The Knight (The Wizard Knight, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Didn't like it
Review: I really disliked this book. I thought the story was very disjointed. There were gaps in the story line and chronology. I am a fan of scifi/fantasy novels but not this one. I purchased this and the sequel based on Amazon recommendations. I will not be reading the sequel. Check this out from the library before you spend your money.

Rating:
Summary: terrific fantasy
Review: In the United States, his brother Ben needed suddenly to leave, but there was no reason for the young teen to depart also; so he stayed behind to fish, but instead hiked a trail. He was not lost when he slightly went off the path to cut a staff.

He steps into Mythgarthr where he meets the elf Queen of the Wood Disiri, who looks into his soul finding honor and loyalty. She magically changes the lad into an adult knight dubbed Able of the High Heart and provides him with a quest to obtain the mythical sword possessed guarded by a ferocious dragon. If he is to achieve his heroic destiny. However, to sprinkle someone with power and skill and change them into something else does not impact what is inside. The American expatriate struggles with his new environment filled with magic and magical beings and his lack of his experience beyond those of a young teen, not a fighting knight. Though doubts ring his every step, he is still young at heart and so begins his adventures as a stranger in a strange body in a strange land where everybody is strange.

This is a terrific tales because of the realistic transformation of the hero who wonders what he has gotten into while on the trek. The support cast insures readers believe in ogres, giants, elves, griffins, etc. Interestingly is how Sir Able cleverly narrates the novel via a letter to Ben; cleverly providing a glossary of terms and names. Fantasy great, Gene Wolf provides a superb coming of age with a twist story that will have the audience anticipating the conclusion to the Wizard Knight twosome.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Fantasy at its best.
Review: I am a fantasy fan, but one of my complaints about the genre is that what you find usually borders on two extremes. Either a novel is utterly derivative and full of cliche, shoddy writing, and the exact same plot filled with different names, or it is so high minded and literary that it is barely understandable. You either get "cheap thrills" (Robert Jordan) or art house fantasy (China Mieville). You rarely get the novel that is well written and truly enjoyable. But when you do get it (a la George RR Martin,) You get something special.

The Knight is that something special. With The Knight Gene Wolfe has finally taken all his talent, skill, and potential, and he has given us an accesible novel that is brilliantly done. The whole key to this hinges on the protagonist. Able is a young teenage boy who finds himself with the body of a true warrior. Able is a likeable hero with all the flaws of a teenage boy, yet at the same time he is basically a good kid. The story of Able's quest to be a Knight is well written, endearing, and filled with timeless value. It trancends being a story about Able and becomes a story about honor.

You have a strong main character. There are strong side characters. The pacing of the plot is brisk and moves at a nice clip. There are moments of humor and moments of horror. But throught it all Able's determintation to be a noble knight stands as the center of a great story.

There are some quibbles. You end the book still not really knowing why any of this has happened. There are far too many questions left unanswered. But this is classic Wolfe and this is what second volumes are for.

All in all a tremendous novel. If you are a fan of fantasy you need to read this book. Wolfe proves that talent makes the tale and sometimes the old stories are the ones worth reading (and writing.) Outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This is a 5 star story. i think that if you rate it any lower you have not read Wolfe before and/or do not appreciate the thought that must go into writing a book where subtle mysteries are revealed slowly and casually. It is enjoyable to read a story where the author does not cram you full of information and tell you what you are supposed to think about each character and the plot. The reader is fed small bits of mystery and allowed to make up their own mind. Truly a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Exception: Wolfe at his Best
Review: WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS:

Ask yourself, when was the last time you wanted to go back and re-read a book while still in the middle of your initial reading? Most fantasy books can be so good that you don't want to put them down. You keep turning the pages into the wee hours of the night hoping to find out if Frodo makes it to Mount Doom or if Harry defeats Lord Voldemort. These books are so good you want to revisit them again and again, each time discovering something new and delightful within the familiar journey. But with this book, it isn't so much the destination, but the journey itself. Yeah, Able will probably get to his sword eventually, but what the heck just happened in that last chapter? You have some idea of what just happened if you were paying attention, but Wolfe has a way of destroying your assumptions. "Did I just read what I thought I read?" you continually will ask yourself. It will not be uncommon for you to begin chapters over again immediately upon finishing them. You will be compelled to do this. Only the most well-crafted, densely-layered and tantalizing book could accomplish such a feat. Wolfe has already established himself as a master of this type of writing. With The Knight he takes his skills to the next level by creating an intriguing page-turner without sacrificing one whit of his noted literary engineering.

If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, then this book also will provide you with some delightful new takes on some old ideas. Wolfe dips his imagination into the deep pool of Norse mythology complete with its gratuitously violent legends and characters. His giants are more menacing than the slow-witted, ham-fisted oafs we have come to expect from Disney films and Cartoon Network. Not a one utters "fee, fi, fo, fum!" They are too busy engaging in tactical sneak attack maneuvers to thwart an advancing army or sacking and pillaging a small town. We also catch lush glimpses of Valhalla, Odin and the Valkyrie. These characters have not been Xena-tized for your protection. They are presented in pure Nordic tradition, glorious, grand violent warts and all.

This is a rich, sumptuous book that just begs to be devoured. We absolutely loved it.

WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:

While arguably one of his most straightforward and accessible works, The Knight is still brimming with Wolfe's unique brand of literary gamesmanship. He again employs the "unreliable narrator" device in order to tell his tale. While not a liar like Severian nor an apologist like Horn, Able is just too young and naive to perceive the events happening in the world around him. His attempts to explain complex, metaphysical events are obtuse at best leaving the reader to wonder what exactly is going on. He does not possess the skills necessary to translate his experience into something we can identify with. He more or less reports exactly what he sees without providing any sort of cultural context. Things happen because Able says they do and not because of any logical construct. Imagine a character seeing a UFO and describing it as "this thing flying around" and you get some idea of Able's limited narrative abilities. This might be a realistic approach to writing a book in the voice of a young boy, but after a few chapters of this, a reader may find themselves longing for just a hint of dramatic irony. They may also wonder why they can't just pick up a book by Gene Wolfe actually written by Gene Wolfe and not a simulacrum of a faulty translator. If this type of mind teaser does not appeal to you, then it is best to stay out of Wolfe's sandbox. He owns all the pails and shovels and he is not big on sharing.


Rating:
Summary: Something his publisher had on a shelf?
Review: Want to read a better rambling story about a time-displaced knight collecting companions and destoying random enemies as he wanders around between dimensions? Try Michael Moorcock's "Eternal Champion." Want to read an infinitely better tale about wars between supernatural species/dimensions? Try Steven Erikson's "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series. Want to be captivated by compelling animal/non-human companions with extraordinary powers? Check out Robin Hobb's "Farseer" or "Tawny Man" series. Want to be tortured by riveting medieval political intrigue? See Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire." Want to read the best current literary fantasy? Anything by Guy Gavriel Kay, but for glamoured boy-man love obsesessions, his latest "The Last Light of the Sun" should put this book in perspective.

Wolfe at his best has no peer. This Fantasy Reader's Digest mess is not even his C-game and, if his name was not on the cover, I would not have believed he wrote it. The critical review blurbs published on the book's jacket do their authors' credibility serious damage.

Rating:
Summary: If you read Fantasy, read this!
Review: I have read a lot of SF and fantasy and found this hard to get into at times. It took me a long time to finish the book, but in the end it was worth every minute of it. Gene Wolfe is truely a genius as a writer and has woven a tapestry of mystery and adventure. Able is a likeable, if exasperating hero, with a lot of potential. The ending of this book is a surprise, but then, so were many of the major events. Nothing is predicable about this book, nothing. If you want an adventure for your brain, this is the one. I am looking forward to The Wizard!!

Rating:
Summary: Finally a fantasy series to be savored!
Review: "The Knight" is vintage Wolfe !
Wolfe is a brilliant writer, his command of the English Language superb, his writing lyrical and sublime. In The Knight, Wolve has injected novelty into conventional myths, showing us what true fantasy is really all about. All the so called popular fantasy writers out there today should learn from Wolfe instead of churning out pages after pages of the "same old boring plots". The beginning of the "The Knight" is a trifle disjointed but once you get into the rythmn of the story, one can only marvel at and be captivated by Wolfe's rich imagination and style. The protagonist, a boy trapped in a man's body, is a most appealing hero. One can easily identify with his doubts and fears. "The Knight" is an exquisite work of literature and I look forward to the sequel, "The Wizard".

Rating:
Summary: A Fantasy for the Rest of Us
Review: I had my fill of elves and dwarves and magic swords thirty years ago, and have found most high fantasy published in the recent glut of same to have little to say, take too many pages not to say it, and be all too inclined to be interchangeable with 99% of the others. But when Gene Wolfe takes on a genre he doesn't do the expected thing. Under the spell of his artistry Aelf queens, dragons, and enchanted swords shed their tired, cliché images and become fresh and new and meaningful again, and the overworked quarters of high fantasy receive visitors from some very unusual places, to say the least.

What most of the negative reviewers in these pages seem to have missed is that The Knight is an epistolary novel: it's one long letter to the protagonist's brother back in our world -- a world to which he will almost certainly never return. Our hero is probably all of 16 years old as he writes this letter. He writes simply and honestly. He skips parts, goes back and fills in, disposes of what might have been long scenes in a sentence or two. In other words he does what most of us do when writing a letter: he doesn't recount every iota of information. By choosing this form, Wolfe makes us work for our literary supper quite a bit harder, but once you get into the rhythm of the prose and the undeniable lure of the story, that shouldn't slow you down a bit.

I can't recommend this highly enough for readers mature enough to comprehend it.