Urth of the New Sun

obrien · 24 Nov 1987, 16:17 · from sf-lovers.1987.mbox

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From: obrien at aerospace.aero.org
Subject: Re: Urth of the New Sun
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 87 08:17:50 -0800
Message-ID: <sflovers-v12-516-2 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V12 #516
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-12b

I haven't seen many mentions of this yet, so here's a mini-review.

I'm biased, I admit it.  I'm one of those insufferable *****'s who
thinks "The Book of the New Sun" is the best thing the field's seen
in the last ten years or more.

In some ways I found the new offering a disappointment.  To a large
extent it merely seems to be a confirmation of the tenuous
conclusions one could draw from "The Book of the New Sun" if one
worked hard enough at it.  It also does not weave as rich a
tapestry, but this may be because it is only a third the length of
the earlier work.  If one considers it a short story following a
novel, it does quite well.

   There is room for the pleasant speculation that is so much a part
of the earlier work.  One possibility: Do we meet Jason in the new
book?

    For those who love Wolfe's use of language, that is here, in
full.  And it does serve to explain one or two incidents in the
earlier books that were, to me, almost completely incomprehensible
(such as the very mysterious run-in with Apu-Punchau in the stone
city).  Although it is not of the same length or complexity as the
earlier book/books, it is certainly a worthy successor.  For me, it
passed the final test: after reading it, I haven't been able to read
anything since.  Everything else seems tepid and shallow in
comparison.

Recommended, but only for those who have read "The Book of the New
Sun".

Mike O'Brien
obrien at aerospace.aero.org

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