Review of “The Last Thrilling Wonder Story” (1982)
Gene Wolfe (writer).
Read in 2025.
Read in the collection Endangered Species (1989).
In this novelette, Wolfe toys with an intersection of the major genres of pulp fiction: hard-boiled action, mystery, science fiction, romance, and reified religious belief. The science-fiction aspect is a little bit interesting, weaving together a classic lone, possibly-mad scientist with UFO aliens and two trends that were a little more current in 1982: Cold War spies (barely present), and the fear of overpopulation. It’s almost cozy, but I don’t see it coming to any point as metafiction.
References here: “Procreation” (1983).