#8. THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS By Gene Wolfe

Published : 1972
Pages : 252
Overall Mark : 8/10

On the twin colony planets Sainte Anne and Sante Croix, civilization is a colourful mix of the archaic and the futuristic, with slavery and advanced science coexisting. The shapeshifting alien inhabitants of Sainte Anne were exterminated by the colonists - but some believe that instead they killed the humans and adopted their identity. In three interlocking tales, the secrets of thisstrange society are gradually unravelled.

GENE WOLFE (1931-)
Born in New York but raised in Texas, Gene Wolfe trained as an engineer. Apart from The Fith Head of Cerberus his major work is the four-volume Book of the New Sun, forthcoming in the SF Masterworks series. The Encyclopedia of Sceince Fiction describes him as 'quite possibly the most important author in the SF field today'.

VERDICT
This is a fascinating story, which takes the idea that humans are an alien race that have invaded another species world and makes it into something truly remarkable. The other stories in the book, telling a tale of the original planets inhabitants and what happened to them, as well as a story of the consequences met by the anthropolgist from the first story, John Marsch, are not quite as good but are still well worth reading and lend a lot of substance to the original tale.