Gene Wolfe is considered by many to be one of the best and most influential American authors of the 20th century, although his books have never reached mainstream appeal in the same way some of his peers have (Frank Herbert, Ursula Le Guin). No mention of his writing can go by without referencing his most famous work - ‘The Book of the New Sun’ - a four-volume collection that takes place in the far distant future where the sun is dying and ‘Urth’ has become a backwater planet long past its glory days.
He has frequently returned to this universe in both short and long stories, in what has since been dubbed ‘The Solar Cycle’ (which includes at least 11 books and assorted short stories). ‘Nightside the Long Sun’ is the first volume in the four-volume ‘Book of the Long Sun’. The setting is The Whorl generation starship – a sci-fi term for enormous ships containing cities, oceans, farmlands etc. specifically built for long-distance (centuries) travel across the stars.
The story starts with the central character Patera Silk, a young priest in a poor district of the city Virone, receiving a vision from one of the many Gods in this universe tasking him to save his chapel from being bought and destroyed by a local crime lord. This auspicious start sends Silk on a journey across the Whorl to unveil the secrets of this world and its ultimate purpose. But all that’s for later. This first volume is primarily concerned with Silks attempt to confront the man who has bought his Mantion, and the steps he takes to try and win it back.
Reading Gene Wolfe is a bit like trying to open an intricate puzzle box. Each angle you look at it from, something new appears which calls into question everything you thought you’d already worked out (Neil Gaiman wrote a fantastic short essay on ‘How to read Gene Wolfe’, which I recommend everyone read - Fantasy and Science Fiction - Gene Wolfe Section (sfsite.com)
An example would be of the Whorl itself. Nowhere in the book are we told that the story takes place in an enormous, interstellar ship. Instead, readers are given descriptions of the with hints hidden amongst them, as well as the use of incredibly evocative imagery, such as the night sky above the city showing the multiple fields, lakes and cities (as the ship is shaped in a circular design reminiscent of the inside of a shell). Readers are left to make these kinds of discoveries themselves as the story progresses.
This means his books lend themselves to multiple re-reads, and the reveals can be incredibly rewarding to readers who are paying attention. At the same time, this can also mean that first-time readers can frequently feel lost. As in, you can see the puzzle box can open, you just don’t know how. I felt like that a lot when reading this one, and as such my enthusiasm for continuing the series has been a little dampened. I will start the next one, but I think I’ll move on to something lighter first.
I would still absolutely recommend everyone read Gene Wolfe, but they should start with his best (and most approachable) work – The Book of the New Sun.
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