Soldier of Sidon

Gene Wolfe
Completed 2/6/2023, Reviewed 2/6/2023
4 stars

I really liked this third entry in the Latro series, much more than Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete.  But, like his first two novels, I was occasionally lost.  In this book, I somehow missed that Lucius (known as Latro to many of his adventuring acquaintances) had made it home before going on a third outing.  As with the first two books, there are many spots where I got a little lost, which I think is intentional on Wolfe’s part.  It’s part of the conceit of the book.  Latro still has severe memory loss, not remembering the past and forgetting the events of each yesterday.  So we only know as much as Latro writes down on his scroll and he doesn’t write everything as a fluid narrative, but as a tool to help him remember what has happened from day to day.  By this third book, I totally bought into the conceit and was happy to be back in this world where every day is completely brand new.  This book won the 2007 World Fantasy Award.

Captain Muslak from the previous books finds Latro and asks how his memory recovery is progressing.  When he finds out Latro hasn’t recovered anything, he offers to take him to Riverland (Egypt) in search of a god who can cure his memory loss.  Latro agrees and Muslak puts together a crew to accompany them.  The gods still speak to Latro, and this time it’s the Egyptian gods who task Latro with a mission to a shrine in Nubia near the source of the Nile. Along the way, they pick up temple singers, aka prostitutes, to keep Muslak and Latro happy.  On the way, Latro encounters gods and magical creatures who sometimes threaten, sometimes help him in his mission.  

One thing I really liked about this book was that Wolfe used the actual names of the Egyptian gods and place names.  It made it easier to keep which gods were helpful and which were not, compared to the Greek Pantheon of the first two books.  And there was a lot more interaction with the supernatural in this volume.  One character which was quite the surprise was a woman made of wax who normally only appears when called by her husband.  However, for some unknown reason, Latro also makes her stir.  She wants to be Latro’s lover or wife, having him eschew the prostitute.  Besides trying to get Latro for herself, she needs the blood of a human woman to stay young.  

Latro himself is a wonderful character, an innocent due to his mental condition.  Latro is relatable and I empathized with him.  Whenever he had a slave, he wanted to free him or her.  He had a general kindness toward people and pets.  He suffered from blood guilt, feeling guilty for murder of people, real or imagined.  He didn’t trust many people, and from day to day, his level of trust would change.  Somehow, he was always able to feel love.

Wolfe’s fans waiting 17 years for this book, and having read it, were ready to wait another 17.  Unfortunately, Wolfe died in 2019, so a fourth book was never written.  There isn’t exactly a cliffhanger in this volume, but it doesn’t end neatly.  Rather, it ends abruptly, leaving the reader wanting more.  I guess that’s one of the signs of a good book, leaving the reader wanting more, and I did.  I give this book four stars out of five.  I think Wolfe, like Robert Silverberg, are two underrated authors in genre fiction.  I always keep an eye out for their books at used bookstores and on sale for the e-reader.  They both have great imaginations, and are terrific writers.  They belong to a category of sci fi/fantasy writers who should have been more accepted by the wider public.