Just read Book of the New Sun

[Bigmatteus]

To me the line between science fiction and fantasy is faint. So I placed this thread here hoping more would see it.

I just finished the four volumes that constitute Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun", and it seems I've fallen into a limbo that requires some advice. Is it worth the trouble to reread and truly understand? Or is it just for comprehending the method behind the madness?

I'm still not sure if the writing was beautiful because of its ambiguity or in spite of it.

 

[Bigmatteus]

Has anyone read it?

It's considered a masterwork, not only of the genre but of all mainstream fiction. Yet from reading the threads here only a spare few even mention it.

I guess I'll reread it considering there'll be a downtime until ADWD comes out.

 

[JonLaidlow]

BotNS is one of my favourite books but I'm not sure I can express why in any adequate fashion. I certainly enjoyed it enough to set up a Gene Wolfe website. it's a bit scholarly, as I was trying to finish a postgraduate literature degree at the time, and we haven't done much with it recently, but... One of the best experts on Wolfe, Peter Wright, wrote us a review of the Fantasy Masterwork's reissue, which might give you a handle on some of the series.


http://www.ultan.org.uk/botns.htm

Wright is the author of a scholarly book of his own on Wolfe, entitled Attending Daedalus, and is the editor of a book of Wolfe's non-fiction and essays, due out later this year.

 

[Banger]

It's considered a masterwork, not only of the genre but of all mainstream fiction. Yet from reading the threads here only a spare few even mention it.

I guess I'll reread it considering there'll be a downtime until ADWD comes out.

There are plenty of Wolfe threads on the boards, including one on page 2 of this forum titled Gene Wolfe - Where to Start?? Several people mention the Book of the New Sun in it.

 

[Bigmatteus]

Thanks so much.

I'll read the link.

I'll go read the thread too. I must've missed it while looking around.

 

[Ward]

You should read the fifth book, Urth of the New Sun, before you go diving into any secondary sources and spoiler threads, that book is the key to understanding the whole series.

 

[Bigmatteus]

Have any of you been to Inchoatus.com? I found it after a friend handed me Game of Thrones and it's reviews led me to Wolfe and many other great authors.

It's also steered me away from some of the bad ones as well.

 

[Bigmatteus]

You should read the fifth book, Urth of the New Sun, before you go diving into any secondary sources and spoiler threads, that book is the key to understanding the whole series.

If I read that one, should I read Lexicon Urthus along with it? Or should I wait to reread the whole series?

 

[JonLaidlow]

If I read that one, should I read Lexicon Urthus along with it? Or should I wait to reread the whole series?

Lexicon Urthus is just a dictionary for the Urth cycle - it helps you work out what some of the obscure (and they are usually obscure, rather than made-up) words that Wolfe uses. It's very enjoyable and thought provoking, but it's really for the obsessive like me, rather than the reader on his first run through. It's also currently out of print. It was privately printed by the author and he has run out of copies, but I believe he's hoping to print a 2nd edition this year (http://www.siriusfiction.com/)

J

 

[Bigmatteus]

Jon...

Thanks so much for the article. When I finished the book, I knew something was definitely wrong. I was wondering why there was so much obscurity when it came to the specifics of everything. For instance, how Severian would go to extreme lengths to describe his surroundings in the wild, but gives passing notice to most of the technology--especially in Baldanders castle.

Now I'll definitely give it a reread.