Home Fires

A science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe, Home Fires is about war and its effect on society and on the individuals who are forced to take the front lines to fight. The book follows two protagonists, Chelle and Skip, lovers who get married right after college. Chelle, enlisted in the military, is forced to go into battle for a few months for military service. However, Chelle is fighting aliens in a distant solar system, and many years pass before the couple is reunited. When Chelle returns, the world is a different place altogether, and their peaceful married life doesn't seem quite as peaceful anymore.

Home Fires takes place on an Earth of the future, somewhere on the North American continent. Earth's natural resources have been so horribly depleted that people are forced to work with their hands, using natural tools like water and wind. For this reason, among others, people on Earth have sent ships into space looking for a planet that will suit the needs of the remaining human population.

Unfortunately for Earthlings, other aliens have the same mission in mind. A group of highly intelligent alien life forms called the Os are also perusing the galaxy for the pick of the best empty planets. This conflict over territory has led to a series of intergalactic wars, and soldiers from Earth are frequently sent out on missions to fight in far-flung galaxies for a stake in a planet nobody inhabits, yet.



Chelle and Skip are the primary focus of the novel, living in this future world where resources are slim and war is ever-present. They meet in college, and like many contemporary sweethearts, marry soon after graduation. Chelle has enlisted in the military to help pay for school, and soon after their wedding day, she is shipped off to a distant galaxy for a few months of military service. Though for Chelle this is no time at all, time-dilation means that on Earth, nearly a decade has passed before Chelle returns again.

When Chelle returns, she has barely aged at all. On the other hand, Skip, living his life on Earth, is now a successful, middle-aged businessman. A lawyer working for his own firm, he has made a name for himself on Earth. Despite their obvious differences in age and experience and the years without communication, Chelle and Skip are still very much in love. They celebrate their reunion by going on a Caribbean cruise. However, the cruise reveals some very serious problems that have developed – particularly for Chelle, who was injured in battle.

Chelle's body is severely damaged from her time fighting the Os, and her brain may be damaged too. Her hands are two different sizes, and Skip notes that she is quick to have sex with anyone who so much as makes a casual offer. Skip, who had a long-term affair with his secretary while Chelle was gone, can't complain too much, but he is concerned when Chelle leaves him a vague note, stating that she may be living under a false identity. As their cruise continues, they are attacked by pirates, taken hostage, held for ransom, and forced to navigate a complex web of spy networks. Also on the docket are menacing cyborgs and murderers, all of whom want to end the couple's happy reunion just as it is getting started.



Gene Wolfe was a science fiction and fantasy writer. He was drafted into the Korean War, went to school for engineering, and spent most of his career working as an industrial engineer. Eventually, he retired to write full-time, becoming known for his long science fiction and fantasy works, including The Wizard Knight and the Book of the New Sun series. He was frequently nominated for but never won a Hugo award, though he did receive a number of Nebula and Locus awards and a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to science fiction and fantasy. He died in 2019, in a suburb of Chicago.