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  • The Fifth Head of Cerberus

The Fifth Head of Cerberus

by Gene Wolfe
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
★ 7.58 / 7
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A collection of three linked novellas.

  • The Fifth Head of Cerberus – Hugo Award nominee 1973, Nebula Award nominee 1972
  • "A Story," by John. V. Marsch
  • V.R.T.

Far out from Earth, two sister planets, Saint Anne and Saint Croix, circle each other in an eternal dance. It is said a race of shapeshifters once lived here, only to perish when men came. But one man believes they can still be found, somewhere in the back of the beyond.

In The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Wolfe skillfully interweaves three bizarre tales to create a mesmerizing pattern: the harrowing account of the son of a mad genius who discovers his hideous heritage; a young man's mythic dreamquest for his darker half; the bizarre chronicle of a scientist's nightmarish imprisonment. Like an intricate, braided knot, the pattern at last unfolds to reveal astonishing truths about this strange and savage alien landscape.

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Science FictionShort Stories
Release date: 1972

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Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe

Gene Rodman Wolfe (1931-2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short-story writer and novelist and won many science fiction and fantasy literary awards.

Wolfe is best known for his Book of the New Sun series (four volumes, 1980–83), the first part of his "Solar Cycle". In 1998, Locus magazine ranked it the third-best fantasy novel published before 1990 based on a poll of subscribers that considered it and several other series as single entries.

More books by Gene Wolfe

Interlibrary Loan (A Borrowed Man #2)
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A Borrowed Man (A Borrowed Man #1)
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The Very Best of Gene Wolfe
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The Best of Gene Wolfe: A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction
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