A review by eabourland
An Evil Guest by Gene Wolfe

5.0

This is a lovecraftian time traveling lycanthropism mystery thriller radioactive love story. It's Wolfe having a great time. He relaxed for a little while, and wrote a novel that is simply fun. Wolfe's deep affection for all of his characters, and for the story he is leading them through, rises from every page. There are a dozen dreams at work here, many of them working at the same time, in the same places, on the same characters. One of joys of reading Wolfe is to parse his clues and understand what's really going on. The story does make sense. It adds up; Wolfe is too good a storyteller to do otherwise. If you have any interest in Lovecraft or lycanthropy or FTL travel or love, then parts of this story will be riveting and quite fun. Imagine the U.S. Navy dropping depth charges on R'lyeh, and how Cthlulu and his minions might react to an incursion from a modern military. Like most Wolfe stories, the story is subtle. I doubt I found all of Wolfe's clues, but I had a great time trying.

Just a fun little book. Very entertaining.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780765318794-2

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780765321343-1