Latro, as he is called by the people around him when he starts recording his daily memories on a scroll, forgets each day after a head injury in a battle near a temple at the battle Plataea (called Clay in the text). He sees gods and demi-gods not visible to his companions and is told that he must request forgiveness from the Great Mother if he is to be healed. We read what he has written, somewhat broken and intermittent, and it ends as his party attempts to escape the siege of Sestus on the Hellespont. ( )

Really engaging and captivating, following Latro and his brushes with various gods. It feels genuine and just as scary as if it were real. I thought the enscriptions on tombs felt extremely authentic. Clearly deeply researched. ( )

This book manifests the Gene Wolfe enigma. Such tight prose, such subtlety. The conversation between the Spartan and the Athenian Stratgist outside Sestos for example -- it's as elegant as a rapier duel. And the evocation of an alien, god-haunted world -- it's really strange and powerful. And all through, you feel you are getting hints and crumbs of meaning, shards of some larger design you should be able to piece together. But in the end, what is it all in aid of?

Glad I read it. Vivid, memorable, and strange. But there's a part of me that just wants a narrative, and meaning, right there on the surface and not veiled in mist.

Latro has no memory but sees the gods

I wish it had been the first Wolfe I had read, or that I’d read it instead of The Wizard-Knight, because there is a definite Pattern to Wolfe’s books: a young man doesn’t know (has forgotten) (has lost) his position in Society; the book is dedicated to him finding out what that position is; there is no real plot. Of the two, Soldier of the Mist is better than The Wizard-Knight, though that might be influenced by my own predilection for Greek mythology. Wolfe’s use of the mythology is very good, and he has the appropriate degree of awe before the gods. Still, Wolfe’s formula is wearing, especially due to the lack of plot. Four stars because it's beautifully written, and for the treatment of the gods. ( )