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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.… (more)
User reviews
One other element of the story is that the author claims that this is a translation of an ancient scroll written in broken Latin, full of mysterious abbreviations and illegible words... So a translation of a partially unreadable story written by someone with a severe brain injury. This conceit piles layer upon layer of mystery, creating the ultimate expression of one of Wolfe's favorite devices: the unreliable narrator. Here we can never be sure what is "really happening," and what's more, neither can the protagonist. There are, in fact, times when we as readers know more of what is happening than the MC since we can remember, but he cannot.
It's a fascinating story, but even without the convoluted depth, it's also just interesting. Soldier of Sidon takes Latro into Africa, through Egypt of the Ptolemies and south into Kush/Nubia (the borders are unclear, and the names change like water).
It's complex, and maddening, and fun, and exciting, and endlessly explorable. Just like the lands Latro stumbles through.