The Wizard Knight
by Gene Wolfe · first published 2005
67% recommend22% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Fantasy with a philosophical bent and a dreamy, gauzy prose style. It serves as the most accessible entry point into Gene Wolfe's work for those new to him.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2017–2019Pirate Freedom
Gene Wolfe
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 42 recommend · 4 mention2 recommend · 42 recommend
2009–2026The Urth of the new sun
Gene Wolfe
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 126 recommend · 12 mention6 recommend · 126 recommend
2011–2026The Fifth Head Of Cerberus
Gene Wolfe
Recommended by 21 · mentioned by 2621 recommend · 26 mention21 recommend · 2621 recommend
2007–2026Book of the New Sun
Gene Wolfe
Recommended by 64 · mentioned by 9364 recommend · 93 mention64 recommend · 9364 recommend
2007–2026The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
Recommended by 36 · mentioned by 11836 recommend · 118 mention36 recommend · 11836 recommend
2008–2026Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Recommended by 41 · mentioned by 11741 recommend · 117 mention41 recommend · 11741 recommend
2007–2026The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
Recommended by 59 · mentioned by 23559 recommend · 235 mention59 recommend · 23559 recommend
…over with slightly different mechanics, Wolfe is (was) one of those rare genre authors who was doing something very different. For anyone who wants to try a Wolfe book, the most accessible one is "The Wizard Knight", IMHO. It's still quite good, and has that gauzy, dreamy style and unreliable narrator Wolfe is known for, but is rather more straight-forward than, say, the Torturer series (which is actually part of…
on “Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87” ↗…the Book of the New Sun I really enjoyed his three-volume "Soldier" series, about a mercenary in ancient Greece who suffers from Memento-style amnesia (although this series far predates Memento). The "Wizard Knight" series (two books) I also really enjoyed if you like something with a bit more fantasy bent. Can't recommend Wolfe enough!
on “The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs” ↗…The second time was for a philosophy class at the University of Chicago. I wrote an essay about Severian's memory and Nietzsche's cow. Gene Wolfe is my favorite sci-fi author by far. I also liked the Wizard-Knight series.
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…really made a career out of subverting fantasy tropes. His Latro series [2] (Soldier of the Mist, etc.) is set in Ancient Greece, and features an amnesiac mercenary whose memory resets every day. The Wizard Knight is another good one; essentially a riff on Tolkienesque Norse mythology and Medieval romances, it features a prepubescent boy who is accidentally transported to a fantasy dimension, and then into the…
on “Tolkien’s Mythic Plan for England” ↗…intriguing setting, telling a vivid story in it, and not spelling out all the answers is about as thought-provoking as literature comes. I won't pretend I can tell you exactly what happens at the end of the Wizard Knight or the Soldier series, but I can tell you that I've deeply enjoyed rereading them, and plan to continue doing so every few years for the rest of my life, and the mysteries make it more appealing to me,…
on “I don't "get" art” ↗…in the story. For someone new to Gene Wolfe, The Fifth Head of Cerberus gives a good taste about what's in store without so much commitment. Besides those I also strongly remember these works: - The Wizard Knight: straight-up fantasy but quite philosophical like sci-fi should be - Pirate Freedom: an interesting "historic" view of pirate life
on “Dark Futures: What happens when literary novelists experiment with Sci-Fi” ↗Wolfe is terrific, and terrifically underrated. Some of his efforts I find unreadable ("The Knight", "The Wizard Knight") and some banal, but when he's good, he's really good. "There Are Doors" is my personal favourite - low key, complex and affecting. The Book of the New Sun is probably the most famous (and deservedly…
on “Ends of the Urth” ↗…herself a sex worker, becomes the star of one of Wolfe's most clever dick jokes [1]. This does not cease for all, or nearly all, of Wolfe's corpus. The naked nymphettes with bodies like boys' of his The Wizard-Knight is all too problematic; the vamp-babe Jahi of the Short Sun, the house of prostitution in Cerberus, I could go on and on until I reached his very last piece of writing. There is nothing wrong with writing…
on “Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87” ↗Hah, I was just going to go back to these after I had issues with the Shadowmarch series by Tad Williams and The Wizard Knight series by Gene Wolfe. I had figured out that the books are on the authors' page even though the search wasn't serving them up. Thanks!
on “Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative” ↗Can't say I disagree. Wizard Knight through to Borrowed Man all left me pretty cold. Personally "A Land Across" felt comparatively accessible (if random) as compared to "An Evil Guest" (which felt unreadable), Home Fires or Borrowed Man.…
on “Ends of the Urth” ↗