The Wizard

The Wizard Knight Series, Book Two

By: Gene Wolfe

Narrated by: Dan Bittner

Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

An epic narrative in two parts, Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight duology is in the rare company of those works which move past the surface of fantasy and drink from the wellspring of myth. Magic swords, dragons, giants, quests, love, honor, nobility - all the familiar features of fantasy come to fresh life in this masterful work.

The first half of the journey, The Knight, took a teenage boy from America into Mythgarthr, the middle realm of seven fantastic worlds. Above are the gods of Skai; below are the capricious Aelf, and more dangerous things still. Journeying throughout Mythgarthr, Able gains a new brother, an Aelf queen lover, a supernatural hound, and the desire to prove his honor and become the noble knight he always knew he would be.

Coming into Jotunland, home of the Frost Giants, Able - now Sir Able of the High Heart - claims the great sword Eterne from the dragon who has it. In reward, he is ushered into the castle of the Valfather, king of all the Gods of Skai.

Thus begins the second part of his quest. The Wizard begins with Able's return to Mythgathr on his steed Cloud, a great mare the color of her name. Able is filled with new knowledge of the ways of the seven-fold world and possessed of great magical secrets. His knighthood now beyond question, Able works to fulfill his vows to his king, his lover, his friends, his gods, and even his enemies. Able must set his world right, restoring the proper order among the denizens of all the seven worlds.

The Wizard is a charming, riveting, emotionally charged tale of wonders, written with all the beauty one would expect from a writer whom Damon Knight called "a national treasure." If you've never sampled the works of the man Michael Swanwick described as "the greatest writer in the English language alive today," the two parts of The Wizard Knight are the perfect place to start.

©2004 Gene Wolfe (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Honor, Duty, Glory

your life is lesser until enriching it with is series. no Wolfe fan will regret listening.

A glorious tale well-told

The Wizard Knight is a fantasy tale that draws on Arthurian tradition and the works of authors such as Chesteron, Tolkien, and Lewis. Gene Wolfe is a deep and meticulous writer, and he adopts a very concrete and subjective perspective in telling his tale. It will take multiple readings to grasp in its fullness, though one reading will suffice for the bulk of its main narrative. That said, it is one of the most beautiful and challenging stories one can read, to be ranked with Chesteron's The Man Who Was Thursday, Lewis' Till We Have Faces, and even The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The narration is superb. Many voices are presented with gusto, character, and clarity by Dan Bittner. I did note a couple of awkwardly phrased lines and perhaps some mispronunciations, but these were minor, and did not detract from the powerful telling of a beautiful tale. Highlights include the dialogue between Able and Lothur, and the emotional conclusion in Able's voice. Highly, highly recommended, but be prepared to put in some work to fully enjoy the experience.

Worthy story

Worth listening to. Worth a credit. Plus another for the first of the series, the knight.

Great Finale

Good closure. Makes me sad it's over but definitely recommend to a more mature audience!

Wow

What a surprise, a gift, a revelation of words and imagination! This series is the best fantasy- pure and strange that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

Gene Wolfe was a magician.

Gene Wolfe was a magician. He didn't just write stories. At his best, he cast spells.

Overly complicated

The story has 7 lands. Keeping track of who’s who requires you take notes. Go read Patrick Rothfuss for the best story ever written.

Not my cup of tea, not a learning experience

I thought the main character was too immature for far too long in the series. However, it is imaginative and provides enough detail to envision the fantasy worlds. I am told that the portrayal of the young protagonist was purposeful. Idk. I think a teenage boy would most enjoy the series. Something I can really appreciate was that the author leaves no loose ends! Don’t hurry through this. I found it helpful to read the paper version along with the audio one. I believe it’s important to go back to previous chapters review characters as needed to make sure you are on track with the story. It is more enjoyable for me to do a one time read/listen with much review than to read the entire book multiple times. I personally thought the author was borderline misogynistic but you be the judge. I am told that may be due to the protagonist being immature. This wasn’t a learning experience for me. Only somewhat entertaining.

First book in this series was great.

First book was well worth the credit.
This book (2nd, last in series), is severely convoluted and Beyond non-sensical, repeatedly throughout.
Run away my friends...

Very Odd Writing

This story is strangely written. Very dreamlike, it meanders from one event to another in a series of tangents that don’t seem to be building to anything, and then it ends.

It’s kind of like watching someone accept every side quest in a video game as soon as they find it and occasionally going back to finish some. This wouldn’t be bad in itself but the things it focuses on aren’t the interesting parts. It will gloss over major events and battles in a sentence or two, but spend half a chapter listening to a squire have a conversation that amounts to nothing.