8 /10 1 Votes
Cover artist Mark Harrison Language English Originally published October 1986 Followed by Soldier of Arete | 4/5 Goodreads Country United Kingdom Series Soldier Genre Fantasy Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publication date Oct 1986 (UK)
Nov 1986 (US) Media type Print (Hardback and paperback) Awards Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Publishers Victor Gollancz Ltd (UK), Tor Books (US) Similar Works by Gene Wolfe, Latro books, Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel winners | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Soldier of the Mist is a 1986 fantasy novel by Gene Wolfe published by Gollancz in the UK and then Tor Books in the US. It has two sequels: Soldier of Arete (1989) and Soldier of Sidon (2006). Mist and Arete have been collected as Latro in the Mist.
Contents
Synopsis
The story is presented as the recovered diary of Latro, a Roman mercenary who fought for Xerxes at the Battle of Plataea. As a result of head injuries incurred during the battle, Latro suffers from both retrograde and anterograde amnesia; due to the former, he does not know his own name, and must accept that others call him "Latro" (meaning "soldier"); due to the latter, he has been given scrolls on which to write down recent events so that he may (in principle) "READ THIS EVERY MORNING".
He has also developed the ability to see and interact with gods, ghosts, and mythological creatures; due to his amnesia, he does not know that this is unusual.
Reception
Soldier of the Mist won the 1987 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award.
Kirkus Reviews described it as "marvelously fluent" and "evocative".