Shadows of the New Sun

I had a great review typed up.  I was only about fifty words away from finishing it.  Then something terrible happened.  Only, I don't really know what.  The simplest explanation is that my computer pulled a dick move and erased everything I had written.  What an  inconsiderate asshole.  Bad computer!  Bad!

Anyway, there is no way in hell I am re-typing the review.  To try and replicate its perfection is futile.  Trust me.  Futile.

So, in place of the epic piece of bliss that was my review, I give you this epic piece of, um, this thing:

Shadows of the New Sun is, overall, really good.  If you are a diehard Wolfe fan, it is a necessity.  If you're a casual Wolfe fan (do such creatures exist?) you will enjoy the stories even if you miss the Wolfe references and inside jokes.  The rest of us won't make fun of you behind your back.  Well, maybe just a little.  If you have a) Never heard of Wolfe, or b) Heard of Wolfe but never read him, then I suggest you repair this appalling deficiency immediately by reading, oh, I don't know, The Fifth Head of Cerberus or The Shadow of the Torturer or even Peace.  After reading either one or all of said books, you may join the rest of us at the cool table.  And then go buy Shadows of the New Sun.

I got my copy from Audible since I had a credit left over (read: free).  I know, I know, listening isn't reading, it's for old people, WHATEVER.  Cut me some slack.  Eleven bucks is a fortune this week.  Anyhow, for those of you who are considering buying the audiobook, the reader (there are two, a man and a woman--I have only heard the man so far) is good.  I became paranoid concerning Audible's readers when I bought two ABs back-to-back that were absolute crimes against humanity.  The readers were crap.  Worse than crap-- they were doodie.   These books were, so you can avoid them, Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, and Zelazny's The Guns of Avalon.  Now don't get it mixed-up.  The books themselves are awesome, the writing is gnarly, totally bodacious-- it is the readers who are heinous.

So, all this just to say, from what I have heard, this collection is a worthy tribute to Wolfe.  Just as Songs of the Dying Earth was to Vance.  Although, had I been the editor of that project, I would have expanded the criteria to include SF and fantasy and mystery, as Vance wrote those, too.  Anyway, happy reading (or listening for you fossils) and till next time...