Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. The book of the new sun was applauded in a variety of periodicals ranging from the magazine of fantasy and science fiction to isaac asimovs science fiction magazine to the library journal and the new york times. Book of the new sun is one of my favourite fantasy works as well. After the commercial success of the book of the new sun, wolfe became a fulltime author, writing two additional series set in the same. Sf discussion group member peter says are just as brilliant as the new sun. While i would have preferred more information, the game is more about what will happen than what has happened. The book of the new sun is unanimously acclaimed as gene wolfes most remarkable work, hailed as a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of tolkien and lewis by publishers weekly, and one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century by the magazine of fantasy and science fiction. Severian takes part in the play they perform, and the next day the group sets out toward the great gate leading out of nessus. Taking place in a feudal society a million years in the future, it tells the story of severian, an apprentice of the torturers guild. Recently voted the greatest fantasy of all time, after the lord of the rings and the hobbit, gene wolfes the book of the new sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an earth transformed in mysterious and wondrous ways, in a time when. View entire discussion 61 comments more posts from the genewolfe community. The fourth book ties everything together in such a fantastic way that i was ready to proclaim wolfe a genius when i read it the first time. Also, its hard to complain about the break between books 1 and 2, since all four books were actually intended to be a single volume. The conclusion of the book of the new sun the little red.
Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. The book of the new sun 19803 by gene wolfe is a novel in four books, set in the distant future of the dying earth science fiction subgenre, when the aging sun grows dim. Just finished book of the new sun, i have many questions. As an aside to my fantasy book characters project, ive been so enraptured by gene wolfes book of the new sun, going so far as to call it not only my favorite book series of all time already, but it might be my favorite piece of media of any kind which is. As autarch, severian tries to outlaw the torturers guild, saying it is intolerable that good men should spend their lives dispensing pain. That is followed by a summary of the main series of source material, which i would assume. Its a work of staggering complexity, with very little explained outright. As far as im concerned, the book of the new sun is a single novel that, like the. The book opens up with a really broad history of the setting of the book of the new sun, covering nearly a million years in six quick pages. The book of the new sun is a science fiction novel by gene wolfe. For instance, near the end of the claw of the conciliator, severian rides. He takes a spaceship to some world thats like the core of evolution and meets a group of psychic humans and angels that judge if his world is good enough for the new sun. Wolfes book of the new sun page 5 literature a forum of ice. This service exists for the convenience of sun readers whod like to meet with others in their communities to discuss the magazine.
Have a discussion with your book club about the ways your reading. I just want to thank the folks who have been contributing to this discussion. Well i just finished the first five books in the new sun series and i must say, it is. However if your in to scifi and new to gene wolfe probably start with book of the long sun. That would be, in fact, entirely at odds with the basic idea of the world of botns, which is. The book of the new sun is unanimously acclaimed as gene wolfes most remarkable work, hailed as a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of tolkien and lewis by publishers weekly.
We return to the world of severian, now the autarch of urth, as he leaves the planet on one of the huge spaceships of the alien hierodules to travel across time and space to face his greatest test yet. The book of the new sun is one of science fictions greatest achievements, and it is generally recognised that the book conceals rather more than is initially apparent. A common theme wolfe has in all of his novels is, what we think of ourselves, compared to how the world sees us. The urth of the new sun is the long awaited sequel to gene wolfes fourvolume classic, the book of the new sun. The sun is not affiliated with any group, nor do we provide guidance or oversight. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of ballantine books. The book of the new sun 1980 1983 is a series of four science fantasy novels or one fourvolume novel written by american author gene wolfe. Subverted by loyal to the group of seventeens story. The story of severian in the book of the new sun was an exceptional discovery of my childhood and i cant thank you enough for that. This is a great time for you to get connected to a group thats already meeting or one of the new groups that are starting up this winter. Recently voted the greatest fantasy of all time, after the lord of the rings and the hobbit, gene wolfes the book of the new sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an earth transformed in mysterious and wondrous ways, in a time when our present culture is no longer even a memory. He is the new sun, bringing new life to the planet through apocalypse.
It would be great to get some thoughtful analysis and interpretation going. The complete book of the new sun gene wolfe macmillan. The deadline for your entries is wednesday, may 6th at noon et. Alternatively, it is a series comprising the original tetralogy, a 1983 collection of essays, and a 1987 sequel. As we begin the new year, our growth groups will return to meeting together. After falling in love with one of his charges, severian is exiled from the guild and sent to a. Gene wolfe, who died on april 14 at age 87, was one of the greatest american writers of his generation, period. David markham 5856370040 and al datro 5856370737 are the group facilitators. The book of the new sun final thoughts group reads scifi. The book of the new sun does not answer all of its questions because it does not exist in a limited world where everything that happens is part of the main plot.
First, i was mad thats how it ends ive got to read the entire damn thing all over again from start. The urth of the new sun mostly takes place outside urth. The book continues severians narration of the aftermath of his ascent to the throne and subsequent journey between the suns to be judged and win back the fountain of life that will rejuvenate the slowly dying sun and revive life on urth. His fourpart masterpiece, the book of the new sun, sometimes looks like.
I bought a companion book named lexicon urthus and intend to reread the series at some point with it in hand. Organize with favorites and folders, choose to follow along via email, and quickly find unread posts. All contact with group leaders should be sun related. This work is as serious as literature gets, and people who say that genre fiction is not serious literature should be forced to read this. Also gurps new sun, the rpg by the author of lexicon urthus, which includes a lot of background hints. For sciencefiction readers, the book of the new sun is roughly what ulysses is to fans of the modern novel. Xxxii the book is a collection of the myths of the past, and it has a section listing all the keys of the universeall the things people have said were the secret after they had talked to mystagogues on far worlds or studied the popul vuh of the magicians, for fasted in the trunks of holy trees, thecla and i used to read them and talk about. The days after i finished felt like going through tangential stages of grief. Our latest prize book is circe by madeline miller, which is now available in paperback. Im on my third read through of the book of the new sun. The original version was entitled looking behind the sun.
In short, it became a publishing event, the repercussions of which were felt in fanzines, journals and mainstream publications alike. It was published as a single volume titled the book of the new sun in 1998 by science fiction book club and again in 2007 under the title severian of the guild, published by orion publishing group. Even in book four he gets acquainted with the corridors of time, using them initially to travel back in time for reasons. Religious implications of gene wolfes the book of the new sun and was published in the august 1991 edition. Each book has been separately translated into french, german, dutch, and japanese. The book of the new sun literature a forum of ice and. The book of the new sun vol 1 the shadow of the torturer. The problem is that sometimes that explanation comes 300 pages later and is still vague. The sun magazine discussion group meets to discuss the previous months issue on the third monday of the month from 6. Do you remember discussing the paradox of the autarch in the. The book of the new sun was published before the great age of doorstop fantasy, and so.
If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. The book of the new sun is challenging and complex, full of allusions. I understand its all severians doing, and he uses the claw to focus his energies. So, i finally finished the citadel of the autarch, the 4th book in gene wolfes the book of the new sun. The book of the new sun 19801983 is a series of four science fantasy novels, a tetralogy or.
Gene wolfes vast tome sets many puzzles for the reader, not the least of which is why on earth it isnt better known alison flood. The book of the new sun is challenging and complex, full of allusions that operate at multiple levels, and multiple readings are necessary to get it all. It is a reflective, metafictional story, narrating the rise of an apprentice in the order of the seekers for truth and penitence i. The book of the new sun six book set camelot books. Any page references refer to a usa edition of the book, usually the. The ascian language is a fictional language invented by gene wolfe for his science fiction series the book of the new sun. Normally i wouldnt worry about figuring everything out in a book, but science fantasies such as the book of the new sun are rare, and with every passage or sentence of startling beauty, there are a hundred odd plot choices that seem to take away from the book s grandeur. The book of the new sun and the book of the long sun are some of the finest, most satisfying books i have ever read. The book of the new sun final thoughts group reads. Google groups allows you to create and participate in online forums and emailbased groups with a rich experience for community conversations. Wolfes book of the new sun literature a forum of ice and fire. If baldanders knows that severian is the new sun, why does he seem so.
The tetralogy consists of the shadow of the torturer, the claw of the conciliator, the sword of the lictor and the citadel of the autarch, plus a coda, the urth of the new sun, which was written some time later and clears up a number of points from the series proper. The shadow of the torturerthe claw of the conciliator by gene wolfe. I would also reccomend free live free and soldier in the mist as a couple of other must reads. I think the misogynism in the book of the new sun is a deliberate choice by wolfe, and i suspect its tied up with the severian as new sun as christ motif. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. He was also a prolific writer of distinguished short fiction, which has been collected in such awardwinning volumes as storeys from the old hotel and the best of gene wolfe. Gene wolfe 19312019 was the nebula awardwinning author of the book of the new sun tetralogy in the solar cycle, as well as the world fantasy award winners the shadow of the torturer and soldier of sidon. Subverted, as he initially believes this, but then comes to later realize that torture is bad.