Reddit reviews Latro in the Mist: Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Areté

So someone asked me what Gene Wolfe book I would recommend, and I replied, but my post isn't showing up which leads me to worry that it might've been lost to the depths of the internet.

Without a doubt, get this one.

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This omnibus of two acclaimed novels is the story of Latro, a Roman mercenary who while fighting in Greece received a head injury that deprived him of his short-term memory but gave him in return the ability to see and converse with the supernatural creatures and the gods and goddesses, who invisibly inhabit the ancient landscape. Latro forgets everything when he sleeps. Writing down his experiences every day and reading his journal anew each morning gives him a poignantly tenuous hold on himself, but his story's hold on readers is powerful indeed, and many consider these Wolfe's best books.

Best use of the unreliable narrator I have ever seen, in my life. And I have a literature degree.

Dune and Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert tell the story of the rise and fall of the most powerful man in the universe. "The flesh surrenders itself... Eternity takes back its own. Our bodies stirred these waters briefly, danced with a certain intoxication before the love of life and self, dealt with a few strange ideas, then submitted to the instruments of Time. What can we say of this? I occurred. I am not, yet... I occurred"

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is an eccentric narrative of two men battling a great evil. "It is hungry. It is immortal. Worse, it knows nothing of whim."

In Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe, the hero remembers only the last day's worth of memories. Consequently, he is manipulated by all manner of men and gods. "Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose singing we hear with pleasure, though some of us smash them with our heels when they venture into sight."

He's a phenomenal writer. Not scifi but, if we're talking Gene Wolfe recos, it'd be a shame if his Latro in the Mist duology wasn't mentioned.

It's like Memento but set in ancient Rome, with a Roman mercenary who can communicate with ancient gods.

The Latro books by Gene Wolfe:

• Soldier of the Mist
  
• Soldier of Arete
  
• Soldier of Sidon
  
  The first two books can be found as a single volume Latro in the Mist

Latro in the Mist by Gene Wolfe is probably one of the most uniquely interesting books I've ever read. It's written as the journal of a Roman solider wandering around ancient Greece. The catch is he has anterograde amnesia and can't remember anything he did the day before, and he also sees gods and monsters.

Your wife has read everything! Damn. Ok, some more suggestions:

• Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. They are awesomely awesome, and there are a lot of them. You could start anywhere, but I recommend starting with Guards! Guards. It's got dragons!
  
  
• The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe. A two-volume short series comprised of The Knight and The Wizard. It tells the story of a 12-year old boy who is transported to Faery, one of reality's several parallel universes. Having arrived, he soon meets a sort of elf goddess who transforms him into a young man. Wolfe really turns the fantasy genre on its head, and it's a weird and wild ride. It takes all the usual fantasy elements (magic, elves, dragons, giants) and reinvents them in a unique way.
  
  
• Gene Wolfe's Latro sequence is also excellent: Latro of the Mist (combines the first two novels) and Soldier of Sidon. Tells of a young soldier in Ancient Greece who sustains a wound in battle that destroys his long-term memory, so he has to continually write down everything that happens in his life to remember it. (The novels were written long before Memento used the same device.) While a historical novel, there is plenty to engage the mind. For one, Latro's wound has given him the ability to communicate with the gods.
  
  
• Gideon Defoe's The Pirates! series. Hilarious sequence of short novels about a traveling band of pirates.
  
  
• The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. Reminiscent of Neil Gaiman.