''Soldier of Sidon'' is a 2006 fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe. It is the third part of the Soldier (or Latro) series of books, with two preceding novels, ''

Soldier of the Mist ''Soldier of the Mist'' is a 1986 historical fantasy novel by American writer 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). ''Soldier ...

'' (1986) and ''

Soldier of Arete ''Soldier of Arete'' is a 1989 fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, published by Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. I ...

'' (1989).'' Soldier of Sidon ''continues the adventures of the Soldier series's protagonist, Latro, in Egypt at the time of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

Plot

This book continues with the conceit of the earlier two books of having the tale arising from the translation of scrolls discovered in the present day, allegedly written in Latro's own hand. Latro suffered a head wound as a mercenary in the army of the Persian King Xerxes at the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, ...

. As Tony Keen in his review states: ''Latro cannot recall events of more than a day, but on the other hand, he can see gods and demigods''. In this book, the gods and demigods encountered by Latro and his companions, in their journey up the Nile in a search for a cure to his affliction, are Egyptian and African, rather than the Greek ones of the two earlier books.

Characters

* Latro (aka Lucius, Lewqys): the Hero who journeys southward up the Nile in search of his lost memories. * Myt-ser'eu ("Kitten"): Latro's chief Companion on his journey; a singing girl, rented from the priests of the Temple of Hathor in Sais, Egypt. As his river-wife, to be returned to the Temple at the end of his return journey; they love, converse, quarrel and part, and have reunited by the end of Soldier of Sidon.

Reception

Well received on its publication, the novel was winner in 2007 of the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Best Novel. The novel also received 3rd place in the Fantasy Novel category of the 2007

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

References

Novels by Gene Wolfe 2006 American novels American fantasy novels 2006 fantasy novels Tor Books books World Fantasy Award for Best Novel-winning works {{2000s-fantasy-novel-stub