Wolfe's short story collection The Death of Doctor Island and Other Stories and Other Stories [not a typo] is an excellent introduction to his work. Some of these stories have stayed with me for 30 years.
I've read about 300 fiction novels over the course of my life and that book still maintains a hold on me like nothing else ever has. It is easily the best fiction novel I've ever read.
I consider the Solar Cycle (including this book) possibly the best work of fiction ever, but it's quite heavy. I'm not sure I'll ever reread them, because I remember feeling a bit like I'm drowning in the story.
For someone new to Gene Wolfe, The Fifth Head of Cerberus gives a good taste about what's in store without so much commitment.
Besides those I also strongly remember these works:
- The Wizard Knight: straight-up fantasy but quite philosophical like sci-fi should be
- Pirate Freedom: an interesting "historic" view of pirate life
Agreed on the entire Solar Cycle. IMO the interplay between the Long Sun series and Short Sun series is its own kind of magnificence. Like many Wolfe readers, I came into Long Sun looking for "more" New Sun, and it took me quite a while (probably 2 books in) to dispense with that expectation and start appreciating Long Sun on its own merit. By the end of Long Sun I was enjoying it very much, but it wasn't until I started reading Short Sun that I began to see the brilliance of what the author was trying to accomplish between the two stories.
Interesting. It shows Hyperion in the "People also searched for" section in Amazon. I liked Hyperion: it showed such promise. It's tricky: if your writing feels mythical, you shouldn't resolve/reveal too much at the end.
I also enjoyed Hyperion, but I would say that they are on two totally different levels from a literary perspective. I don't mean to sound dismissive of Hyperion, I think it's very good, but BoTNS is exceptional.
