Rating: 
Summary: difficulty is sometimes worth the price
Review: Agreed with the foregoing: PEACE is indeed a "haunting and frighteningly literate retelling" of Edgar Lee Masters's SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, situated somewhere on the literary spectrum between H.P. Lovecraft and Sherwood Anderson. What is most remarkable about PEACE, to me, is the way it defies any easy categorization, from genre (it's not exactly science fiction, but if not, what is it?) to form (ostensibly the interrelated, and frequently interrupted, deathbed ramblings of an old man, which ultimately construct their own dream-like architecture). In this sense PEACE is most similar to the novels of Jonathan Carroll, who mines similar territory.My only caveats would be Tor's tiny, occluded typesetting (a valid regret, as noted elsewhere here) and the fact that Wolfe chooses to drop us into Weer's meditations without any gloss or preparation. The first thirty pages are indeed rough going--even for those of us who were in fact schooled on Joyce, Garcia Marquez, and Faulkner. Like Carroll, Alan Garner, and other contemporary fabulists, Wolfe has yet to receive his due from the mainstream literary establishment. It's a pity. This novel should have at least started that ball rolling, long ago.
Rating:
Summary: difficulty is sometimes worth the price
Review: Agreed with the foregoing: PEACE is indeed a "haunting and frighteningly literate retelling" of Edgar Lee Masters's SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, situated somewhere on the literary spectrum between H.P. Lovecraft and Sherwood Anderson. What is most remarkable about PEACE, to me, is the way it defies any easy categorization, from genre (it's not exactly science fiction, but if not, what is it?) to form (ostensibly the interrelated, and frequently interrupted, deathbed ramblings of an old man, which ultimately construct their own dream-like architecture). In this sense PEACE is most similar to the novels of Jonathan Carroll, who mines similar territory. My only caveats would be Tor's tiny, occluded typesetting (a valid regret, as noted elsewhere here) and the fact that Wolfe chooses to drop us into Weer's meditations without any gloss or preparation. The first thirty pages are indeed rough going--even for those of us who were in fact schooled on Joyce, Garcia Marquez, and Faulkner. Like Carroll, Alan Garner, and other contemporary fabulists, Wolfe has yet to receive his due from the mainstream literary establishment. It's a pity. This novel should have at least started that ball rolling, long ago.
Rating:
Summary: difficulty is sometimes worth the price
Review: Agreed with the foregoing: PEACE is indeed a "haunting and frighteningly literate retelling" of Edgar Lee Masters's SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, situated somewhere on the literary spectrum between H.P. Lovecraft and Sherwood Anderson. What is most remarkable about PEACE, to me, is the way it defies any easy categorization, from genre (it's not exactly science fiction, but if not, what is it?) to form (ostensibly the interrelated, and frequently interrupted, deathbed ramblings of an old man, which ultimately construct their own dream-like architecture). In this sense PEACE is most similar to the novels of Jonathan Carroll, who mines similar territory. My only caveats would be Tor's tiny, occluded typesetting (a valid regret, as noted elsewhere here) and the fact that Wolfe chooses to drop us into Weer's meditations without any gloss or preparation. The first thirty pages are indeed rough going--even for those of us who were in fact schooled on Joyce, Garcia Marquez, and Faulkner. Like Carroll, Alan Garner, and other contemporary fabulists, Wolfe has yet to receive his due from the mainstream literary establishment. It's a pity. This novel should have at least started that ball rolling, long ago.
Rating: 
Summary: An Unusual Yet Satisfying Reading Experience
Review: Gene Wolfe's "Peace" is one of the strangest, yet most satisfying books I've read in a long time. It's very hard to talk about the plot, except that it is largely a reflection of an old man on his life experiences. The book says so many things that almost overwhelm the reader, but I imagine looking back over a lifetime of experiences can be overwhelming. I recently read an interview with Wolfe in which he said that authors often reveal clues several times in their books. He only reveals a clue once. He presupposes that the reader is smart enough to stay with him on his level. The ability to do that, at least for me, was difficult, but the journey was extremely worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: An Unusual Yet Satisfying Reading Experience
Review: Gene Wolfe's "Peace" is one of the strangest, yet most satisfying books I've read in a long time. It's very hard to talk about the plot, except that it is largely a reflection of an old man on his life experiences. The book says so many things that almost overwhelm the reader, but I imagine looking back over a lifetime of experiences can be overwhelming. I recently read an interview with Wolfe in which he said that authors often reveal clues several times in their books. He only reveals a clue once. He presupposes that the reader is smart enough to stay with him on his level. The ability to do that, at least for me, was difficult, but the journey was extremely worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Don't give up at the beginning
Review: It took several attempts for me to get past the first chapter of this book, but it is well worth it, so don't give up! I really don't know what this book is "about", but it concerns a dying man's look back over his life. Hmmm... sounds deadly dull. Luckily, Gene Wolfe's intricate prose breathes life into an eclectic set of personal recollections which winds around and finally swallows itself. It has all the complexity, the secrets within secrets, and the knowing asides better left unsaid that characterize all of Wolfe's work. Whatever he's trying to say, he says it well.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Masterpieces of Modern Fiction
Review: PEACE is a beautiful, strange, intricate novel; it is also a puzzle, but the puzzle is not concerned with cleverness or authorial tricks--rather, here, the puzzle is the essential human question: "What kind of story is this?" PEACE, as it invokes Lovecraft, the Arabian Nights, Sherwood Anderson, Borges, Flann O'Brien, and other restless spirits, answers and re-asks this final question. This is Wolfe at his finest, and Wolfe at his finest is as good as it gets. PEACE is also an excellent introduction to Wolfe, for those daunted by THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN. The only better introduction, in my opinion, is the equally touching and marvelous THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, which may especially be preferable for long-time readers of science-fiction.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Masterpieces of Modern Fiction
Review: PEACE is a beautiful, strange, intricate novel; it is also a puzzle, but the puzzle is not concerned with cleverness or authorial tricks--rather, here, the puzzle is the essential human question: "What kind of story is this?" PEACE, as it invokes Lovecraft, the Arabian Nights, Sherwood Anderson, Borges, Flann O'Brien, and other restless spirits, answers and re-asks this final question. This is Wolfe at his finest, and Wolfe at his finest is as good as it gets. PEACE is also an excellent introduction to Wolfe, for those daunted by THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN. The only better introduction, in my opinion, is the equally touching and marvelous THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, which may especially be preferable for long-time readers of science-fiction.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Masterpieces of Modern Fiction
Review: PEACE is a beautiful, strange, intricate novel; it is also a puzzle, but the puzzle is not concerned with cleverness or authorial tricks--rather, here, the puzzle is the essential human question: "What kind of story is this?" PEACE, as it invokes Lovecraft, the Arabian Nights, Sherwood Anderson, Borges, Flann O'Brien, and other restless spirits, answers and re-asks this final question. This is Wolfe at his finest, and Wolfe at his finest is as good as it gets. PEACE is also an excellent introduction to Wolfe, for those daunted by THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN. The only better introduction, in my opinion, is the equally touching and marvelous THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS, which may especially be preferable for long-time readers of science-fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Unreadable.
Review: Please follow instructions carefully: a) If you didn't read Joyce's Ulysses don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. b) If you didn't love Joyce's Ulysses don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. c) If you didn't re-read Joyce's Ulysses don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. d) If you believe that only Joyce could write like Joyce don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. e) If you're still going through this checklist but you dislike Yellow Pages-like typesetting don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. f) If you happen to love crammed typesettings but you don't have perfect sight and can't make out overgraced (and crammed) fonts don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. g) If you're still with me but aren't really keen on looking for terminally depressing storylines don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. h) By the way, did you orgasm on Finnegan's Wake as well? Because if not... don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. i) If you were about to buy this book because you trusted Neil Gaiman's ecstatic comments about it don't buy this book and look elsewhere now (that's how I stumbled on Peace as well, darn!). j) So I got you. You're a relative of Mr. Wolfe, are you? Well, remember all the horrible greeting cards he sent you (if ever) and don't buy this book and look elsewhere now. k) Seriously.
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