December 2003

The Knight by Gene Wolfe is finally out. This is, by and large, the finest thing I have read in years. The plotting is unique, the voice is compelling, and the writing makes the book come alive. I can’t even express how utterly cool this book is, and what a pleasure it is to read. Seriously. You will read this.

My obsession with Gene Wolfe, admittedly, borders on the fanatical. But this goes beyond mere obsession - he’s taken the fantasy genre and tipped it over. A fantastic Norse-themed fantasy world with everything that’s been missing from contemporary fantasy fiction for me - that sense of wonder. Most of what I’ve been reading lately has just been hackneyed drivel with a few exceptions, and reading this book is giving me back that sense of utter wonder that I had when I first start reading Lord of the Rings. This is NOT a bad thing. Not at ALL.

Odd thoughts at 2am. I’ve nipped off to the vending area for a diet soda and something pretzel-esque to chew on. I notice that there’s something in there called “Cookie Mates“. They appear to be generic creme sandwich cookies, nothing overly offensive about that - but the graphic above the logo appears to be a pair of Keebler-like elven things in the type of sailor’s suit that hasn’t been seen since shore leave in Oahu in 1945.

The reason they’re called “Cookie Mates” raises some puzzling and possibly disturbing questions. I nearly bought the package for the disturbance value.