Operation Ares

1970 novel by Gene Wolfe

Operation Ares

First edition

Author| Gene Wolfe
Cover artist| Paul Lehr
Language| English
Genre| Science fiction
Publisher| Berkley Books

Publication date

| 1970
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages| 208
OCLC| 225240530

Operation Ares is a science fiction novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, published as a paperback original by Berkley Books in 1970. It was his first novel. While no later editions were issued in the United States, a hardcover edition was released in the UK market by Dobson Books in 1977, followed by a Fontana paperback in 1978.[1] The title is sometimes rendered Operation ARES.

The novel originated from a short story written by Wolfe in 1965. He submitted the story to Damon Knight, who suggested that Wolfe expand it into a novel.[2] Wolfe completed the novel, then titled The Laughter at Night[3] in 1967, and sold it to Berkley Books. Wolfe and his editor, Donald R. Bensen, cut about 20% of the manuscript's 100,000-word length for publication.[4]

Operation Ares depicts a dystopian future where the United States is controlled by an anti-technological leftist regime. The story traces protagonist John Castle's conflict with the government and his increasing involvement with a rebellion backed by a Martian colony which has severed its ties to the U.S. government.[4] While occasionally cited as a libertarian text, Wolfe himself attributes its politics to his being "much more a doctrinaire conservative when I was a good deal younger.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

Joanna Russ found the novel unsatisfying, saying "I know what Mr. Wolfe can do when he sets his mind to it; Ares is far below his best." She described it as "a convincing, quiet, low-keyed, intelligent book which somehow fades out into nothing" and, despite praising Wolfe's technique, concluded it was "a failure, shadowy and inconclusive."[6]

Larry McCaffery characterized Ares as "a generally undistinguished first novel."[7]

in 2007, Wolfe said "I don't think Operation Ares is a very good novel," adding that in 1970, he "wasn't really skillful enough to write a good novel."[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ ISFDB publication history
2. ^ Joan Gordon, Gene Wolfe, Starmont House, 1986, p. 17.
3. ^ Robert Frazier "Gene Wolfe - 'The Legerdemain of the Wolfe'" (interview), in Shadows of the New Sun, ed. Peter Wright, Liverpool University Press, 2007, p. 49.
4. ^ a b Peter Wright, Attending Daedalus, Liverpool University Press, 2003, p. 5.
5. ^ James B. Jordan, "Gene Wolfe Interview", in Shadows of the New Sun, ed. Peter Wright, Liverpool University Press, 2007, p. 104.
6. ^ "Books", F&SF, April 1971, p.69
7. ^ Larry McCaffery, "On Encompassing the Entire Universe: An Interview with Gene Wolfe"
8. ^ Melissa Mia Hall, "An Interview with Gene Wolfe", in Shadows of the New Sun, ed. Peter Wright, Liverpool University Press, 2007, p.41

* v
* t
* e

Works by Gene Wolfe

The Book of the New Sun|

* The Shadow of the Torturer (1980)
* The Claw of the Conciliator (1981)
* The Sword of the Lictor (1981)
* The Citadel of the Autarch (1983)
* The Urth of the New Sun (1987)

The Book of the Long Sun|

* Nightside the Long Sun (1993)
* Lake of the Long Sun (1994)
* Caldé of the Long Sun (1994)
* Exodus from the Long Sun (1996)

The Book of the Short Sun|

* On Blue's Waters (1999)
* In Green's Jungles (2000)
* Return to the Whorl (2001)

The Soldier series|

* Soldier of the Mist (1986)
* Soldier of Arete (1989)
* Soldier of Sidon (2006)

The Wizard Knight|

* The Knight (2004)
* The Wizard (2004)

Stand-alone novels|

* Operation Ares (1970)
* The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972)
* Peace (1975)
* The Devil in a Forest (1976)
* Free Live Free (1984)
* There Are Doors (1988)
* Castleview (1990)
* Pandora, By Holly Hollander (1990)
* Pirate Freedom (2007)
* An Evil Guest (2008)
* The Sorcerer's House (2010)
* Home Fires (2011)
* The Land Across (2013)
* A Borrowed Man (2015)
* Interlibrary Loan (2020)

Short story collections|

* The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (1980)
* Gene Wolfe's Book of Days (1981)
* The Wolfe Archipelago (1983)
* Plan(e)t Engineering (1984)
* Bibliomen (1984)
* Storeys from the Old Hotel (1988)
* Endangered Species (1989)
* Castle of Days (1992)
* The Young Wolfe (1992)
* Strange Travelers (2000)
* Innocents Aboard (2004)
* Starwater Strains (2005)
* The Best of Gene Wolfe (2009)

Short stories/Novellas|

* "How I Lost the Second World War and Helped Turn Back the German Invasion" (1973)
* "The Death of Doctor Island" (1973)
* "Straw" (1975)
* "The Woman the Unicorn Loved" (1981)
* "A Cabin on the Coast" (1984)
* A Walking Tour of the Shambles (2002)
* "Memorare" (2007)

Fictional creations|

* Severian
* Ascian language

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