The Wolfe at the Door. by Gene Wolfe. 2023
THE WOLFE AT THE DOOR
RATED 95% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.2 OF 5
37 STORIES : 10 GREAT / 23 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF
and 4 POEMS
Gene Wolfe died in 2019 and collections assembled after an author’s death are always a challenge. If the author isn’t well known there is a push to republish his greatest stories. If he is already known and respected, the effort becomes to collect his uncollected stories. The Wolfe at the Door is one of these collections.
Frequently, uncollected stories were uncollected for a reason. Perhaps, they were minor work. A mixture of early career stories by an author just finding his stride or late-career stories by an author who’s mind and body are failing. All true, but this is Gene Wolfe we are talking about and lesser Gene Wolfe is only lesser when grading on a curve he has set. Any other author would be proud so have this collection as their “Best Stories Of…”
With science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and horror, Wolfe’s versatility is on display. It is normal for a Wolfe story to have complex characters and relationships, bend reality and perception, subtly introduce intricate world-building, and comment with mercy on the interplay between technology and humanity. His use of symbolism and allegory adds depth and the quality of Wolfe’s prose is always first rate.
Amazingly 10 Stories are Good Enough to Make My All-Time Great List: And there would be more if I allowed Fantasy stories to be included on the list.
Bea and Her Bird Brother • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
A poignant story of a dying father who confides to his daughter that her mother was a bird woman from time the father spent in an alternate universe. Silly title and idea, elevated by Wolfe’s beautiful writing.
Memorare • (2007) • novella by Gene Wolfe
Mitch Wildspring is trying to make a documentary about the tombs floating in space, tributes to people who died exploring. Many are techonological marvels. Others are deadly traps. The only thing more trouble is his talent/lover and the woman she is bringing as an assistant. His ex-wife! Brilliant and suspenseful.
Christmas Inn • (2005) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
The “Christmas” family runs a Inn that is losing money until 4 (maybe 5) people arrive and a Christmas Séance changes everything,
Dormanna • (2012) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Beautiful SF fairy tale of a young girl who takes to school what she believes is an imaginary friend, but really is an information gathering device for a large alien.
Remembrance to Come • (1970) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Student protests and riots have moved classrooms underground for protection. Students are naked except for body paint. Intellectual and educational quality of college students has fallen precipitously. With that as a background, we have a story of a professor terrorized by a figure in all black that sits in his class and then follows him home. I was shocked to see this written in 1970. It was obviously a reaction to the 1968 student protests, but thought it was written by a ‘stodgy old man’ in the 2000s.
The On-Deck Circle • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Insane story about baseball played with boats on a very large scale and one player who get his chance to hit a homerun using the new rules. Probably a story written as a joke because a common old-timey baseball name was Scooter.
Hopkins Dalhousie • (1984) • short story by Gene Wolfe
A self-driving car confesses in the first line that it killed its master because it loved him. The moments of their ‘life’ together are expertly written.
The Green Wall Said • (1967) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Ironic SciFi as a group of different humans are debating why they’ve been abducted. They jump to many conclusions but are unwilling to bother reading the message on the wall.
Going to the Beach • (1973) • short story by Gene Wolfe
A world where people are split between Honorable Income (techno-driven leisure pay) and Work (menial jobs that still have yet to be automated. One man who has to work has a nuanced relationship with an android sex worker. A complex discussion of the nature of work, the value of automation and technology, and the various classes of labor.
It's Very Clean • (1972) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Miles, a young man seeking his first intimate experience with an artificial partner, visits an establishment that offers lifelike robots. Guided by a fat woman with a gold tooth, he is shown a malfunctioning unit before being led to his own encounter. As he spends time with Jill, a seemingly perfect robot, he discovers an unsettling truth that challenges his perception of reality and humanity.
THE WOLFE AT THE DOOR
37 STORIES : 10 GREAT / 23 GOOD / 4 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF and 4 POEMS
On a Vacant Face a Bruise • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A poor young man gets a job at the traveling circus which goes to outer space.
Bea and Her Bird Brother • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. A poignant story of a dying father who confides to his daughter that her mother was a bird woman from time the father spent in an alternate universe. Silly title and idea, elevated by Wolfe’s beautiful writing.
Memorare • (2007) • novella by Gene Wolfe
Great. Mitch Wildspring is trying to make a documentary about the tombs floating in space, tribute to people who died exploring. Many of techonological marvels. Others are deadly traps. The only thing more trouble is his talent/lover and the woman she is bringing as an assistant. His ex-wife! Brilliant and suspenseful.
A Method Bit in "B" • (1970) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Average. Whatever I’m supposed to get here, I’m not getting. A policeman goes about his day while something murderous and werewolfean is happening offstage. There is some but about an after hours pub that doesn’t serve alcohol?
Tarzan of the Grapes • (1972) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A reporter is disturbed by farmers hunting hippies who live among the grapevines. But there is something else out there hunting the hunters.
The Little Stranger • (2004) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
Good. Epistolary story about eerie occurances in an old house told as letters from and elders woman to her deceased cousin.
Christmas Inn • (2005) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
Great. The “Christmas” family runs a Inn that is losing money until 4 (maybe 5) people arrive and a Christmas Séance changes everything,
The Gunner's Mate • (2005) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A woman on island vacation feels strangely drawn to stay there forever. Meanwhile the ghost of pirate has fallen in love with her and means to make her his.
The Grave Secret • (1951) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Average. A quirky simple fantasy of a necromancer who doesn’t raise the body he intended to.
The Old Woman in the Young Woman • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A man takes refuge in a house in which live two women. One old and dying. One young and childlike. They have a strange connection and plans for him.
Dormanna • (2012) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. Beautiful SF fairy tale of a young girl who takes to school what she believes is an imaginary friend, but really is an information gathering device for a large alien.
Easter Sunday • (1992) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. On Easter, a pastor meets the devil who makes the case that he is a revolutionary against an oppressive king.
Archangel Gabriel • poem by Gene Wolfe
POEM The Archangel Gabriel put in cosmic context.
Last Night in the Garden of Forking Tongues • (1984) • poem by Gene Wolfe
POEM: In praise of Jose Borges.
Maybe We've Been Doing It Wrong • poem by Gene Wolfe (variant of Maybe We've Been Doing It Wrong, or You Can't Turn the Clock Back, But If You Put Off Winding It Long Enough It's The Same Thing 1988)
POEM. Great title and some funny unconventional ideas for society. Like letting pigs run free and giving men swords again.
Connect the Dots • (1981) • poem by Gene Wolfe
POEM. Finding the secrets of the universe in raindrops.
Planetarium in Orbit • (2009) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Crazy space opera with lots of satirical and madcap throwaway lines of creativity. Dr. Death (is this the same from other stories in Wolfe’s ouvre) attempt to seize the essence of planets in a plantarium.
Remembrance to Come • (1970) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. Student protests and riots have moved classrooms underground for protection. Students are naked except for body paint. Intellectual and educational quality of college students has fallen precipitously. With that as a background, we have a story of a professor terrorized by a figure in all black that sits in his class and then follows him home. I was shocked to see this written in 1970. It was obviously a reaction to the 1968 student protests, but thought it was written by a ‘stodgy old man’ in the 2000s.
The On-Deck Circle • (2006) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. Insane story about baseball played with boats on a very large scale and one player who get his chance to hit a homerun using the new rules. Probably a story written as a joke because a common old-timey baseball name was Scooter.
Hopkins Dalhousie • (1984) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. A self-driving car confesses in the first line that it killed its master because it loved him. The moments of their ‘life’ together are expertly written.
How I Got Three Zip Codes • (1999) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Absurdist story with a writer and an old man who go off on tangents. The problem of living without a head. The peculiar nature of shipping services. and more…
Screen Test • (1967) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Crime story of a expensive piece of Chinese art and the scam being pulled over on the buyer.
Volksweapon • (1967) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Mystery Fiction. A game warden comes across a young woman murdered and a young man shot and injured. After enlisting some poachers for help, the warden discovers the truth about the murder.
The Largest Luger • (1992) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Average. Mystery Fiction centering around a very rare Luger and whether or not it is counterfeit.
The Last Casualty of Cambrai • (1992) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Mystery Fiction with the same protagonist as the previous story. A World War I diorama of the battle of Cambrai is the scene of a murder. This shows the engineering mind of Gene Wolfe to full effect in the complicated denouement.
Last Drink Bird Head • (2009) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Average. Weird short-short about fell science fiction writers and the weird drinks they order in a bar.
Mountains Like Mice • (1966) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
Good. A young scholar in sent out to undergo a test in the wilderness. When he sees another man captured by the gyrda, he tracks and rescues him. In the process, he discovers the secrets of this planet and humanities role on it.
The Green Wall Said • (1967) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. Ironic SciFi as a group of difference humans are debating why they’ve been abducted. They jump to many conclusions but are unwilling to bother reading the message on the wall.
Thou Spark of Blood • (1970) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. On a three-man mission from the Earth to Mars, one of the three ends up murdered and the other two are horribly suspicious of each other.
Unrequited Love • (2007) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A suburban story where robotic children and pets have replaced the real, more difficult, thing for many people. One man reflects how his interference in his neighbors lives has ended up causing pain.
Loco Parentis • (1972) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Short surreal play when human, robot, and uplifted animals coexist in a dystopia. A couple wrestles with what it means to have a child..
Going to the Beach • (1973) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. A world where people are split between Honorable Income (techno-driven leisure pay) and Work (menial jobs that still have yet to be automated. One man who has to work has a nuanced relationship with an android sex worker. A complex discussion of the nature of work, the value of automation and technology, and the various classes of labor.
It's Very Clean • (1972) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Great. Miles, a young man seeking his first intimate experience with an artificial partner, visits an establishment that offers lifelike robots. Guided by a fat woman with a gold tooth, he is shown a malfunctioning unit before being led to his own encounter. As he spends time with Jill, a seemingly perfect robot, he discovers an unsettling truth that challenges his perception of reality and humanity.
Frostfree • (2013) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Roy Tabak finds himself with a brand new, state-of-the-art refrigerator that he doesn't remember purchasing. This fridge, however, isn't just any appliance—it talks and even transforms into a woman named Frostfree. Frostfree tells him that his life is under a strange curse, one that only a warm-hearted person can break.
The Giant • (2011) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Fairytale about a Writer of Children’s Books who takes the ‘path less traveled’ in the woods and ends up meeting some young characters who hint at a giant.
The Magic Animal • (2007) • novelette by Gene Wolfe
Good. A charming take on Arthur, Merlin, and the Lady of the Lake. Viviane, who can speak to and understand animals, is drawn into a beautifully written fantasy adventure in a mystic woods. Complete with quirky talking animals, time travel, romance, nostalgia, and a near perfect blend of current and classic fantasy.
The Hour of the Sheep • (2007) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Tiero, a renowned swordsman, sets out to write a book on the art of self-defense at the President-Protector's suggestion. To add authenticity, he ventures into the Questing Quarter, a part of the city that as fallen in disrepute, seeking firsthand experience of street combat. Fusion of fantasy courtly conduct with sci-fi weaponry.
The Woman Who Went Out • [Latro] • (1985) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. Snarky domestic fantasy. A wealthy woman and her husband are both unhappy with their marriage and look to folksy magic to give them more freedom.
Leif in the Wind • (2010) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A small crew surveys a habitable but lifeless planet. Leif, one of the crew members, begins to exhibit strange behavior and reports seeing fantastical birds, causing concern among his shipmates. As tensions rise, the crew must confront the possibility that Leif's visions may be more than mere hallucinations. The birds might be real and on the ship.
The Sea of Memory • (2013) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. A group of explorers find themselves on a mysterious planet after a long journey through space. Adele, one of the crew, grapples with fragmented memories and an elusive reality as she interacts with her fellow travelers. The crew's understanding of time and existence is challenged in this surreal story.
At the Point of Capricorn • (1983) • short story by Gene Wolfe
Good. In a cave at the end of the world, an old woman tells stories to children around a bonfire. Various figures - including a druid, viking, and pastry chef - enter to give their perspective on the bonfire. Powerfully symbolic of the intersection of stories and technology.
