Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe. World Fantasy Award

(Brought to you by kat impatientreader.com)  The book is a sequel to Latro in the Mist, but can be read as a stand-alone as I did here at Impatient Reader.  It starts with a forward in that time-honored tradition that has a citizen from the future unearthing somebody's story from the distant past. Here, it's a translator who has brought to light the story that follows from some scrolls found in ancient Egypt. If you bother to read the forward, you'll pick up some interesting details about life in ancient Egypt.

If you skip straight to Chapter 1, you'll meet Latro who has a problem.  In his two previous adventures (Soldier in the Mist and Soldier of Arete, since combined into Latro in the Mist), Latro, a Roman mercenary who sustained a head-wound in ancient Greece, had the bad luck to offend one of the gods who punished him with a curse:  every morning when he wakes up, he forgets everything from the day before, including his own name, who he is, his entire past, and who are the people who surround him.

Therefore, he carries a scroll in which he writes down everything that happens so that it can function in place of his missing memory. Since Latro is a soldier, however, he lives a life of action and doesn't always have time to consult the scroll. Therefore, he operates at a distinct disadvantage, especially upon just waking up, when he hasn't yet gathered much context on which to base his decisions.

Is this an interesting premise?  You bet it is.  Out of sheer necessity, Latro has become very good at reading the nuances in people's faces, body language, and inflections.  Even if he can't quite get out the scroll right then for a detailed re-read, he still has good instincts for whom he should and should not trust.  Almost everyone wants to manipulate him for different agendas, and the book is at its most fascinating as Latro sorts all this out.

Also wonderful is the fact that the gods still regard Latro with curiosity, and many of them drop in and meddle with his fate. As a side-effect of his curse, he can see them whereas other mortals cannot.  Latro himself is a calm and good-natured sort who copes with everything in an appealingly pragmatic way.

The story opens in first-person (of course) in ancient Egypt.  Latro gets recruited by a friend, a riverboat captain named Muslak, to journey with him south down the Nile to the mysterious land of Nubia (present-day Sudan or maybe Ethopia). This will be an exploratory mission paid for by the satrap (the Persian governor of the Persian province of Egypt). Later on, Muslak gains an additional powerful and wealthy client who also supports this mission in the hopes that his son can be found:  the young man disappeared awhile back while investigating a Nubian gold mine.

So off we go on a quest. Latro is put in charge of a small company of soldiers journeying with them to provide security in the dangerous lands beyond Egypt.  Muslak is the boat's captain. Both Latro and Muslak have two "singing girls" (prostitutes) from Egypt accompanying them: Neht-nefret who is Muslak's "river wife", and Myt-ser'eu chosen by Latro. The two Egyptian women come from the same temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor, and are good friends.  In addition, the boat carries a scheming young scribe who serves the god Thoth; a secretive Magi; a dangerous wizard who serves the evil god Set; a woman made of wax who frequently becomes animated to search hungrily for the blood of living women; and my personal favorite, a meek slave named Uraeus who serves Latro faithfully when he is not hunting down rats in the ship's hold while in the shape of a cobra.

What didn't I like about this book?  Three things. First, women are treated like slaves in this world. You're going to get reminded of that on almost every page, and you'll hear second-hand about several scenes of nonconsensual sex.  I mention this not to urge political correctness, but just to provide information to readers who might want to try this story out with a library copy before actually buying it. 

The second problem is also a small one.  There are way too many minor characters to keep straight; after awhile, they all seem alike.  If there were less, they might have seemed more vivid. The third problem is more serious: I felt the plot tension or urgency or narrative drive (or whatever you want to call it) evaporate out of the book in the last 60 or so pages. By now, the initial quest has turned into an endless sequence of escapes and captures, involving Latro (mostly on his own) just trying to survive. It is interesting and well-written, but not as interesting as the riverboat scenes when they all had a mission and Latro in particular had a consistent group of scheming characters (even if there were too many of them) with which to interact.

What did I like about the book?  Almost everything.  Latro is a good character, and his situation is fascinating.  Plus we don't have enough fantasy or historical fiction set in ancient Egypt and especially in ancient Africa.  Latro's story is grounded in a wealth of cultural, religious, and historical detail, and yet it skims along with graceful and effortless speed.  The scenes involving his interactions with the gods are especially good.  At its best, Soldier of Sidon is a breathtakingly vivid experience. Plus, the illustrations by David Grove are absolutely gorgeous.

Read a review of one of the nominees that didn't win the World Fantasy Award: Lisey's Story by Stephen King Check out the World Fantasy Award list. Buy Latro in the Mist on Amazon:   Latro in the Mist   Buy Soldier of Sidon on Amazon:   Soldier of Sidon

Noteworthy Links:   Wonderquest - Science Q/A! The Connection - Tech blog! Author site - John the Eunuch Historical Mystery series, Cozy Mystery List for all your cozy mystery needs, Obsidian Bookshelf - reviews of gay-themed fiction.
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