The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Posted on September 9, 2000
Gene Wolfe is the finest writer of modern, American literature alive today. Period. This is a statement of reality that scholars are slowly coming to realize, as they did in the early days of Tolkein, Lewis, Clarke, and Herbert (among many others). In less than a century, Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, Book of the Long Sun, and Book of the Short Sun will stand out with Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings and Herbert’s Dune series as the most important epics of science fiction ever written.
I have just completed reading the New Sun and the Long Sun series for the second time. Even still, I find myself needing to go back and reread passages a dozen times to extract all the subtle meanings and allusions that Wolfe throws out. Long Sun is especially dense because of the immense cast of priests, gods, robots, thieves, soldiers, and whores that comprise its dramatis personae. Thankfully, Wolfe has provided a listing of the characters and brief descriptions in each book. Even so, navigating the sometimes seemingly capricious narrative flow seems an impossible challenge. But it can be done and even enjoyed. And it is soooo worth it!!
Long Sun deals with the story of a generation starship and it’s “cargo” of “bios” and “chems” on their way to another world. In this “whorl” inside the starship, a religion has been established in which the people pray and sacrifice animals to the “gods” who built and run the whorl. This system seems to be running well until the real God enlightens a local augur to seek out the truth beyond the whorl. It is this priest’s saga that plays out in the Long Sun books (Nightide, Lake of the, Calde of the, and Exodus from the Long Sun).
Wolfe examines themes of religion, spirituality, war, and destiny in this epic work. This alone would not distinguish Wolfe from the myriad of other authors who have dealt with similar themes. It is, however, Wolfe’s amazing style and command of mythology and mysticism that truly establish Wolfe as the imminent author of science fiction today. Now, I’m looking forward to digging in to the sequel series Book of the Short Sun. I’m sure that I won’t be disappointed.
Tags: books, Review, science fiction
Categories: Public
Recent Comments
Close block