The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories and Other Stories

By Gene Wolfe

Book Overview

A superb collection of science fiction and fantasy stories, The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories is a book that transcends all genre definitions. The stories within are mined... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067182824X
• ISBN13: 9780671828240
• Release Date: June 1980
• Publisher: Pocket
• Length: 410 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Perfect introduction to Gene Wolfe

If you've read some reviews of Gene Wolfe, you've probably noticed an interesting trend. People either love him, or they hate him. This isn't such a great thing when you're not sure into which category you'll fall! Well, here's a collection of his works, broad enough and good enough so that you'll know by the end of it whether you are a fan, or whether his work is unswimmably deep for you.Let me say that Wolfe is not casual reading. A deep, thorough exploration of his works will leave you re-examining your points of view on subjects as diverse as Christianity (The Urth of the New Sun series), the future of mankind (most of his works), the role of personal enterprise in capitalism (Hour of Trust, reprinted here), psychiatric medicine and it's practice (The death of Doctor Island, also reprinted here), and the origin of numerology (Alien Stones, possibly one of his best works, included). That's a rather short list of the things that Wolfe has left me pondering, late into the night, forced to re-examine my views in the light of the understanding he applied to each.If that sound a bit thick, allow me a quick quote:"You know nothing. You are like a child who has wandered by accident into a theatre half a minute before the final curtain. You see people moving about, some masked; you hear music, observe actions you do not understand. But you do not know if the play is a tragedy or a comedy, or even know whether those you see are the actors or the audience."If the quote appeals to you, catches your interest, give this book a try. It is a great series of Science Fiction stories, written by an absolute master. If it doesn't even vaguely interest you, you might want to look further.Indra

A book that might became part of you

I've been keeping an eye out for this book since I lost my only copy in 1988 or so At the time I read them (age about 20) they were the most moving and mysterious stories I had ever read. In my teens I read mainly science fiction, and it all seemed to lead to Gene Wolfe, who is the only science fiction author I have any time for these days. (I've read The Fifth Head of Cerberus about 5 times now, and keep noticing new things.)There's no denying that Gene Wolfe is a very variable author. And wordy, and kind of baroque and labyrinthine (I'm a bit wordy myself), and he has kind of a special way of viewing women and sex. (It's not too difficult to see something a little unsubtly phallic in all these stories of guys charging around with enormous swords, for example.) But if you can swallow the lumps, or leave them on the side of your plate, there are elements in his stories that get to a very deep part of you, and stay with you for a long time.If you can handle stories that read like adventures, but affect you like dreams; if you can handle an author who in his greatest work comes again and again to the themes of cannibalism, aberrations of memory, and confusion of identity; if you can handle sudden ambiguity in the very things you were most sure of; if you appreciate Kafka's sense of humour, or Mark Twain's, or Borges's, or Daffy Duck's; if you can handle an author who can write three stories called The Island of Doctor Death [and Other Stories], The Doctor of Death Isand, and The Death of Doctor Island, where each story is totally unrelated, beautiful, and perfectly well-titled; if you can handle reading an anthology that has to be called The Island Of Doctor Death And Other Stories And Other Stories, because the title story is already called The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories--or which contains a story called The Hero as Werwolf, which has a missing 'e' in the title because it could just as well have been called 'The Wolf Gene'... If you can handle it, then you'll handle it, I guess.As you can see, I could go on for ever. You might grow a little impatient with Gene Wolfe sometimes, if you try to read everything he's ever written (I'm sure he feels the same about us, too), but not in this anthology.

A collection to treasure.

"The Island of Doctor Death ..." has finally been reprinted by Orb Books after being out of print for many years. It is, quite simply, one of the most remarkable collections of short stories in contemporary American literature. "Seven American Nights" recounts the travels of a foreign tourist in a future Washington, D.C. "Tracking Song" is a haunting tale of a man in search of his identity as he struggles to survive in an alien environment. "The Eyeflash Miracles" tells of a remarkable and innocent young boy who falls prey to a couple of con artists. These are some of my favorites, but each of these fourteen tales has its own magic to work upon the thoughtful reader. What makes Gene Wolfe special is not only his wonderful imagination and evocative use of language, but his humanity, which is evident in the colorful and surprising characters you will encounter on page after page. I first read this book several years ago an! d made the mistake of lending it to a friend who was clever enough not to return it. I have been searching for another copy ever since. I bought a copy of the reprint the day it arrived in stores and have come back to the stories again and again. No doubt my new copy will soon be in the same tattered state as my old one--but I won't make the mistake of lending this one out. Do yourself a favor--buy this book, read it and reread it, and never, ever lend it to a friend. I guarantee it will never be returned.

Brilliant masterpiece of storytelling

The true art of the storyteller is often built on what is not said as much as what is said. Gene Wolfe is a master of this, and in his collection of short stories "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Storis and Other Stories" he truly excells at telling the reader no more than they need to create a clear image in the imagination. One brilliant facet that makes this collection so interesting is his bredth of topics...from Lycanthropy to future psychology, from toy making to the future of warfare, this collection takes the reader on a breathtaking journey into the imagination. The ability to wholely transport a reader to another place in the span of a few sentences is a real gift, and this collection is a showcase of that talent. Highly recommended for the sci-fi, fantasy and story-loving buff.