The Urth of the New Sun

Last updated
The Urth of the New Sun
TheUrthOfTheNewSun(1stEd).jpg
First edition (UK)
Author Gene Wolfe
Cover artistPeter Goodfellow
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Gollancz (UK)
Tor Books (US)
Publication date
Aug 1987 (UK) [1]
Sep 1987 (US)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages372 pp
ISBN 0-575-04116-1
OCLC 16003956
813/.54 19
LC Class PS3573.O52 U78 1987
Preceded by The Book of the New Sun  

The Urth of the New Sun is a 1987 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe that serves as a coda to his four-volume Book of the New Sun series. Like Book of the New Sun, it is of the Dying Earth subgenre. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1988. [2]

Contents

Urth of the New Sun picks up the tale of Severian, the protagonist of Book of the New Sun, years after that work's end. He leaves his role as Autarch of Urth to seek a new sun for Urth.

Plot summary

Unlike The Book of the New Sun , The Urth of the New Sun mostly takes place outside Urth. The book is a continuation of Severian's 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. When the book begins, Severian has already rewritten his accounts of before and is beginning his new log aboard the spaceship that will take him to Yesod, an enigmatic planet, home to the godlike beings who have the power to revitalize Urth and its sun.

Aboard the ship, Severian meets Zak, a mysterious being, who begins small and soon develops human form and turns out to be the all-powerful Tzadkiel of Yesod. Once in Yesod, Severian faces an immense task of facing all the deceased people he has encountered since his childhood, including Thecla and Master Malrubius. When he faces the tribunal to be judged by Tzadkiel, he is told that the trial was already successfully passed. Severian is made the New Sun.

After his return to Urth from Yesod, he finds the sun still dying, and that the New Sun is still very far, far away, but nevertheless moving relentlessly. He learns that many years have passed backwards. He also learns that he possesses healing power that he once attributed the Claw of the Conciliator and is taken as a prisoner into the Citadel, where he tells a story to his followers to comfort them. A prisoner in the next cell writes it down as The Book of the New Sun, the holy text of the Church of the Conciliator. He encounters the first Autarch Ymar and an earlier version of Typhon, who attempts to kill him. He manages to escape via the Corridors of Time. There, with the aid of a version of Tzadkiel, he travels back to the future. In his palace he finds his wife Valeria sitting on the throne attended by his old rival Baldanders (who has grown enough to match the size of an undine). Shortly after Severian reveals himself, an apocalyptic flood washes away the citadel and much of the land of Urth, thus bringing destruction and rebirth.

Severian travels as far into past as he can and a primitive tribe accepts him as their divine king Apu-Punchau. After teaching and helping them for decades, he finally decides to leave, but is then killed by the tribe in their panic. He wakes inside a tomb and is once again accompanied by the Hierodules Ossipago, Barbatus and Famulimus, as well as the dead body of Apu-Punchau. It is revealed that Severian is an eidolon, a ghost-like being become material, and that he actually died on Tzadkiel's ship.

Once more, Severian flees through the Corridors of Time. Urth, now called Ushas, has recovered from the flood. A priest recognizes Severian as the Sleeper, one of their gods, and then leads him to where the other gods sleep as the novel ends.

Reception

Dave Langford reviewed The Urth of the New Sun for White Dwarf #95, and stated that "Light is cast on minor points like the origin of the Claw, or Severian's link with the bygone demigod Apu-Punchau, but the old enigmas remain. Fascinating and infuriating." [3]

Kirkus Reviews considered it to be "brilliantly inventive, dense, demanding" and "intellectually stunning", but nonetheless faulted the narrative for having "frequently impenetrable metaphysical musings", and described Severian as "remote" and "unengaging". [4] The SF Site praised Wolfe's imagery, but noted that Severian's departure from linear time can be difficult to follow. [5]

The Urth of the New Sun was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Locus Award for Best Novel, and the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1988. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Job: A Comedy of Justice</i> 1984 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Job: A Comedy of Justice is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein published in 1984. The title is a reference to the biblical Book of Job and James Branch Cabell's book Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice. It won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1985 and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1984, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Wolfe</span> American SF and fantasy writer (1931–2019)

Gene Rodman Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and novelist, and won many literary awards. Wolfe has been called "the Melville of science fiction", and was honored as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Walton</span> Canadian writer and poet (born 1964)

Jo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel Among Others, which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and Tooth and Claw, a Victorian-era novel with dragons which won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. Other works by Walton include the Small Change series, in which she blends alternate history with the cozy mystery genre, comprising Farthing, Ha'penny and Half a Crown. Her fantasy novel Lifelode won the 2010 Mythopoeic Award, and her alternate history My Real Children received the 2015 Tiptree Award.

<i>The Book of the New Sun</i> Novel series by Gene Wolfe

The Book of the New Sun is a four-volume science fantasy novel written by the American author Gene Wolfe. The work is in four parts with a fifth novel acting as a coda to the main story. It inaugurated the "Solar Cycle" that Wolfe continued by setting other works in the same universe.

<i>The Shadow of the Torturer</i> 1980 fantasy by Gene Wolfe

The Shadow of the Torturer is a fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, published by Simon & Schuster in May 1980. It is the first of four volumes in The Book of the New Sun which Wolfe had completed in draft before The Shadow of the Torturer was published. It relates the story of Severian, an apprentice Seeker for Truth and Penitence, from his youth through his expulsion from the guild and subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus.

<i>The Claw of the Conciliator</i> 1981 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe

The Claw of the Conciliator is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first released in 1981. It is the second volume in the four-volume series The Book of the New Sun.

<i>The Citadel of the Autarch</i> 1983 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe

The Citadel of the Autarch is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first released in 1983. It is the fourth and final volume in the four-volume series The Book of the New Sun.

<i>The Sword of the Lictor</i> 1982 science fiction novel by Gene Wolfe

The Sword of the Lictor is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe. First released in 1982, it is the third volume in the four-volume series The Book of the New Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David G. Hartwell</span> American fantasy and science fiction publisher, editor, and critic (1941–2016)

David Geddes Hartwell was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also noted as an award-winning editor of anthologies. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction describes him as "perhaps the single most influential book editor of the past forty years in the American [science fiction] publishing world".

Severian is the narrator and main character of Gene Wolfe's four-volume science fiction series The Book of the New Sun, as well as its sequel, The Urth of the New Sun. He is a Journeyman of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence who is exiled after showing mercy to one of his clients.

<i>Tea with the Black Dragon</i> 1983 fantasy novel by R. A. MacAvoy

Tea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. MacAvoy. It led to a sequel, Twisting the Rope.

Timescape Books was a science fiction line from Pocket Books operating from 1981 to 1985. Pocket Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

<i>Terry Carrs Best Science Fiction of the Year</i> 1985 anthology edited by Terry Carr

Terry Carr's Best Science Fiction of the Year is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fourteenth volume in a series of sixteen. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in July 1985, and in hardcover and trade paperback by Gollancz in October of the same year, under the alternate title Best SF of the Year #14.

<i>The Planet on the Table</i> 1986 collection of science fiction stories by Kim Stanley Robinson

The Planet on the Table is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Kim Stanley Robinson, published in hardcover by Tor Books in 1986. A British paperback edition appeared in 1987, as well as a Tor paperback reprint; a French translation was issued in 1988. The collection was republished in the 1994 Tor omnibus Remaking History and Other Stories. The collection takes its title from a poem by Wallace Stevens, which provides the book's epigraph.

<i>Free Live Free</i> 1984 novel by Gene Wolfe

Free Live Free is a novel by American writer Gene Wolfe, first published in 1984.

<i>Nebula Awards Showcase 2015</i> Anthology of science fiction short works

Nebula Awards Showcase 2015 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by American writer Greg Bear. It was first published in trade paperback by Pyr in December 2015.

<i>Nebula Awards Showcase 2001</i> 2001 anthology edited by Robert Silverberg

Nebula Awards Showcase 2001 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by Robert Silverberg. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt in April 2001.

<i>Nebula Awards 26</i> 1992 anthology edited by James Morrow

Nebula Awards 26 is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by James Morrow, the first of three successive volumes published under his editorship. It was first published in hardcover and trade paperback by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in May 1992.

<i>Nebula Award Stories Seventeen</i> 1983 anthology edited by Joe Haldeman

Nebula Award Stories Seventeen is an anthology of award winning science fiction short works edited by Joe Haldeman. It was first published in hardcover by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in August 1983; a paperback edition was issued by Ace Books in June 1985 under the variant title Nebula Award Stories 17.

<i>Nebula Awards Showcase 2005</i> Science fiction anthology

Nebula Awards Showcase 2005 is an anthology of award-winning science fiction short works edited by American writer Jack Dann. It was first published in trade paperback by Roc/New American Library in March 2005.

References

  1. ↑ isfdb
  2. 1 2 "1988 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
  3. ↑ Langford, Dave (November 1987). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf . No. 95. Games Workshop. p. 12.
  4. ↑ THE URTH OF THE NEW SUN, reviewed at Kirkus Reviews ; published November 23, 1987; retrieved March 26, 2018
  5. ↑ The Urth of the New Sun, reviewed by Stephen M. Davis, at the SF Site ; published 1998; retrieved March 26, 2018
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.