Rating: 
Summary: I miss Sevarian
Review: I'll preface this review by saying that I personally consider the collective Book if the New Sun (including the coda - Urth of the New Sun) to be somethign of a masterpiece, not only of the speculative-fiction genre, but of literature in general. I'd not hesitate to reccomend it to all, non-spec-fic fans included.
So I had high hopes going into Wolfe's followup - The Book of the Long Sun. And said high hopes weren't exactly fulfilled here. Not to say that the Book of the Long Sun isn't good - it's a fine work - but it's very, very different from its predecessor. It also, I'm afraid, does not transcend the genre in the same way that the Book of the New Sun did.
That aside, this is a very enjoyable work. It's both more adventurous and less ambigous than Wolfe's other work. Those who have found Wolfe's style to be somewhat impenetrable should find this rather more accessible. The story is compelling (though it does move at Wolfe's preferred, semi-glacial pace) and detailed. The characters are finely drawn (and I must say that Wolfe has a genius for finding a character's voice that is unmatched in the spec-fic genre).
So what's the problem? I see two things. One is the setting. Both New Sun and Long Sun take what are standard, almost cliched settings (a dying earth, clotted with history and a galaxy-spanning multigenerational starship, respectively) and filter them through Wolfe's weird genius. And, perhaps because he has much more to work with, Urth, as a setting, comes across as a far richer, more interesting place than does the Whorl.
The second issue, which for me is the key to the let down I felt, is Wolfe's main character. Patera Silk is well drawn, well defined, internally consistent and, to me at least, rather simple when put up against the endless complexity of Sevarian. I like Silk. I like reading about him. I like his adventures. But I must confess that I find his straightforwardness a bit off-putting. That said, this story certainly wouldn't have worked with a narractor like Sevarian. The Long Sun is a far more straight-forward, less ambiguous tale than the New Sun, and Patera Silk is, admittedly, the perfect narrator for this sort of thing. So I don't know that it's fair to fault Wolfe for this.
Be that as it may, I don't feel that this is a work equal to the genius of the Book of the Short Sun. But it certainly is an endlessly enjoyable text, just shy of a masterpiece, that speculative fiction fans will, no doubt, enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: From Interzone
Review: "If you have been following this series, be assured that all the plot threads are woven together, and that there are surprises; if you have not yet begun, do so at once. Right now, Wolfe may be the best science-fiction writer in the world."
Rating:
Summary: From SF Eye
Review: "The Book of the Long Sun is many books in one--each of them more impressive than any book I expect to read in the near future. Thrilling, mysterious, heartbreaking, funny....it releases delayed intonations of pleasure days after you've read it."
Rating:
Summary: Hell to read but glad to have read it
Review: (note: this review encompasses the entire Book of the Long Sun)
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS:
If your tastes in speculative fiction are refined to the point that you can no longer stomach the latest Star Trek novelization (time travel as deus ex machina in every single plot line is now enforced by Executive Order) you would serve your palate well to indulge in Wolfe's masterful opus. Please forgive the exuberant hyperbole, but quite frankly his tetralogy is the Ulysses of speculative fiction. A person could devote an entire lifetime to unraveling its mysteries. It will test your patience, will and mental ability. The reader, like an augur, will need to divine clues from the entrails of Wolfe's twisted lexicon. (Disclosure: we may have read that last sentence somewhere else, so if you are the original author, send us a note and we will cite you. Until then, we will claim it as our own).
WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
Wolfe has always been into punishing his readers with his characteristic obtuseness, but in Long Sun he takes his lexiconic sadism to a whole new level. This is a very dense and layered book. Not only is it difficult to grasp what is occurring at a given moment, but as soon as a chapter begins to build some steam and we begin to empathize with the characters, the plot abruptly halts and switches to one of the other, various parallel plot lines. He keeps his characters at arm's length from the reader. We never get the chance to connect emotionally with any of them. The only character in the book that we seem to identify with isn't even human. Oreb the talking bird can communicate more in his disyllabic utterances than the other characters can in pages of dialogue.
His main characters also have a tendency to speak in a very stylized slang that is difficult to understand. Others may speak in the Queen's English, but employ extremely annoying mannerisms interspersing their words with non-words such as "ah, uh, um, ahem, etc." in dialogue passages that may continue for several pages. These parts cannot be "skimmed" because they may contain important plot points. The abused reader is then required to slog through these frustrating lines. Any reader who manages to finish every word of these books should be mailed a Merit Badge by the publisher.
A novel needs to be more than an exercise in sterile word-smithing and genius plot-development. At some point, the reader wants to actually enjoy what they are reading. Stephen King put it best when he wrote about the unspoken agreement between the author and reader. If the reader agrees to commit the time to follow the author to the end of the story, the author promises to make it worth it. This tetralogy is a serious time commitment, but in the end it is too long a journey to undertake with strangers.
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM
Rating: 
Summary: A Little Bit Long - A Lot Interesting
Review: A young priest enlightened (or was it just a burst vessel?) by a being known only as the Outsider, sets out in the company of thieves and prostitutes (or are they?) to save his temple from demolition. Along the way he bumps shoulders with strange gods (but are they really?), tangles himself in political movements, and learns some deep mysteries about the place they call the Whorl. Just remember, nothing is exactly as it seems in a Gene Wolfe book.All seven-hundred pages of the first half of this work take place in approximately four days. Wolfe doesn't write action adventures, so gird up your patience and be ready for some less than brisk, albeit highly interesting reading. Overall, the story is a quest: hero is burdened with a weighty task, goes off to fulfill objective, and gets tangled up with all sorts of crazy characters and strange adventures along the way. But with Wolfe, nothing is ever pat, easy to explain, or simple to understand. Be ready to take notes and still not know what just happened. All in all, very interesting; very different. My largest gripe is that when I look back over what we learned in those seven-hundred pages, I think 'It didn't have to be so long.' I think maybe those silly editors fear using the big red pen on the Mighty Wolfe.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written, excellent story
Review: About 6 months ago, I purchased the Book of the New Sun, and after plodding through Shadow and Claw, I lost my desire to continue reading it. I went ahead and decided to give the Long Sun a try though and found myself captivated by it. I am now about halfway through Exodus from the Long Sun (book 4 of 4 -- found in Epiphany of the Long Sun). This story is written absolutely beautifully, the characters are truly multi-faceted and the world created by Gene Wolfe is mythic and realistic at the same time. Most people seem to prefer the New Sun to the Long Sun, so I'll go ahead and give it a try once more. IF however, like me, you find yourself drifting away from that series. Try the Long Sun before abandoning Gene Wolfe entirely.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, excellent story
Review: About 6 months ago, I purchased the Book of the New Sun, and after plodding through Shadow and Claw, I lost my desire to continue reading it. I went ahead and decided to give the Long Sun a try though and found myself captivated by it. I am now about halfway through Exodus from the Long Sun (book 4 of 4 -- found in Epiphany of the Long Sun). This story is written absolutely beautifully, the characters are truly multi-faceted and the world created by Gene Wolfe is mythic and realistic at the same time. Most people seem to prefer the New Sun to the Long Sun, so I'll go ahead and give it a try once more. IF however, like me, you find yourself drifting away from that series. Try the Long Sun before abandoning Gene Wolfe entirely.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing for Sci Fi fans
Review: After intensely enjoying the New Sun books and Wolfe's short stories I eagerly looked forward to these books only to see that (IMHO) Wolfe has gone completely over to the literary side. Hey, if you want to read beautiful prose then by all means buy this book. If you want to read some pseudo-philosophy then buy this book. If you want to read enjoyable Sci-Fi then look elsewhere.
What I enjoy about the New Sun books is Wolfe's ability to develop a wondrous universe filled with complex well developed characters with differing world views and some of the most beautiful and fascinating places ever described. What gets just a little tedious near the end is the author's desire to put forth his philosophy and morality. However, in the books of the Long Sun the Author has apparently gone from wanting to tell a story to wanting to tell us all about proper morality and it's consequenses and opportunities. Hey Gene, you're a terrific writer, there's no need for the morality plays.
Rating:
Summary: More devious than it appears
Review: Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun, while at first simple, proves every bit as complex as his opus The Book of the New Sun. While the third person narration employed in this book is not as ornamented or as difficult as some of his other prose, the character of Silk as he is transformed from a priest to a secular authority (and the subsequent changes brought about through his "enlightenment") are truly fascinating. The plot is more involved than it appears, and a rereading of Wolfe always yields surprising and rewarding results. This series serves as an interesting counterpoint to the transformation of Severian in the Book of the New Sun from torturer to Messiah. Also, this the characters presented in this work are pivotal in Wolfe's amazing Book of the Short Sun which begins with "On Blue's Waters", a truly phenomenal reading experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the "New Sun"
Review: I purchased this book with great expectations, having seen good things about the LONG SUN books and my own experince with Mr. Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN series. I was disappointed, I did not get the reading experience I was expecting. Perhaps I was expecting another NEW SUN. I thought the language and symbolism were presented well; however, I only read the first book in this 2 book omnibus and did not care enough about Patera Silk or his plight to read further. I did not hate the books, I just did not really "get into them" for lack of a better term. I really did WANT to like the books, but I found that I was pushing myself too hard to get through the first book of the omnibus to enjoy it enough to read further. I will probably give this another try in the future, simply because I enjoyed NEW SUN so much, hopefully I will be in the right frame of mind then.
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