Gene Wolfe Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: Roger Perry
SCHOLARS: Kevin Tolley
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| Review Summary |
Tor, Jan 2005, 14.95, 432 pp.
ISBN: 0765313480
Ben steps into a world called Mythgarthr where he meets Disiri, the elf Queen of the Wood, who looks into his heart finding honor and loyalty. She magically changes the lad into an adult knight dubbed Able of the High Heart and provides him with a quest to obtain the mythical sword possessed and guarded by a ferocious dragon. However, to sprinkle someone with power and skill and change them into something else does not impact what is inside. The American expatriate struggles with his new environment filled with magic and magical beings and his lack of his experience beyond those of a young teen, not a fighting knight. Though doubts ring his every step, he is still young at heart and so begins his adventures as a stranger in a strange body in a strange land where everybody is strange.
Harriet Klausner
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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The story takes the form of a letter written from a boy to his brother in America. One morning, while out walking, the boy enters another universe of interlocking magical realms. There he is given the name Able of the High Heart, an absurd title until he is transformed into a powerful man by a beautiful and otherworldly queen. He then, ostensibly at least, sets out to find a mythical sword. Most of the story, however is taken up with his slow grasping of human nature as he pursues a quest to become a knight.
But not just any knight. The story gains power through its simple telling of Able's extraordinary exploits. He becomes a knight simply by calling himself one. He fights dragons and giants. For servants he takes a one-eyed man, an Ogre, two fire nymphs, and a hunch-backed beggar. He gains the strength of the sea.
Kevin Tolley, Resident Scholar
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The main character of this two novel series is Able, an American teen. Able finds himself in a new and dangerous world, Mythgarthr. Fortunately he finds shelter with a man named Bert, who strangely resembles Able's brother in America. Bert teaches the teen much about his new world. Taught to hunt and farm, Able settles in for a few years to learn of this world's history from Bert.
Mythgarthr is populated by men and giants, while Aelfs (elves) visit from a world called Aelfrice, and Gods visit from a world called Skai.
While hunting one day, Able meets a knight, Sir Ravd and his squire Svon, who hire Able to lead them toward a village where they may find clues of the whereabouts of a local band of outlaws. This marks the beginning of Ables adventures that lead him around the world and into manhood and eventually knighthood.
Along the way, Able falls in love with a Disiri, a young and beautiful Aelvish queen. Disiri informs Able that their relationshp can grow no further until he retrieves a fabled sword named Eterne, suspected to be guarded by a dragon
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Sent on quest after quest, first from Disiri, then Dukes and Gods, Able manages to survive and thrive, aquiring an alien dog, a speaking cat, a magical bow, and bits and pieces of armor he will need when he is Knighted.
The Knight is followed by a second book, the Wizard.
Roger Perry, Resident Scholar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- part earth & part fantasy world
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- great warrior
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- roaming fantasy world, battling hostile monsters
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- warrior/knight
Age:
- a teen
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Setting
Terrain
- Forests
Earth setting:
- during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
How much dialogue?
- significantly more dialog than descript
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