Synopses & Reviews
On Blue's Waters is the start of a major new work by Gene Wolfe, the first of three volumes that comprise The Book of the Short Sun, which takes place in the years after Wolfe's four-volume Book of the Long Sun. Horn, the narrator of the earlier work, now tells his own story. Though life is hard on the newly settled planet of Blue, Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves. But Horn is the only one who can locate the great leader Silk, and convince him to return to Blue and lead them all to prosperity. So Horn sets sail in a small boat, on a long and difficult quest across the planet Blue in search of the now legendary Patera Silk. The story continues in
In Green's Jungles and
Return to the Whorl. Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Prix Apollo.
On Blue's Waters is the start of a major new work by Gene Wolfe.It is the first of three volumes that comprise The Book of the Short Sun, which takes place in the years after Wolfe's four-volume Book of the Long Sun. Horn, the narrator of the earlier work, now tells us his own story. Though life is hard on the newly settled planet of Blue, Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves.
But Horn is the only one who can locate the planet's great leader, Silkand the only one who can convince Silk to return to Blue and lead them all to prosperity. So Horn sets sail in a small boat, on a long and difficult quest across the planet Blue in search of the now-legendary Patera Silk.
The story continues with In Green's Jungles and Return to the Whorl.
"On Blue's Waters is a rich enough work to stand on its own merits and is further evidence that Wolfe is the finest living writer in his field."The Seattle Times
"By any standard, Wolfe's beautifully composed, meditative, thrilling, and tricky-beyond-belief 'science fantasy' is a work of the highest art."The Washington Post Book World
"Sentence by sentence, Mr. Wolfe writes as well as anyone in science fiction today."The New York Times
"If all you care about in speculative fiction is delightfully inventive ideas, then Gene Wolfe should be one of your favorite writers. If all you care about is deft, witty, dead-on writing, then you must already be reading Wolfe."Orson Scott Card
"Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today . . . There is nobody who can even approach Wolfe for brilliance of prose, clarity of thought, and depth in meaning."Michael Swanwick
Review
"On Blue's Waters is easily the best science fiction novel of the year, and the author's most compelling since publication in the early 1980's of the now classic Book of the New Sun." The Seattle Times
Review
"Wolfe's grand tour of his imagined world is literate and witty without sacrificing the attributes of a good story and without the cliches common to the field." Don D'Ammassa, Science Fiction Chronicle
Review
"As always, Wolfe's prose is masterful and his main characters are well developed....Wolfe does establish several tantalizing mysteries that hold readers' attention, and which, presumably, will be explored fully in later volumes." Publishers Weekly
Review
"You don't have to be acquainted with the Long Sun tetralogy, but it helps considerably, and though Wolfe's teasing list of 'Proper Names in the Text' is of small benefit to newcomers, fans of the previous should not be disappointed." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"The author's deceptively simple style conceals a dense weave of symbols and allegories suggested by his ingenuous protagonist's odyssey across the waters in search of a hero." Library Journal
Review
"Again Wolfe displays his consummate craftsmanship in an exquisitely written work. For those who like to savor what they read, this treasure will provide food for thought long after the covers are closed." VOYA
Synopsis
On Blue's Waters is the start of a major new work by Gene Wolfe, the first of three volumes that comprise The Book of the Short Sun, which takes place in the years after Wolfe's four-volume Book of the Long Sun. Horn, the narrator of the earlier work, now tells his own story. Though life is hard on the newly settled planet of Blue, Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves. But Horn is the only one who can locate the great leader Silk, and convince him to return to Blue and lead them all to prosperity. So Horn sets sail in a small boat, on a long and difficult quest across the planet Blue in search of the now legendary Patera Silk. The story continues in In Green's Jungles and Return to the Whorl.
Synopsis
On Blue's Waters is the start of a major new work by Gene Wolfe, the first of three volumes that comprise The Book of the Short Sun, which takes place in the years after Wolfe's four-volume Book of the Long Sun. Horn, the narrator of the earlier work, now tells his own story. Though life is hard on the newly settled planet of Blue, Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves. But Horn is the only one who can locate the great leader Silk, and convince him to return to Blue and lead them all to prosperity. So Horn sets sail in a small boat, on a long and difficult quest across the planet Blue in search of the now legendary Patera Silk. The story continues in
In Green's Jungles and
Return to the Whorl. About the Author
Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by
The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing.