The Urth of the new sun
The sequel to 'The Book of the New Sun' (New Sun)
by Gene Wolfe · first published 1987
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Dense, puzzling far-future SF that rewards rereading. Its offhand glimpses of future technology and its place as the closing volume of the Solar Cycle stand out. Suited to readers who enjoy intricate, demanding SF.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Sequel to: The book of the new sun. Severian, the Autarch of Urth, leaves the planet on one of the huge spaceships of the alien Hierodules to travel across time and space to face his greatest test, to become the legendary New Sun or die.
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…Fiction: Dead Souls (Gogol), The Lathe of Heaven (Ursula Le Guin), Faust (Goethe), Anathem (Stephenson), Paradise Lost (Milton), The Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut), The Claw of the Conciliator (Gene Wolfe), The Urth of the New Sun (Gene Wolfe), The Number of the Beast (Heinlein), Baudolino (Umberto Eco), The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follet), Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Pirsig), I Robot (Asimov)
on “Tell HN: Free Books (apartment clearing)” ↗…of joining the Science Fiction Bookclub, unaware that it's intent and purpose was to mislead kids into over-buying books they didn't want. At the time, one of the books they sent me was Gene Wolfe's "Urth of the New Sun", and it bewildered me and fascinated me so much that I reread it in college, and realized it was part of a much longer tale. I went on to read virtually everything he ever wrote. Unlike so much science…
on “Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87” ↗Gene Wolfe. The whole Solar Cycle (The Book of the New Sun, Urth of The New Sun, The Book of The Long Sun, The Book of The Short Sun), Fifth Head of Cerberus, Peace, There Are Doors, The Sorcerer's House ... . Wolfe is a genius. Before that I also finished Malazan.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…than most of what I've read, but if the books speak to you, you're in for a huge treat. There are five books, but the first four are commonly published as pairs: - Shadow & Claw - Sword & Citadel - Urth of the New Sun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_New_Sun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urth_of_the_New_Sun
on “Ask HN: Great Books from your 2021 Reading List?” ↗If you enjoyed that experience, read The Book of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe (5 books, 1-2 and 3-4 commonly printed as combined volumes: Shadow & Claw, Sword & Citadel, The Urth of the New Sun). I re-read them this spring, and they remain among the top ~3 series I've ever (re-)read.
on “Read the Novels and Forget Everything Else” ↗…torturer that becomes king of the planet earth and replaces the dying sun while raising the dead, eating the dead, avoiding death, all while working as a carnifex. Then read the Book of the New Sun and The Urth of the New Sun.
on “Gene Wolfe, 'magnificent' giant of science fiction, dies aged 87” ↗I really love Wolfe for his small almost throwaway visions of the future, which are used like an aside in a few lines and mostly inconsequential to the story. In the Urth of the New Sun for example he has a kind of AI lock, the only function of which is to recognize a person and open only to that person. Being in that role for thousands of years, some of the locks develop a kind of personality…
on “Butlerian Jihad” ↗…much as the office (or the effects of the office). Elsewhere, it is Severian who tags along with various people he meets. > the Chosen One who brings the era of the New Sun. Did you go on to read The Urth of the New Sun? I won’t spoil it here for others, but that book does reveal that Severian’s “chosenness” and “saving of the planet” isn’t ultimately all it was cracked up to be. As for lack of character growth, it…
on “Ends of the Urth” ↗Even if Severian has become a better man by the end of the BotNS, in the coda to the sequence The Urth of the New Sun he is still keen on bedding the women he comes across. From reviews and fora discussions, it is this constant interest of the male protagonist in casual sex that has turned off many female readers. Sure,…
on “Gene Wolfe Turned Science Fiction into High Art (2019)” ↗…low". > Severian only starts to draw a following once he becomes autarch Re-read the entire attack on Baldanders' castle. "The people naturally follow me" and all that. > Did you go on to read The Urth of the New Sun? I didn't and after the Book of the New Sun I frankly don't want to touch anything by Wolfe :) > a well-established literary genre that goes back many centuries (the picaresque). "picaresque: relating…
on “Ends of the Urth” ↗…one, get the first book of either series into their hands. They'll get the rest on their own. And hurry up, please--Gene's getting up there in age and you'll want his help. * though of course there is Urth of the New Sun...
on “Ask HN: What are the best books you've read that few others have?” ↗I read it last year and absolutely loved it. It was tough going for a while though, and I might have sated myself with its style, because I couldn't get through _The Urth of the New Sun_, the sequel, immediately afterwards. Maybe I'll give it another try soon.
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗It's clearly not hard SF, but if I had to classify it I'd call it SF based on feel. Similar situation to The Urth of the New Sun; I don't think anyone really considers that fantasy, even though it has a similar (or even more extreme) "lost technology is unknowable magic" setup.
on “N. K. Jemisin’s Dream Worlds” ↗BotNS has a final volume that has been out of print for decades: Urth of the New Sun. I was lucky enough to stumble across a copy in a bookstore 20 years ago while on vacation; you can now find plenty of online listings for it. It wraps some things up and further obfuscates some others;…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗