Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun

Steven K. Zoltan Brust · 27 Feb 1986, 20:56 · from sf-lovers.1986.mbox

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From: starfire!brust at caip.rutgers.edu (Steven K. Zoltan Brust)
Subject: Re: Re: Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun
Date: 27 Feb 86 20:56:53 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v11-36-2 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V11 #36
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-11

Okay, I'm finally moved to take up this gauntlet.  Whatever else has
happened, the original query ("What d'you guys see in this,
anyway?") was quite reasonable and deserves to be answered.

It is sad that I can't answer it.

I will, however, describe my experience with the books.  Okay.  I
picked up SHADOW OF THE TORTURER and read about a third of it,
discovered that it hadn't grabbed me, and stopped reading it.  For
the next year, I kept hearing from friends I respected how much they
were enjoying the books.  In particular, I was hearing from those
who enjoyed the sounds of words, that is, the work of those who are
aware of the beauty of the language.

Well, okay, I like that stuff, too.  That's why I'm a Zelazny nut,
and why I like Orson Scott Card, Jane Yolen, Patricia McKillip, etc.
etc.

So I decided to give the books another try, this time forcing myself
to read slowly and carefully.  It worked for me, and I am now very
glad that I did.  For those who enjoy the sound of English well
wrought, these books will tickle that.  For those who enjoy a good
story, it really is here, it just takes a while to realize it.  The
book is screamingly funny, without ever falling out of its conceit
(including a multi-page comparison of the art of torturing to the
art of writing; I almost hurt myself laughing.)  The book had me
close to tears at times, yet was never a tragedy.  The part of me
that likes to play with ideas just as ideas was tickled all the way
through, but never quite in ways I expected.  On my next few
readings, when I start looking for "What is really going on here;
what is the author saying?"  there is enough meat that I don't go
away hungry.

Okay?  This certainly won't convince anyone who didn't like it that
he ought to, but maybe this will help whoever asked the initial
question to understand why some of us enjoy the books.

skzb

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