Unicornios, malvadas brujas, nereidas... fantasías de Dickens y de Las mil y una noches. No son esas las especies en peligro. La que está en peligro es la especie de los contadores de cuentos, los que, bebiendo de las tradiciones populares, creaban historias pensadas para entretener, conmover y alegrar. A ella pertenece Gene Wolfe. Los treinta y cuatro relatos de esta obra llevan al lector a mundos imaginarios, le introducen en lo insólito de la cotidianeidad, le presentan androides con más humanidad que los humanos, le hablan de la excelsitud del amor y de la hermosura de la dignidad... un elegante desfile de lirismo, misterio, ingenio y fantasía.

Just average earlier Wolfe short fiction. There are really only four outstanding stories: Our Neighbor by David Copperfield, Eyebem, The Detective of Dreams, and the best, The Other Dead Man, in this hefty tome so the rest just were mostly unmemorable for me ( )

weird

I would question anyone who reads this whole book and fails to rate it 5 stars. What are you looking for in fiction? Sophisticated characters, complex subtexts, compulsively readable science fiction themes, lighthearted fantasy, excellent world-building, truly immaculate imagery, well-defined dramatic scenes, a huge variety of motifs, atmosphere and tense dichotomies? The list could go on and on. Stretched over 500 pages, this more than generous helping of Genius Wolfe is enough to satisfy anyone.

In 34 stories, Wolfe displays his brilliance on several levels. His usual fascination with ghosts runs through many stories, including a breathtaking traditional literary ghost story and a space opera that plays out as effectively as George R. R. Martin's Nightflyers. Many of the stories are long and incredibly engaging. Each has unexpected twists and mesmerizing, subliminal suggestions. I was bowled over by the completely convincing Dickens homage. There is also a ghost story that read like a Somerset Maugham tale. There were a few interconnected stories related to the Solar Cycle and the mythology of Thag. You will encounter anthropophagi and anti-matter entities, robots and rampaging unicorns, post-apocalyptic struggles and straightforward insurance fraud. There have been stories of synthetic human war machines and interdimensional battles with magical creatures before, but no one tells them quite like Wolfe. I was enchanted by the Arabesque and moved by the many interlaced storytelling elements throughout. This work represents a career well-realized and a talent well-developed.

Wolfe has an expert's understanding of science fiction's underpinnings, and displays them by incorporating microuniverses, macro DNA strands and genetic modifications. He ropes in traditional fantasy storytelling, epic space action, and parodies. His work is known for allegory and Biblical themes, and many can be found herein. Yet, it is not easy to pinpoint some of his references, and true to form, he leaves many pieces and strings for the reader to work out upon reflection. Speculation is part of the fun, whether a character's existence is called into question, or the reader must doubt another character's perception or sanity, this is part of the process of digesting these vivid creations and deriving the every bit of intellectual stimulation out of them as you can. Like all of his stories I've read so far, I think I'll be revisiting this collection.
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Another year, another Gene Wolfe short story collection. This one is particularly large, with 30 stories. Some of them didn’t quite grab me, but there are still plenty of amazing stories in here. It’s been close to a year since I read them, so I don’t remember much, but just looking over the table of contents, I can recall the following as being standout stories: “The Map” (taking place after The Book of the New Sun), “The HORARS of War”, “All the Hues of Hell”, “Procreation” (very Borgesian), “The Tale of the Rose and the Nightingale” (this one has lingered the most), and “Silhouette”. I’ve got one more Wolfe collection left to read in 2013, and I can’t wait! ( )