@neilhimself.neilgaiman.com Is Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun too much for a 15 year old? My daughter asked for a book recommendation, and she has read most of yours already.
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The Gaiman's and Wolfe's styles and approaches are quite different. It is only obvious that they are people who like the same things. I would recommend 'The Island of Doctor Death & Other Stories & Other Stories' just because she might find the title funny.
Hi Andrew, Gene Wolfe is my favourite writer. New Sun is incredible but 4-5 volumes. If you're seeking a smaller taste to see how well she likes Wolfe's work, she could try out some of his more accessible short stories, or, if keen she can just dive into him at his most heady and strange. 1/3
If you choose the more accessible route, I'd recommend several of his short stories - 'The Island of Doctor Death' and 'Trip, Trap' and 'Memorare' are all elegant but accessible short fiction. "An Evil Guest" is great fun and also works as something of a companion to Memorare 2/3
For the heady and strange, his 3-part collection 'The Fifth Head of Cerberus' is a great single-volume introduction to him, and tonally it's probably closest single volume work to the New Sun. New Sun itself is my fav, but the violence and cruelty in book 1 makes sense only with later volumes.
I don't think liking Neil Gaiman = liking Wolfe (no offense to either author). All I can say (not that you asked me) is that I'd have found it a little slow at 15, I think.
Didn't think of it that way but you have a point. However, I'd rather live in a world with an unfinished kingkiller than in a world without one at all. A beautiful book in it's own, finished series or not.
I was in 7th grade the first time I read it, and I gotta say, despite the unique style of writing and worldbuilding, there are some deeply disturbing and dehumanizing plot elements... and it's always felt quite dudesy to me. Looking back on it today, I don't think I'd recommend it to an adolescent.
Having just read it for the first time (& quite enjoyed it), it is extremely Old White Dude Genre Fiction in its treatment of female characters. I think there are two in the whole series he doesn’t sleep with
You didn’t ask me, but I found Book of the Long Sun to be more accessible. It’s still challenging and if she likes it then she’ll like BotNS, which is a step or two up in sophistication.
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I was already into the New Sun in my teens, but that's only because it wasn't available before then..
http://losarciniegas.blogspot.com/2020/10/neil-gaiman-how-to-read-gene-wolfe.html
On that note, I gave my 11y 'name of the wind' yesterday so.. fingers crossed?