PEACE

This book was quite a ride. From the online synopses, you would expect a horror/thriller, but Peace is much more literature than anything else. Gene Wolfe is well known for his sci-fi and fantasy, but this means that he largely critiqued within the scope of these genres and his satisfaction of the criteria therein. Unfortunately, this means that his incredible writing talent has gone largely unnoticed because fantasy books outside of Tolkien and Lewis are largely the territory of nerds and so are judged on the degree that they satisfy a certain D&D-esque bone. Peace is a great example of this point because had Wolfe not been a sci-fi/fantasy author, this book would most certainly have been a NY Times Best-seller and would now be considered modern literature. Wolfe's writing, the pacing of his story-telling, the way he writes in riddles and mysteries into damn near every line in his work are all qualities that rank him not solely among the best of sci-fi/fantasy authors, but among the best of all authors irrespective of genre. I believe whole-heartedly that Wolfe will eventually be recognized as the genius he was regardless of the genres he frequented; it is only too unfortunate that, yet again, an author's deserved fame can only come after he is unable to receive it.