The Aardvark Blog

Death of Gene Wolfe; some random thoughts
29/06/2019

Seeing the notice that Gene Wolfe, the well-known sci-fi writer, had just died got me to thinking about sci-fi/fantasy writers (the really good ones) and how fans interact with them. There are some writers - maybe Asimov back in the day, or more recently Robert Jordan, G  R R Martin or even Terry Pratchett (if you place him in the same company) - whose fans are just totally committed and will find every possible piece of writing and pre-order any new publications months in advance. But other writers, such as Frank Herbert with Dune, create a few truly brilliant works and are known predominantly for those. Gene Wolfe was in the latter group and his four-part cycle 'The Book of the New Sun' has rightly found a place on most serious sci-fi readers' shelves. Just as Herbert brought other literary genres and narrative forms into sci-fi, so Wolfe plays brilliantly with the place of the narrator in the narrative and how we as readers perceive them. Unreliable narrators were not that common in sci-fi (or indeed genre fiction generally if one thinks about the impact of 'The Death of Roger Ackroyd') but Wolfe seemed comfortable in a morally compromised universe. One can only speculate that his experience in Korea may have had something to do with this. A great and original writer whose place in the pantheon is assured.

Leaving home this morning I had grabbed Led Zeppelin III on the way out the door (I am always looking for something different to play), and although I like 'Immigrant Song' it is by no means my favourite of their albums. Track 3 however is 'Since I've Been Loving You' and I was just amazed again at how brilliant they were as a blues band - even if eventually they would move beyond this. If they produced a better blues performance I cannot remember hearing it. It is something of a wonder to me that this song which was, like most of their tracks, an original composition has not been widely covered, but then perhaps the brilliance of Page's playing and Plant's vocals has put others off.

Fantastic news. Next week C P E Bach is the Radio 3 composer of the week. A truly wonderful and under-appreciated musician. I particularly like his chamber music, but there are also hundreds of pieces for piano and some superb symphonies. A real treat to look forward to with Donald Macleod.