Soldier of Sidon 
asked by pits on October 29, 2006 11:06 PM
Latro forgets everything when he sleeps. Writing down his experiences every day and reading his journal anew each morning gives him a poignantly tenuous hold on himself, but his story's hold on readers is powerful indeed. The two previous novels, combined in Latro in the Mist (Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete) are generally considered classics of contemporary fantasy. Latro now finds himself in Egypt, a land of singing girls, of spiteful and conniving deities. Without his memory, his is unsure of everything, except for his desire to be free of the curse that causes him to forget. The visions Gene Wolfe conjures, of the wonders of Egypt, and of the adventures of Latro as he and his companions journey up the great Nile south into unknown or legendary territory, are unique and compelling. Soldier of Sidon is a thrilling and magical fantasy novel, and yet another masterpiece from Gene Wolfe.
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Soldier of Sidon is Gene Wolfe's follow-up to Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete (now packaged as Latro in the Mist). Yet once more, Mr. Wolfe has been given a scroll with writing on it. Yet once more, the story details the daily adventure of Latro, sometimes known as Lucius or Lewqys, and the people who help Latro and his sword Falcata. Instead of being in Greece though, this time Latro is in Egypt and once more he's lost in the Mist and seeing gods.
In Soldier of Sidon, Latro is traveling in Egypt with his friend Muslak and Muslak's ship. They're there to sell the ships cargo and to bring Latro to Riverland (Egypt) to cure his problems. While in Egypt, Latro and Muslak are hired to explore the Nile and trace it as far as they can with the satraps soldiers and representatives. As in his adventures in Greece, some people do take advantage of Latro and others help him because of his innocence. And as always, the gods interact with Latro and guide him, sometimes though, it seems for their amusement rather than to help him.
This book is nicely crafted. There are some changes in style from Latro in the Mist; these changes though come across as if a Latro hasn't written about his life in awhile and has changed slightly. While the story itself isn't up to the level of Soldier of the Mist, I do feel that it is a good sequel to the series as a whole. The one addition I'd make is that I really wish Mr. Wolfe would have included a map of Egypt. While I'm generally familiar with Egypt, I wasn't always familiar with the locations Mr. Wolfe described. Considering everything, Soldier of Sidon is a very solid 4 star book! Don't just read this book though, read the entire series! Btw, I'm hoping that Mr. Wolfe can be "handed" another scroll and we can read more about Latro in the near future!
In Soldier of Sidon, Latro is traveling in Egypt with his friend Muslak and Muslak's ship. They're there to sell the ships cargo and to bring Latro to Riverland (Egypt) to cure his problems. While in Egypt, Latro and Muslak are hired to explore the Nile and trace it as far as they can with the satraps soldiers and representatives. As in his adventures in Greece, some people do take advantage of Latro and others help him because of his innocence. And as always, the gods interact with Latro and guide him, sometimes though, it seems for their amusement rather than to help him.
This book is nicely crafted. There are some changes in style from Latro in the Mist; these changes though come across as if a Latro hasn't written about his life in awhile and has changed slightly. While the story itself isn't up to the level of Soldier of the Mist, I do feel that it is a good sequel to the series as a whole. The one addition I'd make is that I really wish Mr. Wolfe would have included a map of Egypt. While I'm generally familiar with Egypt, I wasn't always familiar with the locations Mr. Wolfe described. Considering everything, Soldier of Sidon is a very solid 4 star book! Don't just read this book though, read the entire series! Btw, I'm hoping that Mr. Wolfe can be "handed" another scroll and we can read more about Latro in the near future!
reviewed by shawn on November 10, 2006 4:54 AM
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This is the first review I have ever written online and I do so because I feel compelled to let everyone know just how good this novel is. I have read every Wolfe novel and this may be the very best one he is ever written. This is coming from someone who's Book of Gold is the New Sun. You do not have to have read the previous Latro novels to enjoy this book which is a plus for any new readers. Buy this now and be prepared for one of the most pleasurable reading experiences you will ever have.
reviewed by flow on November 27, 2006 11:31 PM
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As a huge Wolfe fan, it was always an object of some disappointment to me that the open-ended, episodic glimpses of the soldier Latro seemed, ironically, to be forgotten in the wake of his other novels. Days turned into months, and years, and even approached that most daunting of milestones ... decades. Had Wolfe forgotten his early plans for the amnesiac hero?
I had always been of the opinion (after a re-reading or two) that Latro was in fact an avatar of Pleistorus/Aries, who had been missing from his temple for some time in Soldier of Arete, (and was also revealed to be an incarnation of Ahura Mazda ... and it's only a hop skip and a jump from Ahura Mazda to the God of the Judaic and Christian systems). I was quite eager to see if my suspicions that Latro was a fallen divinity would be instantiated (or to see if Latro's increasing hatred of war would lead to a Christian passivity that would explicate, in bizarre parable form, the change in attitude from the old testament vengeance to the new testament forgiveness of the monotheistic divinity)
I didn't get that in Soldier of Sidon, but I did get a brilliant novel. In the years that have passed, Wolfe has become more econimical, and perhaps less overtly confusing and more satisfying on an initial reading here than in many of his books. He hasn't lost the essence of Latro, and this is what I feared most, for Latro has always been a good "man" who never has enough information to make meaningful judgements. Sometimes he may be right ... and other times he can be misled. This moral dichotomy is sublime, but at the heart of this novel is the wonderful picture of Egypt and its gods - coupled with the basic tragedy of Latro's condition, this is compelling indeed.
The problem for me with identifying with The Wizard Knight was the bullying/childish mentality of Able. Wolfe proves with Soldier of Sidon that he can still write the philosophically compelling mature warrior with a perfect hand. Latro is one of his best characters, and by extension, one of the greatest characters in all of literature.
Read Herodotus, read the Soldier books (Arete is easier going the third time through, believe me), and wonder at the sheer richness of story that Wolfe has tapped in history, to its fullest potential. My only criticism isn't a real one: Wolfe better get to writing that fourth soldier book with an ending like this.
I had always been of the opinion (after a re-reading or two) that Latro was in fact an avatar of Pleistorus/Aries, who had been missing from his temple for some time in Soldier of Arete, (and was also revealed to be an incarnation of Ahura Mazda ... and it's only a hop skip and a jump from Ahura Mazda to the God of the Judaic and Christian systems). I was quite eager to see if my suspicions that Latro was a fallen divinity would be instantiated (or to see if Latro's increasing hatred of war would lead to a Christian passivity that would explicate, in bizarre parable form, the change in attitude from the old testament vengeance to the new testament forgiveness of the monotheistic divinity)
I didn't get that in Soldier of Sidon, but I did get a brilliant novel. In the years that have passed, Wolfe has become more econimical, and perhaps less overtly confusing and more satisfying on an initial reading here than in many of his books. He hasn't lost the essence of Latro, and this is what I feared most, for Latro has always been a good "man" who never has enough information to make meaningful judgements. Sometimes he may be right ... and other times he can be misled. This moral dichotomy is sublime, but at the heart of this novel is the wonderful picture of Egypt and its gods - coupled with the basic tragedy of Latro's condition, this is compelling indeed.
The problem for me with identifying with The Wizard Knight was the bullying/childish mentality of Able. Wolfe proves with Soldier of Sidon that he can still write the philosophically compelling mature warrior with a perfect hand. Latro is one of his best characters, and by extension, one of the greatest characters in all of literature.
Read Herodotus, read the Soldier books (Arete is easier going the third time through, believe me), and wonder at the sheer richness of story that Wolfe has tapped in history, to its fullest potential. My only criticism isn't a real one: Wolfe better get to writing that fourth soldier book with an ending like this.
reviewed by mullers on November 29, 2006 6:26 PM
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This is a brilliant Gene Wolfe novel. If you have ever enjoyed a Gene Wolfe novel, you will probably enjoy this book a great deal; if you've read the earlier Latro novels, you must read this book (if you haven't, don't read this one until you're done with the first two).
Wolfe is 20 years older than the last time he took us into the world of the ancient mercenary Latro, cursed to forget each day the previous day's events, blessed (or cursed) to speak to the gods, the monsters, and the dead that shape the everyday world of his past. Have those years changed Wolfe's writing? Yes. He's less tricky for no reason than in SOLDIER OF ARETE, and the bare bones of the writing are possibly better, more spare, more lovely. It's still deep and wise and strange, but it's also one of the more compelling fantastic swords-and-battles-and-magic adventure tales in years (if you wanted to know what KING SOLMON'S MINES by Nabokov & Herodotus would be like, this is for you).
My only complaint is that Wolfe teases us mercilessly with the end (there will be more Latro, we must hope), and I miss Io & Pindar.
This is a marvel of a book, and Wolfe is a marvel of a writer.
Wolfe is 20 years older than the last time he took us into the world of the ancient mercenary Latro, cursed to forget each day the previous day's events, blessed (or cursed) to speak to the gods, the monsters, and the dead that shape the everyday world of his past. Have those years changed Wolfe's writing? Yes. He's less tricky for no reason than in SOLDIER OF ARETE, and the bare bones of the writing are possibly better, more spare, more lovely. It's still deep and wise and strange, but it's also one of the more compelling fantastic swords-and-battles-and-magic adventure tales in years (if you wanted to know what KING SOLMON'S MINES by Nabokov & Herodotus would be like, this is for you).
My only complaint is that Wolfe teases us mercilessly with the end (there will be more Latro, we must hope), and I miss Io & Pindar.
This is a marvel of a book, and Wolfe is a marvel of a writer.
reviewed by redapple on November 29, 2006 6:49 PM