The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories

by Gene Wolfe

Paperback, 1980

Status

Available

Call number

PS3573.O52 I8

Genres

Science Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Pocket (New York, 1980). 1st edition, 1st printing. 410 pages. $2.95.

Description

A superb collection of science fiction and fantasy stories,The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories is a book that transcends all genre definitions. The stories within are mined with depth charges, explosions of meaning and illumination that will keep you thinking and feeling long after you have finished reading.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Daedalus

These being the first short stories I've read by Gene Wolfe I went into the read curious, hopeful and genuinely unsure how they'd turn out. I'll be upfront w/my bias; I think Gene Wolfe is an amazing author.

The good news: I'm even more impressed by his writing and stories than I was before.

The bad

news: Not every story is amazing; such is reading short fiction collections.

Overall, I rate this as an excellent collection of short fiction, and unless you simply have an aversion to the fantastic, I would highly recommend it. And if you already like Gene Wolfe? Look for familiar devices, such as memory and sense perception. He winds such nice paths...

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LibraryThing member TheoClarke

Much as I like Wolfe, I was disappointed by too many of these stories to rate the collection highly. 'La Befana' was the reason that I read this collection: the legendary Italian witch can finally complete her ancient quest by visiting a new planet. The title story is masterly. I enjoyed the

unfolding of the relative values of the empaths and the military in 'Alien Stones'. Wolfe enlisted my sympathy for the regressed humans in 'The Hero as Werwolf' and I enjoyed the buzz of recognising the Disney references in 'Three Fingers'. At this point my reading stalled because I could not engage with 'The Death of Dr Island'. I did not care for any of the characters and the allusions to the Genesis stories seemed too overt to be satisfying.

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LibraryThing member angharad_reads

Wolfe is a master of science fiction and fantasy, fairy tales and fables. Because of this range, this collection might not be for a reader who reads only subgenres. I need to buy a copy of this book, so I can reread the two or three ambiguous/Borgesian stories whose plots require it. All of the

stories deserve a reread anyway.

Besides title story, also includes "The Death of Doctor Island" (for Wolfe, easy/ordinary sci-fi) and "The Doctor of Death Island" (more difficult/ambiguous).

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LibraryThing member vicarofdibley

a mixed bag of stories some good some not so

LibraryThing member iayork

An uneven collection, but there are some fantastic stories: THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR DEATH AND OTHER STORIES AND OTHER STORIES (yes, it's supposed to be titled that way), first published in 1980, is Gene Wolfe's first collection of short stories. It brings together 14 works published in the 1970's,

some of which originally appeared in Damon Knight's "Orbit" anthologies. Like with any collection of short stories it ranges widely, but the volume does contain some of Wolfe's finest pieces.The first story in this book may make the reader wonder why exactly Wolfe receives so much praise, for "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories" (1970) is a very immature work, an unconvincingly written tale of child whose love of pulp adventure magazines helps him escape a broken home. The next story, "Alien Stones", dates from two years later and shows a dramatic improvement in Wolfe's writing. On the surface it appears to be about a spaceship crew exploring an abandoned alien vessel, but under the surface hints at a darker story. Wolfe, like Larry Niven in his 60's hard science-fiction works, unfortunately underestimates the progress of technology---his spacecraft's computer uses CRT's and manual switches---and his far-future female character seems supiciously like a stereotypical ditz of the early 1970's. Nonetheless, the strong storytelling and intricate plot more than make up for this.
"Three Fingers" is a short diversion, an enhibition of Wolfe's droll sense of humour. "Tracking Song" is another of the high points of the volume, the chronicle of a journey on a frozen world where humanity has evolved into myriad diverse forms. The narration is reminiscent of Wolfe's first great novel, THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS.
If this collection begins with Wolfe's weakest story, it ends with one of his best. "Seven American Nights" is the record of an Iranian visiting a bizarre post-apocalyptic America for less than honourable purposes, an ironic reversal of the phenomenon of 60's hippies visiting the Middle East for drug tourism. The novella contains the hallmarks of Wolfe's finest writing: unreliable narration, casual relevations, fantastic world-building, the perpetual feeling that the reader isn't getting the whole story, and an ending that shows that all the plot's secrets were really right there in the text all along. This is a powerful work, and it is worth buying the entire collection just for it.
While perhaps not ideal for the reader who hasn't read anything but Wolfe yet, this is an excellent work to turn to next if you enjoyed one of his accessible works like The Book of the New Sun, PEACE, or THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS.

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LibraryThing member igor.kh

Hit is +, miss is -.

+ The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories (1970)
+ Alien Stones (1972)
+ La Befana (1973)
+ The Hero as Werwolf (1975)
+ Three Fingers (1976)
+ The Death of Dr. Island (1973)
+ Feather Tigers (1973)
- Hour of Trust (1973)
+ Tracking Song (1975)
+ The Toy Theater (1971)
+ The Doctor

of Death Island (1978)
+ Cues (1974)
- The Eyeflash Miracles (1976)
+ Seven American Nights (1978)

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LibraryThing member jburlinson

The title story (minus the other stories and other stories) isn't too bad. If you come across it in an anthology, I'd suggest you consider not skipping it.

LibraryThing member isabelx

A book of very varied science fiction stories, notwithstanding the fact that three of them had very similar titles: 'The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories', 'The Death of Dr. Island', and 'The Doctor of Death Island'.

I like the fact that the stories tended not to be tied up neatly at the

end, since all the unsolved mysteries gives you more to think about and means that the stories aren't instantly forgettable. My favourites were "The Death of Doctor Island", "Hour of Trust" and "Tracking Song", and "Seven American Nights" was the only story in the book that I had read before.

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LibraryThing member Lyndatrue

Wolfe's genre (which he shares with no one) is really Science Fantasy. This collection is my favorite of all his works (and I've read most of them). He's a true storyteller, and these are some of his very best.

LibraryThing member burritapal

I couldn't get past the use of "man/girl" in the text instead of "man/woman." There's no excuse in this day for using these words. It makes me feel like writing a short story using "boy/woman."

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