2 of the absolute masters of speculative fiction.
Peake's Gormenghast possibly the greatest work in the genre IMHO.
Regarding
Peake:
The tone, and yes the qualiy of the third novel in
Gormenghast is poorer due largely to being written from
Peake's notes as he was suffering gravely both physically and mentally at this time in his life he suffered from Parkinson's disease and a until later in life the dormant Encephalitis Lethargica (sleeping sickness). The 2 first novels arguably can be said have no peers in fiction IMHO. As with
Wolfe,
Peake is gifted with one of the most amazing proses in fiction as well.
it should also be noted that a
Gormenghast related novella entitled
Boy in the Darkness is found in an anthology entitled
Somewhere, Never .
Regarding
Wolfe:
Him and
Peake are simply without question 2 of teh top 10 writers in speculative fiction, and msot likely top 5 IMHO. His
Book of the New Sun, his magnum opus, is a masterpiece in the genre as well, the character Severian, a terrific character stemming away from the cliched archetypes the genre was full of at the time. Also highly recommended by
Wolfe is his
5th Head of Cerebus, his
Lictor novels, and his incredible collections of shorts, including
Innoccent's Aboard,
The Island of Dr. Death,
Endangered Species ,
Strange Travelers , also look at for his forthcoming
Starwater Strains. One must read
There are Doors as well, which is pure genius. His
Wizard/Knight is a homage, taking more traditional elements and IMHO humbling others who make there trade in that branch. Not his best work IMHO, but even
Wolfe's second tier work is excellent as it was rated amongst the best releases in fantasy last year.
I have reviewed
The Knight HERE
and
The Wizard HERE
They are among my first reviews so admittedly I think they aren't as good as some of my current ones, but I think they are still suitable.
You simply can't go wrong with
Peake or
Wolfe, both are bonafide masters, not of just SF or Fantasy but of Fiction period.
