Rating: 
Summary: An enigmatic coda
Review: I'm of two minds about this book. On one hand, it's a seamless sequel to the Book of the New Sun. Whether Wolfe had planned this from the start or not (and, personally, I think he had most of the ideas here fleshed out, but was planning to leave them unstated until he was convinced otherwise) he links this to the previous four volumes effortlessly.
On the other hand, there are times when you can't help but feel that this book amounts to nothing more than a lengthy tying up of the Book of the New Sun's numerous loose ends. Personally, I like my texts to have a loose end or two - it the postmodernist in me - and am a little leery of stories where everything ends up fitting together neatly.
But, back on the first hand, Wolfe does tie everything together so well. He takes a fairly standard science-fictional trope and uses it to answer most of the question left unanswered by the previous 4 volumes. And, while it may be a standard trope that he uses, there's a great feeling of satisfaction with every loose end dealt with. And, to be honest, he dealt with a few that I hadn't known existed, in the process, making the whole mythology of the New Sun/Concilliator a great deal clearer.
And ultimately, it's nice to hear Severian's voice again. He's one of the most compelling characters to come out of the direction of speculative fiction, and it's nice to have 400 more pages with him. So, I have to come down in favor of this book. While it's nice to think of the Book of the New Sun as totally self contained, this is a perfect coda.
Rating: 
Summary: Great...but lacks closure
Review: "The Urth of the New Sun" has the same strength and depth of "Book of the New Sun." It has exciting action scenes, bittersweet love interrests, and a thought-provoking (mind boggling) scientific foundation. BUT...like the other 4 parts, it lacks closure. Up until the last page, Wolf's dynamic story line and writing style kept me glued to the book, but when I finished the last paragraph, I couldn't help feeling robbed. If you've read "The Book of the New Sun," you can relate. Only this time, you know there won't be a sequel. The Beginning and the Middle were definitely worth it, but just don't expect a big Conclusion. The story just sort of wears itself out, and doesn't provide any sense of emotional satisfaction for the reader or for poor Severian. But the book WAS very very gripping and I would definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Like the blind man, pick up your hammer and...see?
Review: "Urth of the New Sun" is the last volume in the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. Read the reviews for the first four parts of this series, currently in Tor Trade Paper under the titles "Shadow & Claw" and "Sword & Citadel". If you don't buy the entire series all at once, you need to reread the reviews, but this time with your eyes open.
Rating:
Summary: The Conclusion of one of the most great series, a must read.
Review: A must read book, if you read the "Book of the new sun", you really need to read this one, This time Severian goes out of Urth to become the "New Sun", and find's him-self travelling between space and time. lots of loose ends are tied up in this sequel to the "Book of the new sun", in fact I think that it is recommended to consider this book as a part of the "Book of the new sun" series, you can't read the "Book of the new sun" without read "Urth of the new sun". And I wish that some day wolfe return to this magical world and add some other books to this series.
Rating:
Summary: The Conclusion of one of the most great series, a must read.
Review: A must read book, if you read the "Book of the new sun", you really need to read this one, This time Severian goes out of Urth to become the "New Sun", and find's him-self travelling between space and time. lots of loose ends are tied up in this sequel to the "Book of the new sun", in fact I think that it is recommended to consider this book as a part of the "Book of the new sun" series, you can't read the "Book of the new sun" without read "Urth of the new sun". And I wish that some day wolfe return to this magical world and add some other books to this series.
Rating: 
Summary: falls short
Review: for some reason this book did not grab me as much as the previous four volumes. i think that perhaps it was that the characters were not as interesting. the first four books, in my opinion, are very much character driven. this book seems to lack that. i also prefer not knowing exactly what will happen, i prefer the ending of the the citadel of teh autarch that leaves much up to the reader to ponder over. i highly recommend the other four books, this one did not live up to the very high standard wolfe created
Rating:
Summary: It reveals the Conciliator
Review: I disagree with many of the other reviews; simply put, this wraps the glorious Book of the New Sun up wonderfully with terrific experiences of non-Euclidean, non-Einsteinian time.
I glimpsed worlds beyond any human's comprehension.It tells the story of the Conciliator, humanity's trial, and the end of the world- the Coming of the New Sun. For Yesod!
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes even Homer nods...
Review: I finished Gene Wolfe's "The Urth of the New Sun" about a day and a half ago; after sorting out my impressions to write this review, I would say that it seemed like "Urth" should have been all the 4-volume "Book of the New Sun" was...but it wasn't. But then, it's hard to top a masterpiece, which "The Book of the New Sun" certainly is. My history as a Gene Wolfe reader is torturous. I read the first two volumes and felt like I was watching paint dry. Four years later, out of curiosity, I bought volumes three and four and found that my opinion of Wolfe had changed completely. His writing in "The Book of the New Sun" is strange, heartbreaking, mind-bending, and above all emotionally involving and obscurely moving to an extent perhaps no other author evokes in me. While I would never claim to have completely understood any event in any of its four volumes, I know they were awesome--truly deserving every word of praise they've been given. Obviously, I had high expectations for "The Urth of the New Sun," and I was disappointed to find that they weren't all fulfilled. Severian has turned infuriating in this book, both in his pontifications and his occasional thick-headedness (I know something's wrong when I can figure out what's going on and he can't), and Wolfe's writing is no longer so emotional. Moreover, though I was gratified that "Urth" tied up many of its predecessors' loose ends, I felt that it perhaps explained too much at the large scale, while leaving many minor points infuriatingly inexplicable. (Can someone explain Gunnie/Burgundofara's history to me?) Now, as a Gene Wolfe reader, I should be used to being confused, but it seemed too much, especially for a book whose purpose is specifically explanatory--in essence, "The Urth of the New Sun" merely answers "And then what happened?" Perhaps that is the main problem with this book--its teleological essence is rather banal, if I may be allowed to borrow a word Severian might use. Furthermore, even less so than any other Wolfe novel I've read, it doesn't so much end as stop, leaving me wondering just what the heck happened. Again, a familiar feeling, but one that grows wearisome when one feels cheated. There are passages in here which no amount of rereading can make clear, and Wolfe's concept of time and space travel makes my brain ache. All this (and there was a lot of it) being said, I'm still glad to have read this book, if only to find out what happened, and it must be said that Gene Wolfe mediocre is still very good by other yardsticks. In other words, "The Urth of the New Sun" is a fine, fascinating, and confusing read. I would reccommend it to those who read and enjoyed "The Book of the New Sun," but not to those who haven't done so yet, as I suspect it will make even less sense to the uninitiated then it did to me. And finally, despite my disappointment, I intend to begin "The Book of the Long Sun" without delay, as Wolfe is easily one of the greatest authors in general, and science fiction/fantasy writers in particular, that I've ever encountered.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes even Homer nods...
Review: I finished Gene Wolfe's "The Urth of the New Sun" about a day and a half ago; after sorting out my impressions to write this review, I would say that it seemed like "Urth" should have been all the 4-volume "Book of the New Sun" was...but it wasn't. But then, it's hard to top a masterpiece, which "The Book of the New Sun" certainly is. My history as a Gene Wolfe reader is torturous. I read the first two volumes and felt like I was watching paint dry. Four years later, out of curiosity, I bought volumes three and four and found that my opinion of Wolfe had changed completely. His writing in "The Book of the New Sun" is strange, heartbreaking, mind-bending, and above all emotionally involving and obscurely moving to an extent perhaps no other author evokes in me. While I would never claim to have completely understood any event in any of its four volumes, I know they were awesome--truly deserving every word of praise they've been given. Obviously, I had high expectations for "The Urth of the New Sun," and I was disappointed to find that they weren't all fulfilled. Severian has turned infuriating in this book, both in his pontifications and his occasional thick-headedness (I know something's wrong when I can figure out what's going on and he can't), and Wolfe's writing is no longer so emotional. Moreover, though I was gratified that "Urth" tied up many of its predecessors' loose ends, I felt that it perhaps explained too much at the large scale, while leaving many minor points infuriatingly inexplicable. (Can someone explain Gunnie/Burgundofara's history to me?) Now, as a Gene Wolfe reader, I should be used to being confused, but it seemed too much, especially for a book whose purpose is specifically explanatory--in essence, "The Urth of the New Sun" merely answers "And then what happened?" Perhaps that is the main problem with this book--its teleological essence is rather banal, if I may be allowed to borrow a word Severian might use. Furthermore, even less so than any other Wolfe novel I've read, it doesn't so much end as stop, leaving me wondering just what the heck happened. Again, a familiar feeling, but one that grows wearisome when one feels cheated. There are passages in here which no amount of rereading can make clear, and Wolfe's concept of time and space travel makes my brain ache. All this (and there was a lot of it) being said, I'm still glad to have read this book, if only to find out what happened, and it must be said that Gene Wolfe mediocre is still very good by other yardsticks. In other words, "The Urth of the New Sun" is a fine, fascinating, and confusing read. I would reccommend it to those who read and enjoyed "The Book of the New Sun," but not to those who haven't done so yet, as I suspect it will make even less sense to the uninitiated then it did to me. And finally, despite my disappointment, I intend to begin "The Book of the Long Sun" without delay, as Wolfe is easily one of the greatest authors in general, and science fiction/fantasy writers in particular, that I've ever encountered.
Rating:
Summary: A long awaited sequel that, sadly, disappointed.
Review: I found the tetralogy that preceded this work to be a truly unusual reading experience - a story more of texture than of action or cause and effect. Though this concluding volume is a grand work, and presents much to ponder, it failed to capture my imagination and draw me in the way the first four volumes did.
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