Rating: 
Summary: Classic Wolfe
Review: "On Blue's Waters" is better than any of the "Long Sun" books (which were good), and delivers an experience closer to that of the extremely wonderful "New Sun" tetralogy. As Wolfe is my favorite writer, I feel entitled to do a little amateur literary criticism of some of his work. "New Sun" was written in a narrative style, and the reader was kept somewhat conscious of the narrarator, who would sometimes suspend the story to return to the "present". With "On Blue's Waters" it is the same, but more so. It is written almost in the style of a journal, with the writer writing a lot more about the writing. (If you know what I mean.) This brings me to a criticism of the "Long Sun" works. Its point of view is muddled. When it is revealed that Horn is the "narrarator", it is done in a clumsy and contrived way. Especially shocking since Wolfe writes with such finesse! One gets the distinct impression that Wolfe's concept of the point of view CHANGED DURING THE WRITING OF THIS NOVEL. Another problem with the "Long Sun". Wolfe is a subtle writer and, like many good sci-fi authors, is very implicit. The reader figures out big truths about the fictional world by piecing together dropped hints. The same is true with "Long Sun", except Wolfe spoils it by becoming explicit about that which the reader has already worked hard to figure out. "New Sun" was much better in this regard. On thing I love about how Wolfe writes is that it is a lot what watching real life is like. People often refer to events you are unfamiliar with, or to people you have yet to meet. Wolfe does this A LOT, as any faithful read can testify. How often have you had the "What the.... Did I miss something?" experience? I find this thrilling, and it makes the work very real for me. I think this aspect is spoiled a little in "On Blue's Waters", as the narrarator refers to these as "mistakes" when he does them. I prefer not to have these nonlinearities pointed out. (Mr. Wolfe, we don't REALLY think your books are too hard to read. Don't start coddling!!!)
Rating:
Summary: Challenging--but as brilliant as it gets
Review: (...)
The Book of the Short Sun will be one of the finest reading experiences of your life... if you can get through the thing. The difficulty in extracting those rewards out of the text is considerable and not to be lightly discounted. Reading these books will require supreme effort. Willing readers will have to be intensely interested with how individuals relate to historical and semi-mythical figures, religion, and their own personality as influenced by these themes. These books are about as far as you can get from the popular concept of "space opera" and thrilling, "page-turning" fiction. An analogy to Moby Dick is probably very appropriate as that work due to the very slow pacing, the introspection, and the great literary symbols stomping through the setting reified and alive. Any scholar of literature should be deeply fascinated by these books.
WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
There is no shame in not reading these books. They are terribly difficult and an exercise in stamina though we feel most people should at least try once. If you have attempted Shakespeare and been turned back because of the language; if you have attempted Moby Dick or novels by Henry James only to be turned away by the lack of progression in the plot; if you have attempted James Joyce's Ulysses but been baffled by the interior monologue, then Short Sun is probably going to daunt you as well. But we feel the rewards of this book are equal to those giants in literature.
(...)
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Continuation
Review: ... of Wolfe's brilliant saga that began with The Shadow of the Torturer. I do not have words enough to describe how these books, the books that comprise the Book of the New Sun and The Book of the Long Sun, have moved me since I began reading them in the early '80s. In this latest work, Wolfe explores new moral and metaphysical themes and provides many additional insights into his wonderful and elaborate universe. The story is extraordinarily compelling and the writing luminous. Wolfe has once again demonstrated that he is as fine a writer as any who lives and is paramount in the science fiction field.
Rating:
Summary: Another exquisitely crafted work
Review: According to Amazon, readers who bought this book also bought books by writers such as Swanwick, Sturgeon, Bester, McKillip...so commentary here is probably preaching to the converted. But what's lovely about this book is that you don't have to be among the initiated to fall under Wolfe's narrative spell. He's a master craftsman of words, emotions, landscapes (and seascapes), hopes and heartbreaks...and he doesn't stint on the exciting or unexpected plot development, either. A beautiful book for the sophisticated reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading the Long Sun series, I excitedly anticipated reading the first book in this new series, which begins sixteen years later on the planet Blue. Sad to say, I found it not as coherent as the previous books. It might be just me, but it was confusing that our narrator, Horn, kept jumping back and forth from the past to the present. I liked it better when Horn wrote in the third person and kept himself more in the background. Maybe it's just that I don't find Horn as likeable a character as Silk, so keeping Horn out of the first person was more agreeable to me. This somewhat new writing style of Mr. Wolfe's lacked the excitement and impact of his previous books set in the Long Sun whorl.
Rating:
Summary: Beginning of the conclusion of an astonishing series
Review: First of all, this review is for the entire Book of the Short Sun trilogy, which is the sequel to the Book of the Long Sun [which in turn is the sequel to the Book of the New Sun]. It is not quite as good, but is excellent in that the style is completely different. Don't believe any review that says the trilogy stands on its own. You must read Book of the Long Sun first or you will miss out on a great deal. The "author" of the book has experienced a series of adventures, and is still experiencing more adventures as he attempts to record them. The chronological jumble is difficult to swallow at first, but improves with understanding of the character and his setting. Ultimately, it is quite convincing. This episodic style of the book reminds me of a painting that appears gradually in bits here and there, and is never quite entirely filled in, yet is richer and more enjoyable as it evolves. And as far as I can tell no part of it clashes with another. There are, of course, many stories left untold and mysteries left unsolved, but that is Gene Wolf's trademark. One that Silk himself would certainly find irritating ;-), but nonetheless enticing. Finally, let me re-emphasize the need to read Book of the New Sun and Book of the Long Sun. The latter especially is a masterpiece comparable to Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead. To me, great literature is that which promotes self analysis, and these stories are exquisite fare.
Rating:
Summary: Beginning of the conclusion of an astonishing series
Review: First of all, this review is for the entire Book of the Short Sun trilogy, which is the sequel to the Book of the Long Sun [which in turn is the sequel to the Book of the New Sun]. It is not quite as good, but is excellent in that the style is completely different. Don't believe any review that says the trilogy stands on its own. You must read Book of the Long Sun first or you will miss out on a great deal. The "author" of the book has experienced a series of adventures, and is still experiencing more adventures as he attempts to record them. The chronological jumble is difficult to swallow at first, but improves with understanding of the character and his setting. Ultimately, it is quite convincing. This episodic style of the book reminds me of a painting that appears gradually in bits here and there, and is never quite entirely filled in, yet is richer and more enjoyable as it evolves. And as far as I can tell no part of it clashes with another. There are, of course, many stories left untold and mysteries left unsolved, but that is Gene Wolf's trademark. One that Silk himself would certainly find irritating ;-), but nonetheless enticing. Finally, let me re-emphasize the need to read Book of the New Sun and Book of the Long Sun. The latter especially is a masterpiece comparable to Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead. To me, great literature is that which promotes self analysis, and these stories are exquisite fare.
Rating:
Summary: More Praise For This Modern Day Melville
Review: Gene Wolfe has been hailed as a modern day Melville. No superlative is too great for this wonderfully gifted writer. He is also one of fictions best kept secrets. While other far less talented writers continue to grace best seller lists, Mr. Wolfe remains, despite having won numerous awards as well as the accolades of nearly all of his contemporaries, an almost unknown writer. Perhaps this is because Mr. Wolfe prefers to remain apart from those authors who write mere formula fiction. Mr. Wolfe writes what he is moved to write, perhaps choosing to ignore what publishers today claim audiences read; perhaps hoping that his audience will find him, as I found him many years ago after my first reading of The Book of the New Sun. Since that first reading I've lost count of how many times I've enjoyed the treasure those four books comprise. Mr. Wolfe writes with passion, his characters are wonderfully flawed, truly human, and his plots are character-driven. His language is at once simple, yet elegant. Certainly his work contains very little, if any, of what defines today's formula fiction. Alas, perhaps that is what keeps it from enjoying far greater acclaim. On Blue's Waters is the latest creation from this gifted writer. On Blue's Waters, the first book of a trilogy, picks up twenty years after Exodus From the Long Sun (the finale of Mr. Wolfe's previous tetralogy). Horn (one of Silks former students) is the central character and narrator. He has been charged with returning to the long sun whorl - the gigantic spaceship that brought them to Blue - to find Silk and to persuade him to return to Blue and rule as Caldé. As do all of Mr. Wolfe's previous works, On Blue's Waters brims with wonder as Horn must find his way to the village of Pajarocu, where he must board one of the landers that brought the emigrants to their new world and return to the whorl on which he was born. Horn has many encounters along the way; he meets and falls in love with a woman from the sea - a siren - as well as one of the inhumi - strange creatures that feed on human blood. In return for saving Horn's life, Horn promises to allow the inhumu to accompany him on his journey back to the long sun whorl. Since Horn is the narrator, On Blue's Waters takes on the flavor of a diary, with Horn's entries written to Nettle, his childhood sweetheart and wife, whom he left behind on Lizard, the island they chose to settle on when they first came to Blue. Strangely reminiscent of The Book of the New Sun, Horn, er, Mr. Wolfe populates On Blue's Waters with many similar thought-provoking little philosophical gems. Horn: "This short sun is well named; it speaks daily of the transitory nature of all it sees, drawing for us the pattern of human life, fair at first and growing ever stronger so that we cannot help believing it will continue as it began; but losing strength from the moment it is strongest." Horn again: "Time is a sea greater than our sea... Its tides batter down all walls, and what the tides of time batter down is never rebuilt. Not larger. Not smaller. Never as it was." Horn yet a third time: "To do nothing is a talent, one I have not got. I have known a few people who possessed it to a superlative degree, as one of my scribes here does. They can, if they wish, sit or even stand for hours without occupation and without thought. Their eyes are open and they see the whorl before them, but see it only as the eyes of potatoes do." Marvelous prose. As a writer myself, I can only hope to one day write something half as beautiful and meaningful. On Blue's Waters will not disappoint those who have read Mr. Wolfe's previous books, and for those who have not, it will serve as a wonderful introduction to this most gifted writer. Mr. Wolfe, I look forward to the conclusion of this epic, and anxiously await your next masterpiece. J. Conrad Guest
Rating:
Summary: Simply Superb
Review: Gene Wolfe is a treasure. A true original. Authors hold him in awe. Readers fumble trying to express the magic of his work. Astounding stories, perfect craft, and a depth of emotional and philosophical courage that is nearly impossible to describe. Among its many delights and shocks, ON BLUE'S WATERS is perhaps the most moving portrait of a haunted man that I have ever read. Under the guise of a typical science fiction extended adventure series Wolfe is creating an entirely new thing: a meditation on the journey of faith and the search for truth refracted through a dazzling array of unforgettable characters. Why doesn't everyone know Gene Wolfe is the best writer alive today?
Rating:
Summary: The rich, fascinating worlds of Gene Wolfe
Review: Gene Wolfe once again returns to the style that won him awards and acclaim for the Book of the New Sun series. The story flows like water, carrying the reader along into a strange world filled with creatures both evil and innocent. Beautifully written and much easier to read than the Book of the Long Sun series. If you like to read about thoughtful and interesting characters, this book is a gem.
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