Gene Wolfe is definitely an acquired taste, one that took me a couple of tries to acquire, but it’s worth it. In some ways, he’s like a darker version of C.S. Lewis or Stephen R. Lawhead; his books also have a lot of Christian metaphors and ideas, but they’re much more shadowy and uncertain. I recommend this essay if you’re at all interested in dark, speculative fiction, though it may whet your appetite to read his books. Yes, there is definitely a Christian subtext to his work, but much like the Chronicles of Narnia, it’s in no way essential to enjoying the books. This Jewish Taoist recommends them.