From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@siriusfiction.com>
Subject: (urth) Gene Wolfe's favorite Nero Wolfe novels
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 15:47:25 

Here's another bit of trivia that I've stumbled upon in correspondence with
Gene Wolfe.  Maybe someone can use it as an inspiration to write about Gene
Wolfe and genre mysteries?

Gene Wolfe ranks the following as the best (not in any order):
TOO MANY WOMEN
BEFORE MIDNIGHT
THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN
CHAMPAGNE FOR ONE
THE FINAL DEDUCTION
IF DEATH EVER SLEPT
PLOT IT YOURSELF
THE DOORBELL RANG

He ranks the worst as:
THE BLACK MOUNTAIN
FER-DE-LANCE

Some while ago I had the madcap notion of reading, for the first time, some
Nero Wolfe novels (all by Rex Stout, I hasten to add: Nero is the hero),
and (here's the madcap part) I was going to read them in order of
publication.

Well!  First one is FER-DE-LANCE, and no sir, I didn't think it was very
good.  After a month or two, I read the next one, THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED
MEN, and it was much better!  I mentioned this to Gene Wolfe and he gave me
his list.

(I read a book of Nero Wolfe novellas, but they are too abrupt for me.)
Most recently I found and read BEFORE MIDNIGHT, and yep, that's a good one.


=mantis=


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