What do you get when you combine the Cthulhu mythos with one of the greatest, most philosophically minded, science-fiction authors of all time? One of the best new books of the year: An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe.
Gene Wolfe’s version of the Cthulhu mythos feels more like fellow Catholic August Derleth’s rendition of it than it does with those versions of it produced by Lovecraft, Howard or Smith. It’s not really horrifying, and in fact, it feels as if there is some deconstruction of the mythos as a whole going on in it. But that’s to be expected. Derleth and Wolfe come to the Cthulhu mythos from a different perspective than the one held by its creator. Yet, this is what Lovecraft wanted. He desired that his friends, and other writers, to take an interest in the mythos and develop in any way they want. Any one story does not have to be consistent with any other story (and such inconsistency is found within Lovecraft’s own tales). There were no formal rules as to how one was to engage the mythos; rather, what has been established only serves as the foundation for whatever it is someone else wants to say about it. There was no systematic presentation of the mythos until Derleth, from his Catholic mindset, tried to establish one for it; some continued on with his approach to the mythos, others did not. Recently, there has been a great revolt against Derleth, making him the great heretic, but that position will, of course, shift as time goes by. That’s part of what makes the mythos great, and feel alive. It’s diverse and inconsistent, even when it is brought into systematic reflection. Like any real world mythos, there are contradictory stories, and its adherents (those who write stories within its domain) might fight one another, but, once a story is approved, it becomes a part of the growing canon of tales which establish what the Cthulhu mythos entails.
When one begins An Evil Guest, except for what it says on the inside of the dust jacket, one will have little warning that one is about to engage a new story of the Cthulhu mythos. Early on there are hints, but that’s all one gets, hints. There is a nice nod to Lovecraft which suggests Lovecraft himself had a place in the mythos, but that is quite common for recent stories of the Cthulhu mythos. That alone should tell the reader that something is about to take place, that Wolfe wants to bring it into the territory of the Cthulhu mythos. But then, after that one nod, it feels as if Wolfe was diverting our attention, and making us believe the story is going to be involved with the mythos and it actually isn’t. Don’t give up. It is.
The novel begins in the near future, where the President of the United States tries to recruit Gideon Chase, famous wizard-detective, to find and gather information on the “evil” Bill Reis. Once an ambassador to the only world where intelligent life was found in the universe (Woldercan), Bill Reis has returned to earth and has become one of its most powerful, and wealthy, inhabitants. But it also appears he is up to something bad, and the government wants to find out what it is, and how he is doing it (every attempt to get information out of him in the past has failed). Gideon is promised a lot of money and an important academic position, at whatever institution he wants, if he helps out. Not trusting the government, Gideon leaves but decides to investigate the situation on his own (and get the reward, if he decides to turn in the information, after he finds out what is going on for himself). He recruits an aspiring actress with much latent talent, Cassie Casey, to help. After taking her to a secret location, a “living mountain,” in Canada, using some uncertain means, he brings out Cassie’s latent talents, making her becomes a super-star who attracts the attention of everyone, including Bill Reis.
What follows from there is, in many respects, an interesting love-triangle. Cassie falls for Gideon Chase and for Bill Reis. Both Gideon and Bill fall for Cassie. All three of them are playing games of cat and mouse with each other. They are all working with and against each other in various ways. Gideon is a detective who claims to have given up belief in good and evil, and yet lives within an honor system which shows his inherent goodness. Bill is a good man who, at least for a good portion of the books, appears to be involved with something big, and it is that involvement which makes him do questionable things (like have people killed who get in his way). Cassie is involved in a situation which transcends what she could ever understand, making her the perfect representation of the reader of a Gene Wolfe novel.
Like Pirate Freedom, the book is quite easy to read (for a Wolfe novel). But it is that simplicity which hides a far bigger, far more difficult story which the reader must grasp for themselves. Like The Book of the Short Sun, there is much which is going on which will leave the reader wanting to re-read the book once they have finished it once to figure out what exactly was the real story and what was just its superficial exterior. Cthulhu is in it, though it is only the last third of the novel where one begins to grasp his significance to the tale (but hints, once again, are found, soon after Cassie is hired by Bill Reilly to be the main character of a musical he wrote, Dating the Volcano God).
The novel is supposed to be stand-alone, but throughout the story, I kept feeling as if it belonged in the same universe as the Solar Cycle and that it is, in many ways, a story which is connected to Fifth Head of Cerberus. Nonetheless, it could be read as a stand-alone novel, and one who has not read any Wolfe can read it and appreciate it (although, they must be warned, it is written like any of Wolfe’s better novels; that is, it is filled with riddles throughout, and to answer them, one must find the clues throughout the story and put them together for oneself; Wofle expects a lot from his reader, and he doesn’t spoon feed them any answers). Overall, it’s a true return to form, better than Pirate Freedom, and Wizard/Knight, although, that opinion might be based upon my love for the Cthulhu mythos, and others might not rate it so high.
4 ½ stars / 5.
* Gold is the kindest of all hosts when it shines in the sky, but comes as an evil guest to those who receive it in the hand.
— Simonides of Ceos.
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