Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best "dying earth" sci-fantasy epic, bar none, 22 Oct 1999
By A Customer
Ah, "The Book of the New Sun". A classic which I've found myself compelled to read at least once every year since a friend introduced me to it in the late 80s. Where to begin? Well, my favourite aspect of the series is the fact that Wolfe has created a protagonist who is a TORTURER by trade and upbringing and nevertheless manages to make Severian incredibly sympathetic. Indeed, he is the most likeable character in all of the books.In creating this work, Gene Wolfe has taken the basic concept of Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" books and produced his own spin which, once read, is never forgotten. Another highly enjoyable component of the series (in my opinion) is the nomenclature. There are a lot of peculiar terms - "autarch", "carnifex", "cacogens", etc. The difference between Wolfe's use of these expressions and the typical garbage employed to describe the worlds of other sci-fi/fantasy authors is that, to the best of my knowledge, not one of these words is made up. Instead they are derived from a plethora of sources - old English, French, Latin, and so on. This level of research only adds to the believability of the author's conception of an ancient and decaying Terran empire. There is furthermore the mythical/philosophical/religious story arc, the multitudonous subplots (many of which mesh together as the story progresses), the wonderful characterisation (even the most minor characters are beautifully fleshed out - I can't think of anyone who appears as merely a cipher) and the many little fables from the itinerant Severian's "Book of the Wonders of Urth and Sky" (I hope I got the title right). This is also a series which rewards re-reading - so much is prefigured that you will notice something new every time you revisit it. In summation, you owe it to yourself to beg, borrow, steal or even buy these books. I guarantee that you will not regret it. In writing them, to my mind, Gene Wolfe has earned himself a place in Heaven.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning work, 28 Aug 1999
By A Customer
The Book of the New Sun and The Urth of the New Sun are two of the most beautiful, unremitting, and absolutely marvelous works of the twentieth century and that I have ever read. They represent one of the life's works of a master craftsman and I wholly endorse, indeed, beg your reading them without any reservation.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SF's Equivalent of Joyce's "Ullysses"; A Multifaceted Gem!, 5 Jan 1999
By A Customer
The Book of The New Sun, of which this is the first, can be read on as many levels as you choose: as bizarre, outre genre fantasy; as Christian allegory/parable/fable; as bizarre, outre science fiction; as Literature (in the sense that Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" and "The Heart of Darkness" with their confessional aura and poignant glimpses into the human condition are Literature) . But, mainly, this series is just a fine, fine read, simply the best there is in SF and, I'd argue, the mainstream of Lit. Besides the beautiful first-person narration, full of intimations of immortality and forebodings of doom, told in that baroque, dolorous style Wolfe practically invented, and the well-drawn, resonant characters, and the great, action-oriented plot that impels you along with Severian in his backing into the Throne, you can frankly go as deep into this series as you want to. The multi-layered meanings and levels of allusion run that deep! Gene Wolfe is the best living writer of science fiction/fantasy in the world and, with this series, validates the entire genre! Journey with Severian, the naive torturer's apprentice and saviour of humanity, on an odyssey through a dying Urth so old that archaeology and commerce are the same thing, where high-born exultants eat the dead to gain their memories and overthrow the Autarch ("Ruler of Self"), who is the epitomy of human knowledge, all the emperors of Rome within one skull; where aliens wear alien masks underneath human masks, to frighten humanity back to its senses; where monsters appear as gods to prevent Severian from bringing the New Sun to reenervate the dying Old Sun; where, ultimately, Severian learns the true meaning of love and sacrifice! Read this one or remain impoverished beyond your darkest imaginings!
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