The Fifth Head of Cerberus, by Gene Wolfe: ***1/4

Though a loved book of Wolfe's, and the one that earned him his first renown (from 1972), I didn't love it on the level of some of my other favorites of his, largely because it's more sci-fi than fantasy. It's extremely well-written, clever, a real puzzle, but less inducing of that somber sense of sorrow I felt while reading Peace, BOTNS, and some of his best short stories. This is one of those books that I acknowledge is brilliant, and I clearly enjoyed reading it a great deal, but I didn't love the material as much as I loved the material in some of his other books.

This novel is a collection of three novellas, with some mild connections between the three. Concepts that were to become Wolfe staples, such as the uncertainty of the truth, the idea of a story within a story, a variable identity, are presented here, and I can easily understand how this would have a strong impact on the sci-fi community. I imagine Wolfe wrote the first novella thinking it might be a standalone, and it's the weakest of the bunch for me, as it feels like more of a typical sci-fi story asking typical sci-fi questions. Of course the writing is good and the approach is Wolfeian, but it's not as sweetly sorrowful as the best Wolfe stuff is for me (and still better than the Niven, Card, Herbert, Asimov that I've read). The second novella feels like a straight-ahead Wolfe short story, which is always enjoyable, while the third is the strongest of the whole set, featuring a really cool idea mixed in with a quest, unique creatures, adventure, and a wonderful approach to story-telling that only Wolfe could devise.
(Winter 2004-5)


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