail, to whom he progressively reveals the intriguing pieces of a strange and fantastic narrative. When he meets a real estate agent who tells him he...more
Hardcover, 302 pages
Published
March 16th 2010
by Tor Books
(first published March 1st 2010)
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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...more
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...more
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Incredible. Tremendous. Words fail to express the skill with which master storyteller Wolfe paints this fantastic tale of family and redemption and homecoming. I struggle to describe the story without giving too much away, but honestly its not so much the story as the telling that makes Wolfe's novels so magical. The "unreliable narrator" has long been Wolfe's milieu, from Severian the liar to Latro the amnesiac to Able the child. And, like The Wizard-Knight duology that told Able's tale, The So...more
A Light, Engaging tale by a Modern Master of the Fantastic.
Written in letters, the book is a sort of fantasy/mystery that centers around the educated, ex-con Bax’s attempts to unravel the supernatural goings on at the mansion he’s been left by a mysterious man. The letters go down like popcorn. No sooner do you swallow one, you are ready for the next – I read it in the course of a rainy Sunday.
The heart of the story deals with entangled family relationships, especially that of Bax and his brothe...more
Written in letters, the book is a sort of fantasy/mystery that centers around the educated, ex-con Bax’s attempts to unravel the supernatural goings on at the mansion he’s been left by a mysterious man. The letters go down like popcorn. No sooner do you swallow one, you are ready for the next – I read it in the course of a rainy Sunday.
The heart of the story deals with entangled family relationships, especially that of Bax and his brothe...more
In a small town somewhere in the American Midwest, recent parolee Bax Dunn has been staying in a dirtbag hotel where the manager not only opens his mail, but tries to cash his check, which through reading we discover is an allowance from his inheritance. Bax is strolling around and encounters an abandoned house, which he takes an immediate liking to.
As a highly educated man, he knows that he shouldn't just move in, but does, reasoning that he can probably convince the owner to let him stay for...more
As a highly educated man, he knows that he shouldn't just move in, but does, reasoning that he can probably convince the owner to let him stay for...more
Fun, fun, fun!! Imagine you are a parolee moving to a random town and finding a big abandoned house with some squatters. You have no money and decide to squat yourself. You start taking care of the place, because you are a nice guy (maybe) and think you can make an arrangement with the real estate company: you will take care of the house and get to live there for free. And then you meet the relevant person and find out that that the deed to the house is in your name! How nice! Or is it? What a f...more
This epistolary portal fantasy features a mysterious house and dreamlike crossovers into faerie, but also, unfortunately, a narrator with abnormal fear conditioning and a voice so flat that I thought of _The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_ and wondered if Wolfe meant to suggest the character has Asperger's or some other problem. Certainly, unreliable narration and damaged characters are easy to find in his other books, and there's at least one moment in this novel where it's obvio...more
It's always a bummer to read a book by an author you like and it's so bad it makes you rethink your opinions of all their previous books. Granted, it has been seven years since I've read anything by Wolfe other than Wizard Knight. There might be a similar level of sexism in his other books that I just don't remember, but this just felt way over the top. This isn't just a case of subtle misrepresentation either. This book has a number of cases of stupid gender essentialist notions like "women, li...more
Apr 11, 2010
John
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Gene Wolfe or China Mieville
Recommended to John by:
Tom Westberg
Shelves:
urban-fantasy
It's a stretch to call this Urban Fantasy, since most of Wolfe's books are hard to fit into a single niche but it will do.
I hesitate to even try to describe the book because it's just so unusual it arguably defines easy description, which was part of the fascination. The short description is that it is a tale told through letters by one Baxter Dunn, the identical twin of George Dunn, as his life progresses after he leaves prison.
He "inherits" a house and various other accessories, like an odd bu...more
I hesitate to even try to describe the book because it's just so unusual it arguably defines easy description, which was part of the fascination. The short description is that it is a tale told through letters by one Baxter Dunn, the identical twin of George Dunn, as his life progresses after he leaves prison.
He "inherits" a house and various other accessories, like an odd bu...more
Many of Gene Wolfe's books require your undivided attention because there can be so many layers and subtleties to what is going on.
This one is much more straight-forward, at least by Gene Wolfe's standards.
An epistolary novel that works quite well in that format. Part mystery, fairy story, fantasy it was not at all what I expected based on the title, but I should have known better.
The story involves Bax who has just been released from prison and ends up finding his way into a seemingly abandoned...more
This one is much more straight-forward, at least by Gene Wolfe's standards.
An epistolary novel that works quite well in that format. Part mystery, fairy story, fantasy it was not at all what I expected based on the title, but I should have known better.
The story involves Bax who has just been released from prison and ends up finding his way into a seemingly abandoned...more
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 readi...more
A holder of 2 PhD's (for reasons to be discovered readi...more
I'm still not really sure what happened in this book. I liked this book a lot, which is kind of weird for me. I feel like I shouldn't like this book because I'm still confused. But my love of Lost has taught me that sometimes a narrative journey that grabs you by the seat of your pants is fun just for the sake of the journey. I enjoyed the weirdness of this novel. I enjoyed the fact that it's written all in letters - I love epistolary narratives because the reader is held hostage in a way by the...more
The story in this book is told through a collection of letters. This idea is certainly not new, but it does possibly introduce a new element to Wolfe's work. As is common among many of Wolfe's novels, we must at least assume that it is possible that we have an unreliable narrator (or narrators, or curator). As is often the case, we must also assume that important events are probably happening "off-camera". The main question to ask with this style of story telling is, how much of the story should...more
Good read, and a relatively easy one for Wolfe. The mysteries are concentrated to a few choice issues, rather than spread out all over. (Re: the Latro books, or any of the Sun books.) I'd actually recommend this as a good, gentle introduction to Wolfe.
Highlights of this as an intro to Wolfe:
Being a collection of letters, it has a wide range of voices to it (A scholar, an inmate, a rich man's trophy wife, a psychic) and showcases what would otherwise take a fair amount of Wolfe novels read to no...more
Highlights of this as an intro to Wolfe:
Being a collection of letters, it has a wide range of voices to it (A scholar, an inmate, a rich man's trophy wife, a psychic) and showcases what would otherwise take a fair amount of Wolfe novels read to no...more
This book was weird -- pure and simple. I have never read Gene Wolfe but I will make a point of considering reading more of his work. This story was just plain strange. It is written in a series of letters although it could have been done as a journal. After reading it, I was not sure that the name "The Sorcerer's House" was the best title.
The main character in the book is Bax who moves into a house that is located in the real world and farie. He does not realize this for quite some time. At an...more
The main character in the book is Bax who moves into a house that is located in the real world and farie. He does not realize this for quite some time. At an...more
Gene Wolfe is my favorite author (and I am of course grateful to him for inventing Pringles as well), so I feel as if I ought to give this a slightly longer review than the usual two or three sentences. The Sorcerer's House reads more like a Neil Gaiman novel than most of Wolfe's work, and is similar in many ways to American Gods, another novel about which I had mixed feelings.
The Sorcerer's House is a story told through a series of letters, most of them written by Baxter Dunn, a college profess...more
The Sorcerer's House is a story told through a series of letters, most of them written by Baxter Dunn, a college profess...more
I loved this book, in all its weirdness. This is an epistolary novel, which is not easy to do with a modern story. It works here because the protagonist doesn't have a phone, and he had to hock his laptop, so no email. This was a very fun read. How can you not like a book with a vampire that not only sucks blood, but also steals clothes off of clotheslines. I also appreciated the protagonist's writing to someone in jail and stating that he would not describe the food at a Chinese restaurant, and...more
The moment I saw that Neil Gaiman had given this a high rating, I put it on my reading list. But once I got several days into it, I knew there were problems. I was reading it at bedtime and it was putting me to sleep too quickly.
Maybe I'm one of those lazy readers that Neil mentions in his review, but I never quite "got" this book, other than it's written as a series of letters to and from an ex-con who starts out as a squatter and becomes the owner of a house with odd properties and odd charact...more
Maybe I'm one of those lazy readers that Neil mentions in his review, but I never quite "got" this book, other than it's written as a series of letters to and from an ex-con who starts out as a squatter and becomes the owner of a house with odd properties and odd charact...more
Epistolary novel from the master of the narrative sleight of hand, this time a modern haunted house tale, 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 in order to earn 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 boys, seem to live there with him; and the house itself appears to...more
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 boys, seem to live there with him; and the house itself appears to...more
A very entertaining read that fits so well into the worlds of MYTHAGO WOOD and HOUSE OF LEAVES, that I sometimes wondered if Wolfe was doing some kind of collaborative or tribute project.
Unfortunately (to my mind at least), Wolfe follows his standard theme of an everyday guy who tackles extraordinary events without batting an eye. The secondary characters express the appropriate freak-out level, but not the main. It's as if all of Wolfe's protags were already heavily medicated before the start o...more
Unfortunately (to my mind at least), Wolfe follows his standard theme of an everyday guy who tackles extraordinary events without batting an eye. The secondary characters express the appropriate freak-out level, but not the main. It's as if all of Wolfe's protags were already heavily medicated before the start o...more
May 12, 2010
Patrick Burgess
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Neil Gaiman lovers (literarily, not literally, speaking), the unlucky... penpals?
Shelves:
reviewed
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 wa...more
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 wa...more
The Sorcerer’s House is about an ex-con named Bax, who finds himself the lucky inheritor of an enormous house and a huge sum of money. No sooner has he settled into the impossibly large house does he experience some strange goings-on within.
Upon inspecting the book’s summary at the cover’s inner flap, one would have easily thought, “Oh, another one of those haunted house stories.” The only noticeable difference is that the story is delivered through a series of letters written by the main charac...more
Upon inspecting the book’s summary at the cover’s inner flap, one would have easily thought, “Oh, another one of those haunted house stories.” The only noticeable difference is that the story is delivered through a series of letters written by the main charac...more
An enjoyable read, much more straightforward and easy to follow than most of Wolfe's work, in my opinion. The story is told entirely through letters, mostly from newly released convict Baxter Dunn to his estranged brother, George.
In a somewhat Dickensian manner, Baxter comes into possession of a magical house, filled with mysterious, sometimes human servants, which allows access into the realm of Faerie. Baxter tries to answer obvious questions about the house and his inquiry leads him to new an...more
In a somewhat Dickensian manner, Baxter comes into possession of a magical house, filled with mysterious, sometimes human servants, which allows access into the realm of Faerie. Baxter tries to answer obvious questions about the house and his inquiry leads him to new an...more
Read this one b/c Neil Gaiman raved about it. Of course, Wolfe did dedicate The Sorcerer's House to Gaiman, so there may be a tiny bit of bias there. Also, my husband and I read The Book of the New Sun together, and loved it.
While The Sorcerer's House is no Book of the New Sun, it is extremely compelling. A book I would have read straight through if I had the time and one that I stayed up way too late with for a couple of nights. Speaking of which, it's not such a great 2AM read if you're easil...more
While The Sorcerer's House is no Book of the New Sun, it is extremely compelling. A book I would have read straight through if I had the time and one that I stayed up way too late with for a couple of nights. Speaking of which, it's not such a great 2AM read if you're easil...more
'The Sorcerer's House' is a curious book. It was written in the form of letters to and from the protagonist, Bax, and assorted others giving the voyeuristic feel one might have cleaning out an old house and coming upon a stack of letters in the back of a drawer.
I loved the feel of this book; the uniqueness of the letters and the wonderfully distinct 'voice' each of the letters' writers has. While there were certainly no characters to fall in love with here, the mystery the book presents lingers...more
I loved the feel of this book; the uniqueness of the letters and the wonderfully distinct 'voice' each of the letters' writers has. While there were certainly no characters to fall in love with here, the mystery the book presents lingers...more
The mysteries I thought I had solved turned out to have different solutions, and I'm certain that a second reading will provide more to chew over. It feels like a straight story rather than one of Wolfe's mystical tapestries, but within the book are layers of puzzles, characterisation that is clear as a bell, occasional humour, genuine spookiness and the remarkable way in which he makes hoary old cliches and tropes seem new and strange again.
Did I mention what it's about at all? It's an epistola...more
Did I mention what it's about at all? It's an epistola...more
The Sorcerer's House is entertaining and often funny and kept me wondering what would happen next. Still, I got the feeling that Wolfe made it up as he went along (though I doubt that's true). The story includes many favorite character types from fantasy and horror novels, an interesting portal into the faery world, and several surprising plot twists. Wolfe is very good at blending the mundane and the fantastic. But I felt that the characters were flat and inconsistent. One character was never r...more
Sometimes, I think Gene Wolfe's only aim is to mystify me. He certainly managed that in his "Sun" books, or at least till nearly the end. This book's ending left me slightly more puzzled than it would if it had finished where I expected it to. An enjoyable read, but in some ways unsatisfying.
An epistolary novel - shades of Richardson's "Clarissa" - well not quite, not nearly so long. This is a lot easier reading than "The Book of the New Sun", for example and I would have finished it in a day if...more
An epistolary novel - shades of Richardson's "Clarissa" - well not quite, not nearly so long. This is a lot easier reading than "The Book of the New Sun", for example and I would have finished it in a day if...more
Gene Wolfe, you disappoint me. I like that your books are complicated puzzles. I like the crazy onomastic games you play and the hints you drop that the narrative is not in fact simple, but is in fact deeply subtle. There is a warm spot in my heart for epistolary novels. But this book was lame! It's all puzzle! If the book itself isn't interesting I don't care to tease out the (former con man who sounds exactly like every other Gene Wolfe protagonist) narrator's manipulative lies. If it's not in...more
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...more
This is a 5-star / 1-star book for me. The 1-star reasons have stayed with me the most, so I'm giving it 2 stars. First the 5-star: it's a great story, with crazy characters and delightful little surprises and moments. A modern fantasy story that combines both magic and cell phones and urban myths and fairy tales.
The 1-star: it's set up as an epistolary novel (everything is told through letters) but that device becomes very tired halfway through the book, and many of the dialogues are recounted...more
The 1-star: it's set up as an epistolary novel (everything is told through letters) but that device becomes very tired halfway through the book, and many of the dialogues are recounted...more
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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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