- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (Feb 15 1990)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312850085
- ISBN-13: 978-0312850081
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 14 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,378,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
An unexplained murder, a house with many secrets, and a phantom castle that haunts the midwestern town of Castleview lead Will Shields and his family across the borders of reality into a world inhabited by beings out of legend. Wolfe's ( There Are Doors, LJ 11/15/88) deceptively simply prose masks a wealth of complexity in his latest real-world fantasy. Recommended.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
The contemporary world and the world of Arthurian mythology collide in Castleview, Illinois in this book. The Shields family are new to the town and find themselves living out a legend. The author has also written "The Book of the New Sun", "Soldier of the Mist" and "There are Doors".
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
So much promise, so little reward,
By A Customer
This review is from: Castleview (Paperback)
In this frustrating and ultimately not-worthwhile book, Wolfe takes an incredible premise (an Arthurian castle that appears on the outskirts of a middle America town, but is only visable to certain people) and totally ruins it. Having read a great amount of Arthurian literature (both modern and classic - like Malory, de Troyes, and von Eschenbach), I can honestly say that the plot is incomprehensible. Very few characters have any parallel to Arthurian figures (other than an occasional name), and most of them behave in a completely bizarre fashion. I slugged my way through every last agonizing page in hopes that the end might clear up the mysteries of this book... only to be disappointed again. My only guess is that Wolfe wrote this book while on drugs, his publisher agreed to publish it based on his prior reputation alone, and that anyone who claims to have enjoyed it is a diehard Wolfe fan that won't admit that this book is a total failure.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.1 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read just not the author's best.,
By Mr. G. Lavin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Castleview (Paperback)
This isn't Wolfe at his best. The story is at times maddeningly confusing. It appears to be a mishmash of Arthurian legends, fairy folklore and vampire stories all set in small town America. The characters often seem to act in a contrived manner and for a short novel is has an extensive cast. But it's still Wolfe. The book has some interesting ideas and wonderful images and his prose is always a pleasure to read.It moves along at a fair old clip and the second half is practically frenetic. This both serves to draw the reader in and then to leave them even more bemused when they have a moment to cogitate on what just occurred. Definitely worth a read but would not recommend this to a first time reader of Gene Wolfe. The Book of The New Sun series or Soldier in the Mist would be better starting point. 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing but a Great read,
By D. Berdanis "endymion9" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Castleview (Paperback)
That seems to be the byline on this one. I even bought a book of Arthurian legend but it didn't help much. Yet even without understanding exactly what happened this book kept me on the edge of my seat. A very good ride, even if you don't know where you are going.This book, more than any other, taught me to enjoy the journey with Wolfe and quit rushing to find out what happens in the end.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Noir Midwestern Setting,
By Eric Wisdahl - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Castleview (Paperback)
Castleview was a pretty quick read, but not an easy one. It seemed to be a little darker than most of Wolfe's work with an almost horror element at times. There were plenty of unexplained occurrences during this strange clash of mythologies in the small town of Castleview Illinois. The action appears to have taken place, for the most part, in a short amount of time when characters from, but not limited to, the Arthurian Legends and Norse Mythology appear to invade the town performing all sorts of strange acts upon an unusual cast of characters.Overall the pacing on this novel felt a little strange. All in all it was an enjoyable read that will almost certainly warrant another look since, as with many Wolfe books, this one had many subtle events, hints, myths and story lines happening which I am sure that I did not catch the first time through. |
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