Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Tor Books (2008), Edition: 1st, 304 pages
Description
Lovecraft meetsBlade Runner in a stand-alone supernatural horror novel. Gene Wolfe can write in whatever genre he wants--and always with superb style and profound depth. Now following his World Fantasy Award winner,Soldier of Sidon, and his stunningPirate Freedom, Wolfe turns to the tradition of H. P. Lovecraft and the weird science tale of supernatural horror. Set a hundred years in the future,An Evil Guest is the story of an actress who becomes the lover of both a mysterious private detective and an even more mysterious and powerful rich man, a man who has been to the human colony on an alien planet and learned strange things there. Her loyalties are divided--perhaps she loves them both. The detective helps her to release her inner beauty and become a star overnight. The rich man is the angel of a play she stars in. But something is very wrong. Money can be an evil guest, but there are otherevils. As Lovecraft said, "That is not dead which can eternal lie."… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member carpentermt
I know there are already too many reviews for this book, particularly considering its lack of substance, but I read it from the perspective of a die hard Cthulhu mythos fan. I really wanted to read the mythos fiction of Gene Wolfe and now I wonder is there any? Lord of the Land is in a Lovecraftian
I just finished An Evil Guest, a book I really really wanted to like. I admit I was seduced by the superb cover art by Scott Fischer. This is an overtly Cthulhu mythos novel but a disjointed and incoherent one. Man was I disappointed. Regarding the elements of direct interest to Lovecraftians, first of all, a good bit of action takes place in Kingsport, MA. One of the main (I think) characters is on the faculty of Miskatonic University. In the climactic scene another main (I think) character is dumping radioactive gold over R'lyeh to draw the attention of the US Navy there, so they can duke it out with the Storm King, also called the Squid God (and I could swear at one point called that darned squid god, a nod to Nick Pollotta and James Clay? The book was too exhausting for me to back track). I think byakhee make an appearance, although they are pretty friendly.
So much for the mythos bits. As far as I can tell the main plots and sub plots fizzled out without resolution or point, and the ending had nothing to do with the beginning or middle. The start and most of the middle was pretty promising, focusing on Cassie Casey, an up and coming talent, whose inner star power is unleashed by the wizard Gideon Chase. Although set in the future and in the context of contact with aliens, this was more like a movie of behind the scenes of broadway in the 1930s and 40s. Unfortunately after a lot of build up the setting switches to the South Pacific, characters and plot are jettisoned for no good reason and then the book dwindles to a dissatisfying close. I wonder if Wolfe is such a big name now that his editor didn't have the guts to send it back to him and say "Get on with the rewrite, and this time consider a cohesive plot."
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anthology, but is not really mythos (although there are good Lovecraftian themes and images), I think Wolfe wrote a story about the Necronomicon at some point. I just finished An Evil Guest, a book I really really wanted to like. I admit I was seduced by the superb cover art by Scott Fischer. This is an overtly Cthulhu mythos novel but a disjointed and incoherent one. Man was I disappointed. Regarding the elements of direct interest to Lovecraftians, first of all, a good bit of action takes place in Kingsport, MA. One of the main (I think) characters is on the faculty of Miskatonic University. In the climactic scene another main (I think) character is dumping radioactive gold over R'lyeh to draw the attention of the US Navy there, so they can duke it out with the Storm King, also called the Squid God (and I could swear at one point called that darned squid god, a nod to Nick Pollotta and James Clay? The book was too exhausting for me to back track). I think byakhee make an appearance, although they are pretty friendly.
So much for the mythos bits. As far as I can tell the main plots and sub plots fizzled out without resolution or point, and the ending had nothing to do with the beginning or middle. The start and most of the middle was pretty promising, focusing on Cassie Casey, an up and coming talent, whose inner star power is unleashed by the wizard Gideon Chase. Although set in the future and in the context of contact with aliens, this was more like a movie of behind the scenes of broadway in the 1930s and 40s. Unfortunately after a lot of build up the setting switches to the South Pacific, characters and plot are jettisoned for no good reason and then the book dwindles to a dissatisfying close. I wonder if Wolfe is such a big name now that his editor didn't have the guts to send it back to him and say "Get on with the rewrite, and this time consider a cohesive plot."
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LibraryThing member craso
Gideon Chase, professor and wizard, is asked by the president to keep tabs on Bill Reiss, a vaguely menacing man. He hires Cassie Casey, a mediocre actress, to romance Bill. Gideon sees her star potential and uses his magical abilities to bring it out. She becomes a star literally overnight and
I enjoyed the beginning and middle of the novel better than the end. Cassie Casey’s character is great (can you think of a better name for an actress?) especially at the start of the novel. She is a like-able woman who is thrust into a confusing situation, kind of like this reviewer trying to read this book. Cassie is worried about her career, her weight, and in love with two very different men. It’s a science fiction novel with only hints of the future; we have visited other planets and have some advanced technology yet the setting has a 1930’s feel. The dialogue is like film noir; everybody speaks quickly and is very evasive. The end turns into a crazy evil-on-an-island-paradise story that I didn’t much like. There are hints at the beginning with Bill Reiss producing Cassie in an over the top musical call “Dating the Volcano God.” Then, all of a sudden, we are whisked away to a small chain of islands where the natives believe in strange and menacing gods. I am told that this is a Cthulhu Mythos story; I guess I haven’t read enough of the mythos to really appreciate it. The end seemed very silly, like a badly written pulp novel. The rest of the novel is terrific.
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attracts Bill’s attention. Cassie falls in love with both men. She is pursued by agents from the government and different covert organizations who want to get to Bill. Bill takes her to an island paradise to make her his queen, but something evil dwells there.I enjoyed the beginning and middle of the novel better than the end. Cassie Casey’s character is great (can you think of a better name for an actress?) especially at the start of the novel. She is a like-able woman who is thrust into a confusing situation, kind of like this reviewer trying to read this book. Cassie is worried about her career, her weight, and in love with two very different men. It’s a science fiction novel with only hints of the future; we have visited other planets and have some advanced technology yet the setting has a 1930’s feel. The dialogue is like film noir; everybody speaks quickly and is very evasive. The end turns into a crazy evil-on-an-island-paradise story that I didn’t much like. There are hints at the beginning with Bill Reiss producing Cassie in an over the top musical call “Dating the Volcano God.” Then, all of a sudden, we are whisked away to a small chain of islands where the natives believe in strange and menacing gods. I am told that this is a Cthulhu Mythos story; I guess I haven’t read enough of the mythos to really appreciate it. The end seemed very silly, like a badly written pulp novel. The rest of the novel is terrific.
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LibraryThing member brianclegg
One of Wolfe's 'real world' fantasies (i.e. not strange planets, not swords and sorcery), which are the ones I love. Not an absolute classic - it's very slow to get started and crams all the real meat into the final 20% - but for a Wolfe lover, it's manna from heaven.
LibraryThing member nmele
Gene Wolf always tells a compelling story, sometimes a story with great depth, and sometimes a story that ends with me thinking, "Huh?" That was my initial reaction to "An Evil Guest" but 24 hours later, I appreciate the books ambiguities much more and laugh at the way he plays with the writings of
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H.P. Lovecraft, not that he wrote this book in Lovecraft's style. Show Less
LibraryThing member thioviolight
I'm not sure what to make of this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed reading the story. But on the other hand, it left so many questions and me feeling rather befuddled. As the blurb says, it is a mix of genres, which lends interesting aspects to the story, such as the technology, the mystery and the
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fantasy. But while the read was good, I was left scratching my head and wondering what really happened or was happening or was going to happen, or what it all really meant. It felt like the book shouldn't be over yet. Show Less
LibraryThing member aickman
A brilliant, complex novel dealing with deep concepts of time, space, and love, packaged in a deceptively pulpy mystery/horror framework.
LibraryThing member grahzny
This book charmed me, then took a few left turns without, I think, enough clues to bring me along. It's worth a little more puzzling out, and it was certainly fun while it lasted, but....
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Fantasy Novel — 2009)
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2009)
Locus Recommended Reading (2008)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
ISBN
0765321335 / 9780765321336