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The Urth of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 9780812558173 Books

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The Urth of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 9780812558173 Books

A most perplexing and difficult novel to review:
Idiosyncratic style and incidental structure that is extravagant with poetic imagery, elegant descriptions and profound observations - while frustratingly coy with its narrative revelations. And since this is the finale of The Book of the New Sun, anticipation remains throughout for many left-over riddles to be resolved. However, though some knots are untangled, the remarkably imaginative skein continues to snarl - too paradoxical and excessive for its own good.

(Warning: Do not expect satisfaction if you have not already read the Book of the New Sun, you will be lost!)

Unpretentiously mythic and philosophical in the best classic traditions of both science fiction and fantasy, this sequel/prequel to Severian's memoir is part Passion Play, part Through The Looking Glass, part Odyssey: a Brothers Grimm alchemy. Wolfe is an illusionist, even more cunning than usual with the Autarch Severian's continued pilgrimage, this time(s) progressing into the over-universe, then back to Urth, then to Ushas, then off again to... Well, it is all simultaneously quite magnificent, confounding, and, ultimately, irritating.

In outline: the first 26 of its 51 chapters involve the voyage to be tested for Urth's redemption. The most rewarding chapters 27 to 43 - a fascinating and often surprising recapitulation at old Urth. Apres those chapters, of course: le deluge...

As always, the chimeric use of an antiquated vocabulary is unparalleled in its mysterious and evocative richness. But Wolfe also remains the thaumaturge more than the hoped for dramatist: as each series of incidents and episodes morphs into another, characters appear then reappear, then change into someone or even something else. Wolfe glories in precise imprecision; his story telling technique, at the most crucial times, depends upon just enough ambiguity to allow meaning to flow free. This is its great accomplishment, though also its most annoying fault. Often Urth of the New Sun reads like some sort of Masque of the White Fountain, complete with guests like a fairy godmother, Friar Tuck, John the Baptist, the Three Wise Men, Tinkerbell - and, of course, good old Apu-Punchau as a sort of Prince Prospero. His style depends on avoiding narrative cliches or conventions, so often risks irritating even the most patient audience with its persistent vagaries and layer upon layer of possibility. So, what exactly was Severian's test? And how did he pass it? How and why was the sun diminished? A punishment for what original sin? And ultimately what is Severian's apotheosis?

The truest science fictional bona fide of this admirably allegorical achievement is Wolfe's masterful fusion of a qabalistic and modern cosmology. Considering the current state of physics' debate between cosmological models (particularly Cyclic, open or regenerative), all the symbolic ingenuity of metaphysically drawing a divine spark from Yesod to Briah - the soul of the story - alone makes the Urth of the New Sun a unique addition to the Stapledon tradition. Unfortunately, the story's emotional outcome becomes submerged by its mythopoeic complexity.

And even if Severian's oddly opaque conscience - the alien heart of all his chronicling - still remains strangely difficult to fathom... Well, again, I consider this is a book full of wonderful and irritating conundrums. Difficult to love, impossible not to admire, but above all frequently graced with wonderfully poignant, beautiful images and insights that linger in the memory.


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The Urth of the New Sun Gene Wolfe 9780812558173 Books Reviews

I didn't know about how the book would turn out because the first half is truthfully kind of dull and it 'sorta' felt like a gene wolfe world and only 'sorta' felt like an appropriate continuation from the story of the previous novels in the series; however after things get going i think its great. Feels very Gene Wolfe, lots of crazy and interesting ideas, kept me occupied, fascinated, and at some points surprised. Also it explains -most- of the unexplained and mysterious phenomena of 'shadow of the torturer, the claw of the conciliator, the sword of the lictor, the citadel of the autarch,' so if you enjoyed the previous books you must read this one.
A fathomless tale is explained here in the most opaque manner possible. We are transported once again throughout time, the entire tale unfolding right before our very eyes, explained exquisitely by our narrator Severian the legion. Gods and men are our mates, our saviors, and our lovers. This book is a must read by any mind curious enough to find an explanation to its predecessor's and willing to be inclined to reread them afterward.
This was a strange ride, but after Wolfe left us hanging at the end of Citadel of the Autarch I had to see how this story ends.
In many ways, the first half is everything I hoped for. Autarch Severian begins his final quest to gain New Sun for Urth and the villains make one final bid to stop him. He meets the angelic Hierogramme puppet masters face to face and encounters cosmic wonders beyond the scope of Urth before returning home with the White Fountain of renewal.

And the book is half over.

The entire last half of the book, then, is essentially the road back to the Shire and the Scouring of the Shire after the Ring is tossed in Mount Doom. I have to admit that I found many of the chapters dealing with Severian's return to Urth's past and his exploits as the Conciliator tiresome. Actually seeing the Conciliator's journey unfold seemed to diminish the ominous myths that arose from those days to haunt Severian's time, and those chapters both dragged and compressed too much. I realize Wolfe was trying to tackle a lot, but the myths of the Conciliator's era in the Age of Typhon worked best when referenced at a distance.

Things picked up during the long-awaited arrival of the New Sun and epic and horrifying fate of Urth, and I found myself wishing Wolfe had shown his reader's Severian's return at that point and merely referenced his adventures in the past.

There are some other disappointments we never get to directly see Father Inire or Agia again, or Dorcas and the rest. I'd've liked to see more of Baldanders, but it is what it is.

This was a strange and marvelous world Wolfe had built, and it's with some regret that I closed it on the last chapter, but there are still the books of the Long and Short Sun to look forward to...
Incredible extension of the complex themes introduced in the four extraordinary, inimitable New Sun books that precede it. I had not read these for years until very recently, consuming them this time in a very committed binge read. I am not certain I won't do it yet again down the road. But I am certain it would be worth doing. Stunning stuff!
I had read the previous books more than once before I got around to Urth of the New Sun. So many loose threads, many that I didn't quite realize were loose to begin with, wrapped up so elegantly! The whole series is amazing. You must read these books'
Even when the time/space and physical situations are overwhelmingly dense and novel, this hero's journey is a page turning marvel that unrolls swiftly like a red carpet. The worlds he describes are allegorical, to be sure, and thought-provoking science fiction. But they are also dense, fascinating, and vivid fantasies. Memorable, palpable and nourishing, Wolfe's worlds and images linger in memory like a rich, strange scent.
A most perplexing and difficult novel to review
Idiosyncratic style and incidental structure that is extravagant with poetic imagery, elegant descriptions and profound observations - while frustratingly coy with its narrative revelations. And since this is the finale of The Book of the New Sun, anticipation remains throughout for many left-over riddles to be resolved. However, though some knots are untangled, the remarkably imaginative skein continues to snarl - too paradoxical and excessive for its own good.

(Warning Do not expect satisfaction if you have not already read the Book of the New Sun, you will be lost!)

Unpretentiously mythic and philosophical in the best classic traditions of both science fiction and fantasy, this sequel/prequel to Severian's memoir is part Passion Play, part Through The Looking Glass, part Odyssey a Brothers Grimm alchemy. Wolfe is an illusionist, even more cunning than usual with the Autarch Severian's continued pilgrimage, this time(s) progressing into the over-universe, then back to Urth, then to Ushas, then off again to... Well, it is all simultaneously quite magnificent, confounding, and, ultimately, irritating.

In outline the first 26 of its 51 chapters involve the voyage to be tested for Urth's redemption. The most rewarding chapters 27 to 43 - a fascinating and often surprising recapitulation at old Urth. Apres those chapters, of course le deluge...

As always, the chimeric use of an antiquated vocabulary is unparalleled in its mysterious and evocative richness. But Wolfe also remains the thaumaturge more than the hoped for dramatist as each series of incidents and episodes morphs into another, characters appear then reappear, then change into someone or even something else. Wolfe glories in precise imprecision; his story telling technique, at the most crucial times, depends upon just enough ambiguity to allow meaning to flow free. This is its great accomplishment, though also its most annoying fault. Often Urth of the New Sun reads like some sort of Masque of the White Fountain, complete with guests like a fairy godmother, Friar Tuck, John the Baptist, the Three Wise Men, Tinkerbell - and, of course, good old Apu-Punchau as a sort of Prince Prospero. His style depends on avoiding narrative cliches or conventions, so often risks irritating even the most patient audience with its persistent vagaries and layer upon layer of possibility. So, what exactly was Severian's test? And how did he pass it? How and why was the sun diminished? A punishment for what original sin? And ultimately what is Severian's apotheosis?

The truest science fictional bona fide of this admirably allegorical achievement is Wolfe's masterful fusion of a qabalistic and modern cosmology. Considering the current state of physics' debate between cosmological models (particularly Cyclic, open or regenerative), all the symbolic ingenuity of metaphysically drawing a divine spark from Yesod to Briah - the soul of the story - alone makes the Urth of the New Sun a unique addition to the Stapledon tradition. Unfortunately, the story's emotional outcome becomes submerged by its mythopoeic complexity.

And even if Severian's oddly opaque conscience - the alien heart of all his chronicling - still remains strangely difficult to fathom... Well, again, I consider this is a book full of wonderful and irritating conundrums. Difficult to love, impossible not to admire, but above all frequently graced with wonderfully poignant, beautiful images and insights that linger in the memory.