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Summary: A stunning work
Review: 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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Summary: Absolutely fascinating!!
Review: The Book of the New Sun, brings you into a complete and different world!!. A world different but also so close to the one we are on right now.
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Summary: Unique and strange... yet wonderful
Review: Gene Wolfe's style of writing is refreshing and different, a cut above the norm. Severian is a complex and believable character, and his world is magnificently created to baffle and surprise. This book is unpredictable and epochal, two traits I adore. It contains plenty of action and intrigue, but it is Wolfe's moral and spiritual essays that I enjoy the most. Stick with it, folks! Though the language is dificult and it almost is too much at first, the payoff is well worth it. Thank you, Mr. Wolfe!
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Summary: The Best
Review: The Book of The New Sun is simply the best book I have ever read. I believe Gene Wolfe is the best writer alive. And I believe nobody else comes close.
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Summary: Like good cheese or wine...
Review: These books get better in time. The first time through, it can be daunting, but the second, or third, or fourth... (I just finished my fifth time through the series, myself), the intricate nature of this fiction becomes slowly apparent.There is a huge mailing list for discussion of these, too. Do a web search for Wolfe and I'm sure you'll find it. It is wrought with spoilers, however. Also, I HIGHLY recommend Michael Andre-Driussi's "Lexicon Urhtus", which is an encyclopedia and dictionary and general refernce guide to Wolfe's worlds. Also, people well versed in mythology and literature will find wondrous prizes awaiting them.
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Summary: A Life Changing read
Review: I'm reading it for the second time in 4 years and find so much more this second time around. I have about 100 or so pages to go and have found myself "sipping" them slowly, reluctant to finish this work. I just honestly don't know how any human being could have composed such a masterpiece but he did. I have no words which can adequately describe the effect this work has had on me. I cannot imagine my life lived without this book. Woe to the poor souls who haven't read this one! Terminus Est: Mark F. Gan
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Summary: Prepare for a real treasure - this book will captivate you.
Review: I pride myself on the number of books I have read in my life, so it is with little reservation that I recommend Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun Series. He writes as only the best writers do - offering just the right amount of mystery between the lines. With any writing, too little explanation soon leaves a reader exasperated and frustrated, while too much explanation can bore a reader until he loses interest. Gene Wolfe rides that fine line between the two extremes with perfection. You cannot put his story down. What he does not spell out between lines means even more than what appears on the page. He takes command of your imagination and leaves you reeling with pleasure.
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Summary: More Lavish Praise
Review: Reading all these reviews is a bit disappointing; not that the praise is undeserved but simply that you cannot summarize these books in 1,000 words. I've been reading them off and on since 1980 and I still find something new every time. Get these books, don't be scared of the big words and the long sentences, and stick with them, no matter what. You will never regret it. Advice: might as well get *The Urth of the New Sun* (carries events past *The Citadel of the Autarch*, *Endangered Species* (has a few related short stories), *Castle of the Otter* (several essays by Mr. Wolfe on the writing of the Book), *Empires of Foliage and Flower* (if you can find it, stories from the Book of Wonders of Urth and Sky). Might as well get Michael Andrei-Druissi's *Lexicon Urthus* too, will help with Mr. Wolfe's wonderful words. And when you've sucked all the good out of these, check out *Soldier of the Mist* and *Soldier of Arete*.
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Summary: The beginning of the Book of the New Sun
Review: The first two volumes of the Book of the New Sun, presented here in a handy omnibus edition, begin one of the finest stories of all time, and in this reviewers opinion, the best work of fiction ever written. As the setting is build, one plunges into the mystery of the decay of Urth and the importance of Severian, apprentice to the Torturers. Such a fine read is never found elsewhere.
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Summary: SF's Equivalent of Joyce's "Ullysses"; A Multifaceted Gem!
Review: 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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