false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173436858m/288132.jpg 288132 2 Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun tetralogy ranks as one of the greatest literary achievements of 20th-century science fiction. <I>Litany of the Long Sun</I>, comprising the first two books in the series, is suffused with looming transcendence and theophany. Wolfe takes familiar speculative fiction tropes and embeds them in a tale so complex and wonderful that readers may find themselves wondering whether what they're reading is science fiction, fantasy, or something different altogether. Or whether it matters.<p> The story of Patera Silk, a devout priest whose destiny is wrapped up with the gods he serves, takes place within the Whorl, a vast, cylindrical starship that has traveled for generations and is crumbling into disrepair. Through a strange and amazing series of events, Silk finds himself descending to base thievery, running afoul of a notorious crime lord, befriending a cyborg soldier, and encountering at least one of the gods of Mainframe.<p> <blockquote>She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "All that abstinence! And now you've seen a goddess. Me. Was it worth it?"<p> "Yes, Loving Kypris."<p> She laughed again, delighted. "Why?"<p> The question hung in the silence of the baking sellaria while Silk tried to kick his intellect awake. At last he said haltingly, "We are so much like beasts, Kypris. We eat and we breed; then we spawn and die. The most humble share in a higher existence is worth any sacrifice."</blockquote><p> But when Silk encounters the Outsider, who may be a God of a very different sort, all his beliefs are shaken to the core, and his life swiftly takes a messianic turn. In a rousing climax, Silk becomes the reluctant leader of a political rebellion against the corrupt Ayuntamiento, who rule the city-state of Viron. <p> It is not necessary to have read Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series, which takes place many centuries earlier, to enjoy the Long Sun novels, but keen-eyed readers will find many clues as to the origin of the Whorl and its gods in those stories. Further, although Wolfe's reputation for literary precision and trickery is well deserved, the Long Sun series (which continues in <I>Epiphany of the Long Sun</I>) is one of the more accessible places to start appreciating the author's treasures. <I>--Therese Littleton</I> 616721 book 1994 Litany of the Long Sun (Book of the Long Sun, Books 1 and 2) total:314|5:134|4:122|3:52|2:3|1:3| 314 1323 446 22 5 1 false false Sun Feb 10 09:43:57 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 12:35:00 -0800 2008
Read on their own, they're a pulpy and fun fantasy universe. In fact, they're one of the most accessible Gene Wolfe stories out there. Above all else, it's actually funny. I never thought of Wolfe as capable of humor, but it's all over the place here. ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Aug 09 19:24:27 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 19:24:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 08:46:47 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 10:12:44 -0800 2008 1 Litany of the Long Sun is an excellent piece of fiction. It combines genres in a way that could be confusing, but Wolfe pulls it off with considerable grace.

Like the "New Sun" trilogy, the setting here is a combination of high- and low-tech. The characters live in a world whe...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:08:33 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 01:12:12 -0700 2009
A reviewer on Amazon c...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 24 22:52:04 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 02 18:02:15 -0700 2007 I really enjoy reading Wolfe because I get so involved in his worlds and I start using his made-up words in my head. Yeah. ]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 14:19:59 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 14:26:32 -0700 2008
The book, or rather books, weren't bad, per se. But "litany" is really a good term, because fa...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Wed Aug 29 08:50:57 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 29 09:00:20 -0700 2007
The New Sun books have one of the coolest settings I've...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 12:57:08 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 15:20:34 -0700 2009
Populated with strangeness at every turn that has shimmers of the familiar. The story expands into an ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Apr 25 13:59:45 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 14:02:47 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Thu Aug 06 06:00:56 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 06:26:03 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Mar 05 05:56:07 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 06:08:33 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Dec 08 16:19:11 -0800 2008 Wed Oct 22 16:00:12 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 08 16:19:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 17 11:12:12 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 11:13:31 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Sun Jan 25 21:21:32 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 21:21:53 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 15 15:44:18 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 19:41:59 -0700 2007
I enjoyed this immensely and ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Sun Jan 27 20:12:18 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 20:22:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 09 20:28:38 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 20:41:09 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jun 09 01:37:15 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 09 01:42:04 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Sep 04 21:08:13 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 21:09:55 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Sep 03 17:10:12 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 17:10:12 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=288132