The Book of The New Sun

[GOLLUM]

Well I just won a copy of The Book of the New Sun on this site so am glad to hear such praise for Gene Wolf. It turns out I was luckier than I first thought.

You betta believe it Lace, you'll soon have one of the hottest Science Fantasy works of the genre in your hands IMO. Gene is a great writer, so I feel you've done well there. I won the GRRM thread, so I'm pretty happy as I'm eagerly awaiting a copy of a now recognized Fantasy Masterwork come vampiric tale in Fevre Dream to arrive courtesy of our fearless leader....

 

[Lunatic]

I just finished this last week, and upon finishing it, my first thought was "Why the **** didn't I order the sequel????"

Seriously one of the best books I've read, IMHO.

 

[j d worthington]

I read the Book of the New Sun set when they were first published back in the '80s over here, and was massively impressed. While I have several other of Wolfe's books, I've not got around to reading most of them yet, though when I've dipped into them, I'd say the quality remains. I also recommend his short stories as truly wonderful experiences -- and he does a rather wide range of subject matter, from classic science fiction to Lovecraftian horror.

 

[iansales]

The Book of the New Sun is superb. As is The Fifth Head of Cerberus. I wasn't so impressed by The Book of the Long Sun, although I did enjoy it a lot. But I thought The Book of the Short Sun was too wilfully confusing. And I *hate* most of Wolfe's short fiction...

 

[just_like_powell]

Hm...I starting reading this over a year ago, but lost interest after a few chapters..

I thought the first book was slow to start so i cannot blame you for this. All I can say is force yourself on (as I had to), it picks up fantastically when he begins his journey and is possibly the best thing since sliced bread, am now two thirds of the way through Urth of the New Sun and Severian will be sorely missed. I would also recommend repeating the first few chapters in order to get used to Severian's narration, which at first can be long winded but once you are used to it, superb.

 

[GOLLUM]

I read the Book of the New Sun set when they were first published back in the '80s over here, and was massively impressed. While I have several other of Wolfe's books, I've not got around to reading most of them yet, though when I've dipped into them, I'd say the quality remains

Having read most of Gene's work I can vouch for that, although New Sun remains my favourite series and the best Sciecne Fanatasy I've read to date.

 

[j d worthington]

Having read most of Gene's work I can vouch for that, although New Sun remains my favourite series and the best Sciecne Fanatasy I've read to date.

Whoa! Gollum, that covers a lot of territory, I would think, from seeing your various lists... I still owe you thanks for that list of the Masterworks....

Still, I will agree that Wolfe is a superb writer, with a truly notable use of language and ability with subtlety and memorable characters and imagery...

So I'd always highly recommend The Book of the New Sun as at least one of the best science fantasy pieces of the last 40-50 years....

 

[GOLLUM]

Definitely the best I've come across so far JD. It's no. 2 behind Erikson's Memories Of Ice as my favourite book in SFF as part of the Hall of Fame lists we've been creating.

I'll go one step further and suggest he's possibly the greatest living or at least modern day American writer independent of Genre.

 

[j d worthington]

I'll go one step further and suggest he's possibly the greatest living or at least modern day American writer independent of Genre.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd go that far ... but then, I'm not as up on current American writers as I used to be. Still, he's certainly one of the greatest current stylists, and, yes, I'd agree: in or out of of genre. I think I may just be a bit more of a cautious soul in these matters... that, or a wuss!

 

[GOLLUM]

Well one of us had to stick our necks out...

No I'd qualify that statement by saying of the American authors I've read within and outside of SFF that Gene is pretty much at the top of my literary tree. Chances are there's someone out there whose better but I'm willing to bet he'ld probably still be amongst the best of the modern era certainly.

Off topic: So what other books of Gene do you have? Perhaps reply by PM to avoid derailing current thread.

 

[fifteenjugglers]

This book damn near blew my head off! Some bits didn't make any sense but that's my problem, not Wolfe's. I fully intend to read it again soon. Amazing stuff...

 

[Casspar]

Wolfe is a great writer but I am sometimes minded of Verdi's comment of Wagner - "wonderful minutes and boring half hours"

 

[CiteWizard]

Hi, just joined the forum.
I also read New Sun years ago and I have always considered it the greatest SciFi book I have ever read. I have just started my first reread and am amazed at how much I missed the first time. GWs style can be baffling at times (his unique vocabulary is one factor in this). It is certainly not a book to be rushed as there are so many interconnecting characters and details that recur down the track (and are significant).
I am not a person to reread books lightly but I can see myself going through this one several times.
Another warning on style for those new to the NewSun. The narrative events are heavily and frequently interspersed with philosophical and religious musings that are essential to the plot. You will not really "get" the book unless you are willing to wrestle with these deeper themes.
For anyone who cares to follow it up, the following interview with Gene Wolfe is a fantastic insight into every aspect of his writing including many clues on the Book of the New Sun:

Larry McCaffery and Gene Wolfe "On Encompassing the Entire Universe: An Interview with Gene Wolfe". , Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Nov., 1988), pp.334-355
(available in the JSTOR database for those in academic institutions).

 

[GOLLUM]

Hi Citewizard and welcome to the forum.

That's a good reference you have given there. I also found the Lexicon Urthus pretty useful but more for when you were near the end of the series and not all items and themes are fully fleshed out. Still a handy addition to the Wolfe canon.