Ed's comments (member since Sep 01, 2009)

Ed's comments from the Gene Wolfe Fans group.

Too much time spent in the damn tunnels, if you ask me. Silk's penchant for details can be a little annoying at times. I don't think it's without merit though.

Anyway, it's just there to set up the Short Sun books, and the Short Sun books make the occasional drudgery of the Long Sun completely worthwhile, IMHO. The Book of the Short Sun is absolutely brilliant and a must-read for any Wolfe fan.

I just posted a similar sentiment in another thread here, so I apologize for the duplication, but I really think the Short Sun books are Wolfe's crowning achievement. The Short Sun series stands up very well to New Sun, I think, but, as you can see from this thread, each series has its fans. When I got to the end of Short Sun though, I was awestruck at the literary achievement of the whole Solar Cycle. It's the SF-equivalent of cliimbing Mt. Everest.

Long Sun is fantastic, but it really just sets the stage for Short Sun, which is Wolfe's crowning achievement and probably the best books I've ever read. You are in for a treat. If I had a single quibble with Long Sun, it is that it drags a little in the second half, spending maybe too much time in the tunnels of the Whorl, but maybe I will feel differently about that section when I re-read it someday.