Rating: 
Summary: Wolfe's Best!
Review: This wonderful novel is narrated by a teenage boy wandering around the universe interlocking magical realms with every step. An elf queen coverts the boy into a knight, Sir Able of the High Heart, which he then evolves from during the time he remains a boy in a man's body. This is the first of Wolfe's novels about the adventures the boy turned knight must face to gain some understanding of the world and himself.
Rating:
Summary: The Knight may be the Greatest Work by a Great Writer
Review: Gene Wolfe's The Knight is the first half of a long single novel (to be known as The Wizard Knight in its entirety). The Knight is a fascinating read that succeeds on every level.The Knight follows the peregrinations of Sir Able of the High Heart, a young-seeming knight aspirant who attains adulthood (or has it restored to him) overnight. The novel draws heavily on both the legends of chivalry and Northern mythology. Wolfe succeeds admirably in depicting both the ultimately hollow beauty of the former and the cold majesty of the latter. Never have the Norse frost giants seemed as inexorably menacing as in Wolfe's portrayal, for instance. Wolfe is (not unfairly) often considered to be a difficult writer. The Knight is perhaps his most reader accessible work. Nevetheless, although straightforward-seeming, the book cannot be taken entirely at face value! The narrator is unreliable, as Wolfe's narrators always are. The book is best approached with extreme caution; the reader should not assume that nothing of any great import happens during a change of scenes, for instance. Wolfe fans will not need any urging to read this book. Readers who have never tried Wolfe, perhaps put off by his reputation for being obscure or difficult, or those who have tried him and given him up as a bad job, are urged to try (again) with The Knight. Will Wolfe be able to live up to absurdly high expectations in the second part of the story? His readers will impatiently await publication of The Wizard to find out.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine addition to the Wolfe canon
Review: I read my first Gene Wolfe novel almost a year and a half ago. The collected (book club) edition of "Book of the New Sun" had sat collecting dust on my shelves for at least a year before I ever picked it up. I had been looking for new novel or series of novels to read after being disappointed with the newest release of one of the pulp-fiction fantasy epics that seem to be all too common these days. After reading the first page of New Sun, I knew I was hooked. I subsequently read all of Wolfe's Briah Cycle, and started going through his other novels and stories. I was therefore extremely excited when I first heard about Wolfe's new Wizard Knight series. "The Knight" is suffused with the depth, intelligence, and originality that has come to characterize all of Wolfe's work. The device of plucking someone from modern times and setting them in a strange medieval world has been used since before fantasy and science-fiction were even recognized sub-genres of fiction. In many authors' hands, this device can be ineffectual and tedious. But the style and grace with which Wolfe handles his story make it rise above what would be expected from any other author. While "The Knight" is certainly more straightfoward and accessible than Wolfe's Sun or Latro books, it is still full of his signature enigmas, misdirection, and revelations. Looking across the breadth of modern fantasy today (especially epic fantasy), it becomes clear that most fantasy novels are suffering from the inbreeding that has resulted from too few new ideas being introduced and far too many old ideas being recycled and respun. Most fantasy authors are either unconciously retreading the path that Tolkien forged or conciously afraid to deviate too far from it. Even worse, many novels are beginning to recycle ideas from second and third generation Tolkien knock-offs -- the "classics" <read sarcasm here> of the late eighties and early nineties. Gene Wolfe does not fall prey to these vices. While his novels do have identifiable influences (Tolkien certainly being among them for this novel), he does not rely on so fallow a field from which to draw his ideas and themes. The tone of "The Knight" is very different from the tone of all of Wolfe's Sun books. This is partly due to the diffence between its narrator and the narrators from Wolfe's Briah Cycle. The maturity of the narrators in the Sun novels increases with each series. Severian (New Sun) is one of my favorite protagonists of all time, but looking back at the four New Sun books (five including Urth), his behavior is often pretty juvenile. Patera Silk (Long Sun) is one of the most wholly moral characters ever created, but he is also fairly naive. It is only with Horn/Silk in the Short Sun series that Wolfe's narrator has finally grown into a mature adult. In the Knight, Wolfe's narrator is a child, and maintains a child's perspective and attitude throughout the novel, despite being miraculously transformed physically into an adult of Herculean proportions near its beginning. Wolfe uses this device to maximum effect as our young hero progresses through a series of picaresque adventures common to Wolfe's novels. His actions and observations as he progresses through, above, and below the world of Mythgathr are sometimes comical and often unexpectedly insightful. This may be the first novel that Wolfe has written that could be enjoyed equally by adults and young adults with equal satisfaction (but for very different reasons). While I cannot personally compare Wizard Knight series to Wolfe's seminal Sun books until I have read it's conclusion, "The Knight" is good Gene Wolfe, and as another reviewer said earlier, much more really doesn't need to be said.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: It kinda grew on me as I went, the first chapters reminded me of some of those crappy realworld/fantasy books but then it starting working and you could ignore the part about Able being an American in fantasy land.
Then it turns into a real Wolfe book as the story picks up with lots of strange characters and whatnot. I think New Sun is still his best work but this is very good and just as entertaining as Long Sun or Short Sun. Can't wait for The Wizard.
Rating:
Summary: Gene Wolfe's Harry Potter
Review: It's been three days since I finished "The Knight," and I miss it. I miss hearing the music of its language. I miss seeing the world it creates. "The Knight" is Wolfe's fastest paced and most accessible book. There are sixty nine chapters, in each of which at least four or five things happen: that adds up to hundreds of events--battles, revelations, miracles, surprises (compare to heroic fantasies at twice the length in which not a single thing happens.) Elves and angels, giants and princesses, dragons and knights appear in a transfigured form, as if before you saw them through a glass darkly, and now, in this book, as they really are. All this is described in sentences like diamonds: so clear and hard-edged, they sparkle; but beware--any one can open up into a hall of mirrors or a chasm. Gene Wolfe writes fantasy with the logic and rigor of science fiction and the mystery and color of magical realism. The vertically stacked universe of "The Knight" has an antecedent in Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon the Deep;" the proliferation of characters, disguises and intrigues recalls the myth-based thrillers of Tim Powers. But the vastness, the speed, the sheer beauty of Wolfe's book can only be compared to epic poetry: the medieval dream visions of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "The Pearl," or the post-modern action-adventure of Les Murray's "Freddy Neptune." Or "Harry Potter." Actually, it's not at all like "Harry Potter," but like "Harry Potter" should have been. In both, a young protagonist from the modern world enters a fantasy universe where places and creatures have evocative names. But there, the similarity ends. The Valfather is a man from Skai. When a dragon opens its mouth, you see a person's face. If that means anything to you, you have to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wolfe Magic
Review: To begin with, you should read it. It's good Wolfe, and really little more needs to be said. Gene Wolfe is one of the finest writers alive, and this is a wonderful book. Is THE KNIGHT great fun, full of battles, giants, dragons, fey creatures, and magic? It is. Those seeking a fun high-fantasy story with an engaging narrator won't be disappointed. However, the usual puzzles, tricks, possible obfuscation and lovely (though usually simple in this case) use of language that readers expect from Wolfe are also present. The events are in plain sight, without any obvious BOOK OF THE NEW SUN-like elisions, but the meanings have not yet emerged. There's a kind tribute to Poul Anderson, some clever use of the Lindsay/Eddison "narrator from our world" approach, and so forth. This is a welcome present to long-time Wolfe fans, and not a bad starting place for new Wolfe readers, though the long wait until THE WIZARD arrives makes THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN a possibly better choice.
Rating:
Summary: Be prepared for the wait until The Wizard arrives...
Review: The Knight is an absolutely wonderful book. I thoroughly enjoyed every scene, and every character was brought to life magnificently. This is classic Gene Wolfe, but i must admit that when just into the book i was fooled into thinking this was going to be more straight-forward with less of the intricacies and mysteries than something like The Book of the New Sun.
I was wrong.
Just as soon as i finished i wanted to dive right back in and try to figure some things out. I hope Mr. Wolfe wins the Hugo for this, he certainly deserves it more that anyone.
Don't miss this!!!
Rating:
Summary: A boy becomes a man but is still a boy...I'm so confused!
Review: Are you tired of generic fantasy? If you are, and you saw a book titled The Knight in your bookstore travels, would you pick it up? Maybe, but probably not. However, you then glance at the author's name, and you see "Gene Wolfe." If you're a big fantasy or science fiction fan, that name may be enough to make you pause. You've heard so many raves about this man's writing that you look a bit closer. You read the dust jacket. What's this? A story about a young man in his teens "transported to a magical realm" where he is transformed into a man and works at becoming a knight? What is this? Do they seriously expect us to buy a book so mundane? Given all of that, The Knight has a lot going against it. But it has one major thing going for it that gets past all that: Gene Wolfe. I have never read any of Wolfe's books, but he has such a reputation among the SF crowd that I decided to give this book a chance. Am I glad I did. The Knight takes all of the cliches of the sword & sorcery genre and turns them on their heads. The boy, Able, does not turn into the manly hero overnight, as normally happens. He does not meet the normal wizards and other bad folk that lesser writers employ as villains. Able is on a quest for a magic sword, which he must steal from a dragon. However, he refuses to wield any sword until he wins this one, and he does not become a master swordsman in one fell swoop. In fact, he gets by on a little luck and a lot of help from his friends, especially a dog that is not really a dog. This, coupled with the wonderful Wolfe prose that I've heard so much about makes this book a real winner. The book is written in first person, a letter or story written to his older brother in the "real" world. It's unclear when Able wrote this, but he obviously hasn't grown up too much, or at least he hasn't gained much skill in writing. He goes back and forth at times, omitting important details other times. He gets petulant, and the point of view is obviously that of a boy trying hard to be a man. Lesser writers would use this as an excuse for bad writing, but Wolfe's intentions are clear, winking at the reader and showing us that he is definitely doing this intentionally. Able is an unreliable narrator, seeming not to know when he's forgetting some of the more interesting stuff. Wolfe captures Able beautifully, making us care about what happens to him despite him being fairly unlikable. He can treat people horribly, often without realizing it. This is especially true of two of his "slaves," Fire Aelf women who revel in trying to entice him into forgetting all of this Knight business and instead have fun with them. While he is successful in resisting them, in doing so he often treats them worse then even slaves deserve. He also forgets about his "dog" Gylf at times, even when Gylf has been away for very long periods of time. In fact, the only two people he treats with much respect at all are the two knights who assist him on the road to knighthood: Sir Garvaon and Sir Ravd. Ravd teaches him what knightly qualities are, including what it takes to actually be a knight. Garvaon begins to teach him swordcraft. The minor characters are great, even though we have to peer through Able's narrative to see them. Garvaon and Ravd are honorable men who have an illustrious shine put on them by Able's words, but even the lesser characters are distinctive and well-characterized. Gylf is one of the best, when he's willing to talk that is (he won't talk if anybody else is around). He has a small sense of humour and is very plain, but he is vicious when his master needs protecting. It's unclear what he truly is, though he is definitely a creature from a different realm (there being seven, one on top of another, in the mythos Wolfe creates), but beyond that we don't know. Wolfe keeps him simple but mysterious, and I hope we find out more about him in the second book. For a book like this, there is surprisingly little action in it. With the exception of one battle (and even that is truncated), there is very little description of the various battles in which Able is involved. Instead, Able tells all of these stories in hindsight, giving us the effect of them without the actual battle scenes. I don't know whether Wolfe is showing us how these scenes are ultimately uninteresting or if it's a conceit of Able's narration, but I found it intriguing how the text shies away from the subject. Garvaon's sword lessons are told in great detail, but these are mostly dialogue between the two characters so it's quite different. Instead, we get a lot of characterization, philosophy, and weird images. Some of Able's dreams will have to be read more than once to even begin to understand what they mean, and some of them may not be explained until the second book. Wolfe succeeds in making the book impossible to put down despite the lack of action. Ultimately, The Knight is a rewarding read for those tired of the typical fantasy hack-n-slash festivals. Wolfe takes everything you thought you knew and turns out a thoroughly unpredictable read that will keep you going well past your bedtime. Don't let the generic title and plot description fool you. This is one of the greats. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: Another fine addition to the Wolfe canon
Review: I read my first Gene Wolfe novel almost a year and a half ago. The collected (book club) edition of "Book of the New Sun" had sat collecting dust on my shelves for at least a year before I ever picked it up. I had been looking for new novel or series of novels to read after being disappointed with the newest release of one of the pulp-fiction fantasy epics that seem to be all too common these days. After reading the first page of New Sun, I knew I was hooked. I subsequently read all of Wolfe's Briah Cycle, and started going through his other novels and stories. I was therefore extremely excited when I first heard about Wolfe's new Wizard Knight series. "The Knight" is suffused with the depth, intelligence, and originality that has come to characterize all of Wolfe's work. The device of plucking someone from modern times and setting them in a strange medieval world has been used since before fantasy and science-fiction were even recognized sub-genres of fiction. In many authors' hands, this device can be ineffectual and tedious. But the style and grace with which Wolfe handles his story make it rise above what would be expected from any other author. While "The Knight" is certainly more straightfoward and accessible than Wolfe's Sun or Latro books, it is still full of his signature enigmas, misdirection, and revelations. Looking across the breadth of modern fantasy today (especially epic fantasy), it becomes clear that most fantasy novels are suffering from the inbreeding that has resulted from too few new ideas being introduced and far too many old ideas being recycled and respun. Most fantasy authors are either unconciously retreading the path that Tolkien forged or conciously afraid to deviate too far from it. Even worse, many novels are beginning to recycle ideas from second and third generation Tolkien knock-offs -- the "classics" of the late eighties and early nineties. Gene Wolfe does not fall prey to these vices. While his novels do have identifiable influences (Tolkien certainly being among them for this novel), he does not rely on so fallow a field from which to draw his ideas and themes. The tone of "The Knight" is very different from the tone of all of Wolfe's Sun books. This is partly due to the diffence between its narrator and the narrators from Wolfe's Briah Cycle. The maturity of the narrators in the Sun novels increases with each series. Severian (New Sun) is one of my favorite protagonists of all time, but looking back at the four New Sun books (five including Urth), his behavior is often pretty juvenile. Patera Silk (Long Sun) is one of the most wholly moral characters ever created, but he is also fairly naive. It is only with Horn/Silk in the Short Sun series that Wolfe's narrator has finally grown into a mature adult. In the Knight, Wolfe's narrator is a child, and maintains a child's perspective and attitude throughout the novel, despite being miraculously transformed physically into an adult of Herculean proportions near its beginning. Wolfe uses this device to maximum effect as our young hero progresses through a series of picaresque adventures common to Wolfe's novels. His actions and observations as he progresses through, above, and below the world of Mythgathr are sometimes comical and often unexpectedly insightful. This may be the first novel that Wolfe has written that could be enjoyed equally by adults and young adults with equal satisfaction (but for very different reasons). While I cannot personally compare Wizard Knight series to Wolfe's seminal Sun books until I have read it's conclusion, "The Knight" is good Gene Wolfe, and as another reviewer said earlier, much more really doesn't need to be said.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but a little too much like work
Review: I did like this book...well...sort of. The story is intriguing, the setting is interesting, the characters engaging, the writing HORRIFIC.
I've read other of Wolfe's books and have encountered the same style. The story s fantastic if he would just tell the tale. His narrative wanders, doubles back, jumps forward, and sometimes just "plays dead." I don't get much time to read due to work, family, etc so I value the time I do have to read as an escape from the real world. This book unfortunately is WAY too much like reading a long, complex science journal to be a real pleasurable experience.
Still.....I would place it on a "worth a look" list.
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