From the World Called Urth · 6:35pm Jul 23rd, 2014
Those of you who have been reading Besides the Will of Evil may perhaps have noticed a shift of the style in which the story is written, starting around Chapter 13 and continuing through "A Note on Power Levels" and Chapter 14. This has come out somewhat in the vocabulary used, as well as in the structure of the sentences, and further still in the sort of rhythm of the writing as a whole.
None of this has happened accidentally. The truth is that, like any writer, I draw influence from the material I read, and for the past few months I've been immersed in one of the greatest series of works I've ever encountered: Gene Wolfe's four-part science fiction saga The Book of the New Sun.
The series is set far in the future- far, far, far in the future, so far that the sun has begun to cool and grow red. So far that humanity's days as an interstellar empire, spanning hundreds of worlds round distant stars, are long in the past, and Urth (as our planet is now called) has fallen back into a nearly medieval mode of living, though pockets of fantastically advanced technology remain. It tells the tale of Severian, a member of the Order of the Seekers of Truth and Penitence, known more colloquially as the Torturers' Guild. He rises out of his Apprenticeship in the guild to the rank of Journeyman, but he barely achieves that level before he commits the guild's ultimate crime: showing mercy to a victim. For this act, he is expelled from the guild, and this begins his wandering across a weird and wondrous landscape, his participation in many strange adventures, his encounters with friends and foes and lovers, all culminating in his ascension to the throne of the Autarch, the seat of supreme rulership of the planet.
It's no great secret that Severian becomes autarch- he himself reveals this ending from the start of the first book, and the series takes the form of an autobiography he is writing about his life. Severian claims to have a perfect memory, saying that he "forgets nothing," though we are often given reason to doubt this, and likewise to doubt the honesty of his record.
The imagery in the book is fantastical and strange, filled with dreams and masks and mirrors in so many forms and shapes. Through it all Wolfe employs some of the most amazing prose I've ever encountered. When one thinks of science fiction, great style does not come to mind as one of its attributes, but Wolfe writes beautifully, employing an elegant and intricate style full of grand allusions and strong echoes onto points previously made. Wolfe himself counts the Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges as among his greatest influences; I should add that I also see a bit of Herman Melville in his work, not the least due to certain similarities in the first person perspectives of Severian and Ishmael.
As Borges influences Wolfe, then, so Wolfe influences me. I have begun, in both Besides the Will of Evil and my own original works, to echo his style, and to a certain degree his fascination with reflections, though this second aspect has not yet made itself evident. Some of this has been unconscious, the simple result of my being deeply moved by a work; some of this has been conscious, a product of my striving always to improve my writing, to draw influence from those whose practice of the author's craft is currently superior to mine.
I have maintained for a long while that the purpose of fanfiction should be to prepare a writer for the original fiction she or he must some day move on to. In this spirit, I have been using Besides the Will of Evil as a laboratory for style and content experiments. I hope you are patient with me as I grope my way forward, and I hope my efforts meet with your satisfaction.
Is it science fiction or fantasy wearing the cloak of science?
I just might have to take a look at these books.
A science fiction novel called "The best SF novel of the last century" by the Neil Gaiman.
You have good taste my friend.
2309578
It's sort of science fiction that follows Clarke's Laws. The advanced technology is sufficiently advanced.
Fanfiction in general is a good place to practice techniques and tricks for writing non-fanfiction without the massive worry of making too huge a screw up. Plus it's an excuse to have fun with things every once in a while.
Ha! This is the first time I've seen this series mentioned on this site. You can routinely hear great praise for these works on /lit/. I've been meaning to get into this series myself, but the work is vast and daunting, and I simply don't read as much as I would like to. I probably should keep my mouth shut about this, but I'm driven to lament that I'm having trouble reading anything these days. I have to force myself to read half the stuff I saved on my phone, and I'm routinely disappointed by my inability to focus. I feel like an illiterate moron. I used to read a lot more until the end of high school. What happened to me?
Wolfe's works (from what I've heard) are not easy to get into by any means, and once you get into them, you need to get into them all over again just to get everything. I did manage to read a short story by him, so I do understand what critics mean when they mention this.
I really shouldn't be rambling, but every time I hear about Wolfe's works, I get frustrated. This is something I need to read, but fucking hell, I can't get the motivation to read it. But since you reminded me, maybe I'll give it another go.
Wolfe is considered to be one of the very best writers out there, so getting influenced by his style (supposedly) puts you on the very right track. Or something like that. Oh, this is depressing.