Subject: LAKE OF THE LONG SUN by Gene Wolfe

From: Brian McElhinney <mce at halcyon.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Jan 1994 23:04:06 +0000

Some quick observations (a few SPOILERS lurk within):

   LAKE picks up exactly where NIGHTSIDE left off. Re-reading NIGHTSIDE is
   nearly required.
	
   For some strange reason, I found my second reading of NIGHTSIDE to be
   much more enjoyable. Maybe because I knew I could "turn the page" when
   it ended, and pick up LAKE?

   NIGHTSIDE + LAKE make a fairly satisfying story.  LAKE ends in a
   similarly abrupt manner, but on a high note.  (Black humor, yet.)  A big
   improvement!

   I like the character Silk now (I didn't particularly care before), and I
   enjoyed watching his belief system change.

   On the down side, there are times when Silk sounds *way* too much like
   Severian.  Primarily when he is explaining himself.

   And the parallel between Silk and Severian's mysterious family origins
   was uncomfortable.  Although in Silk's case he may not have parents, in
   the traditional sense...
	
   Not to mention the biggest, hence most painful, parallel that seems to
   be developing.
	
   Did Silk see a nearby solar system from the observation bubble?  Stay
   tuned for volume three.

   I really, really, hate The Book of the Long Sun as a title.  Much too
   similar to you-know-what.  From the LoC entry in volume one it appears
   Wolfe originally intended the series to be titled Starcrosser's
   Landfall.  Much better!
 
Brian McElhinney

---

From: Patrick Nielsen-Hayden <pnh at panix.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Jan 1994 23:46:43 +0000

mce at halcyon.com (Brian McElhinney) writes:
>Wolfe originally intended the series to be titled Starcrosser's Landfall.

Uh uh. Gene originally intended the series to be titled The Book of the
Long Sun.  "Starcrosser's Landfall" was the invention of Gene's editor,
David Hartwell, who later thought better of it.  However, S's L does carry
on a ghost existence in a few catalogs.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden
senior editor
Tor Books