# Wolfean stuff in Nova Express

*The Whorl list — 2 messages, 2 voices, 20 Dec 1998*

<https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/whorl/584>

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### Rich Horton
*20 Dec 1998, 14:55*

I just received the latest issue of Nova Express (vol. 5 number 1,
Fall/Winter 1998), Lawrence Person's fine fanzine, and there are two
items of particular interest to this list, I would think.

There is an interview with Mr. Wolfe, conducted by Mr. Person, called
"Suns New, Long, and Short".  Wolfe talks about many subjects.  One
interesting comment is that he prefers to write at either the short
story length, or the series length.  Novels are hard, he says, because
if a novel comes in twice as long as planned, it may be unsaleable.
While a 2000 word story that becomes 4000 words is still OK, and a
series in which a book doubles in length (as I believe happened with
the Book of the New Sun) can easily be extended by a volume.  He also
hints that the novels in the Short Sun series may be rather long
(after saying that an 80000 word novel which doubles in size to 160000
words may be unsaleable, he mentions that "all the books in The Book
of the Short Sun are pushing it".)

(Patrick Nielsen Hayden reports on rasfw, by the way, that _On Blue's
Waters_ has been turned in, and is scheduled for Fall 1999).

Incidentally, asked to list some current writers he admires, Wolfe
mentions among others this list's Patrick O'Leary.  He also mentions
Mantis nicely, even stating that he uses Lexicon Urthus and his other
books as references.

In addition, this issue of Nova Express includes a fairly long essay
by Nick Gevers on The Book of the Long Sun, called "Five Steps toward
Briah".

- Tusk

```
Rich Horton | rrhorton at concentric.net
Web Page: www.sff.net/people/richard.horton  (New reviews of 
_Halfway Human_ and _The Star Fraction_ and _Deepdrive_.)

*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.
```

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### Kevin J. Maroney
*20 Dec 1998, 13:43 · follows Rich Horton*

> At 02:55 PM 12/20/98 GMT, you wrote:
> (Patrick Nielsen Hayden reports on rasfw, by the way, that _On Blue's
> Waters_ has been turned in, and is scheduled for Fall 1999).

I believe that I am not telling tales out of school to mention that David
Hartwell was definitely reviewing the ms when I was at his house on Dec 5.
He had not formally accepted the book at that point, but the odds are
astronomical that he will. 

Wombat, a.k.a. Kevin Maroney kmaroney at crossover.com
Kitchen Staff Supervisor, New York Review of Science Fiction
http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/olp/nyrsf/nyrsf.html

*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

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