Apropos of nothing, I find this interesting (from Amazon.com):
"Customers who bought titles by Gene Wolfe also bought titles by these authors:
Frederick Forsyth
John Le Carre
Daniel Silva
Joseph Kanon
William Safire"
What an unexpected list! Except for Safire, it's all spies and thrillers. Only one prose and plot stylist (IMHO), Le Carre.
Also, On Blue's Waters ranks 65,062 in sales several months pre-release. Not exactly Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which ranks 8th), but respectable.