Call number
Genres
Publication
Tor Books (2000), Paperback
Pages
381
Description
"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."
Awards
SF Site Editor's Choice (1999)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
381 p.; 8.3 inches
ISBN
0312866143 / 9780312866143
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Sunyidean
Retro Thursday, you cry? Well, I've studiously avoided anything to do with Blue/Green/Whorl for years, out of a deep-seated but legitimate terror that I'd discover Patera Silk had actually died, either at the end of Long Sun or in the intervening time.
He might well die in Green or Whorl (though I
Gene Wolfe's writing is, as ever, fluid and thoughtful; it reads less complex than previous narratives which makes me sad (he apparently felt the need to tone this down over time.) However it does suit Horn's style a little better, this being intended as "pure" Horn without Nettle's input, as we had in Long Sun. (One gets the impression that Nettle was extremely clever).
I am always, as ever, amazed by Wolfe's confidence. He doesn't rush, and has no trace of Authorial Anxiety (a real thing). He doesn't force action out of a fear that readers will get bored. It goes at the pace he sets, in the direction he wants, and no faster or further than that. We are so often accustomed in books to authors chivying us along - look here, follow that, note this - that I think we are increasingly unused to just being allowed to sit back and consider events.
He might well die in Green or Whorl (though I
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doubt it for Green, otherwise have a third book?) but at least so far, he appears not to have in Blue, since he's somewhat contactable; I can therefore finish the series. Gene Wolfe's writing is, as ever, fluid and thoughtful; it reads less complex than previous narratives which makes me sad (he apparently felt the need to tone this down over time.) However it does suit Horn's style a little better, this being intended as "pure" Horn without Nettle's input, as we had in Long Sun. (One gets the impression that Nettle was extremely clever).
I am always, as ever, amazed by Wolfe's confidence. He doesn't rush, and has no trace of Authorial Anxiety (a real thing). He doesn't force action out of a fear that readers will get bored. It goes at the pace he sets, in the direction he wants, and no faster or further than that. We are so often accustomed in books to authors chivying us along - look here, follow that, note this - that I think we are increasingly unused to just being allowed to sit back and consider events.
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LibraryThing member iayork
Challenging--but as brilliant as it gets: (...)
The Book of the Short Sun will be one of the finest reading experiences of your life... if you can get through the thing. The difficulty in extracting those rewards out of the text is considerable and not to be lightly discounted. Reading these books
WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
There is no shame in not reading these books. They are terribly difficult and an exercise in stamina though we feel most people should at least try once. If you have attempted Shakespeare and been turned back because of the language; if you have attempted Moby Dick or novels by Henry James only to be turned away by the lack of progression in the plot; if you have attempted James Joyce's Ulysses but been baffled by the interior monologue, then Short Sun is probably going to daunt you as well. But we feel the rewards of this book are equal to those giants in literature.
(...)
The Book of the Short Sun will be one of the finest reading experiences of your life... if you can get through the thing. The difficulty in extracting those rewards out of the text is considerable and not to be lightly discounted. Reading these books
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will require supreme effort. Willing readers will have to be intensely interested with how individuals relate to historical and semi-mythical figures, religion, and their own personality as influenced by these themes. These books are about as far as you can get from the popular concept of "space opera" and thrilling, "page-turning" fiction. An analogy to Moby Dick is probably very appropriate as that work due to the very slow pacing, the introspection, and the great literary symbols stomping through the setting reified and alive. Any scholar of literature should be deeply fascinated by these books. WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:
There is no shame in not reading these books. They are terribly difficult and an exercise in stamina though we feel most people should at least try once. If you have attempted Shakespeare and been turned back because of the language; if you have attempted Moby Dick or novels by Henry James only to be turned away by the lack of progression in the plot; if you have attempted James Joyce's Ulysses but been baffled by the interior monologue, then Short Sun is probably going to daunt you as well. But we feel the rewards of this book are equal to those giants in literature.
(...)
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
I've all of the volumes of Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun," but none of the "Book of the Long Sun," which I believe is really intended to be read before this book (and its sequels).
I did intend on sometime getting around to the Long Sun. However, this one was on a birthday wishlist, so it got bumped
The story is science-fantasy - in a far future, humanity has left the artificial world known as the Whorl, and has recolonized two planets, Green and Blue. On the earthlike Blue,
humanity faces both social disorder and the threat of the vampire-like inhumi, invading from Green. The narrator, a man named Horn, is recruited by some powerful individuals to seek out the missing religious(?) leader Silk, and return him to a place where he may galvanize society as a figurehead. A complex and adventurous journey ensues, but the really interesting aspect of the novel is its structure. It's in the form of a memoir written by Horn. He is not a professional writer, and as he sets down his story, in a rather meandering, prone-to-tangents style, we learn, simultaneously, what happened to him in the past, and what is currently happening to him. It's a book of clues and gradual
revelations... and a story of character.
Highly recommended.
I did intend on sometime getting around to the Long Sun. However, this one was on a birthday wishlist, so it got bumped
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up! And - it is an excellent book.The story is science-fantasy - in a far future, humanity has left the artificial world known as the Whorl, and has recolonized two planets, Green and Blue. On the earthlike Blue,
humanity faces both social disorder and the threat of the vampire-like inhumi, invading from Green. The narrator, a man named Horn, is recruited by some powerful individuals to seek out the missing religious(?) leader Silk, and return him to a place where he may galvanize society as a figurehead. A complex and adventurous journey ensues, but the really interesting aspect of the novel is its structure. It's in the form of a memoir written by Horn. He is not a professional writer, and as he sets down his story, in a rather meandering, prone-to-tangents style, we learn, simultaneously, what happened to him in the past, and what is currently happening to him. It's a book of clues and gradual
revelations... and a story of character.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member RobertDay
When I finished Wolfe's Exodus from the Long Sun, I expressed the opinion that he had rushed finishing off that book so that he could start on this, the first in a trilogy entitled The Book of the Short Sun as a direct (or direct-ish) sequel to the earlier series. And certainly now reading On
Along the way, he meets characters from the previous books, as well as new acquaintances. But the stories these characters tell are unreliable, as is Horn's narrative itself. For the story is recounted in flashback from a future where the narrator, who we assume is Horn, is recounting the story of Horn's journey whilst acting as ruler of the city of Gaon. And who is his intended audience? Not those whom Horn said, for one thing.
I found the setting remarkable, and different; the writing is rich, but has a deceptive simplicity. Certainly, I found this a more rewarding read than the latter parts of the Book of the Long Sun. We are introduced to one of Horn's sons, Sinew; to a siren-like woman, Seawrack; and to a shape-shifting, vampiric creature, an inhumu, who makes an uneasy alliance with Horn and in turn is treated by Horn as an adopted son, if only for their shared safety.
This series does not appear to have received UK publication, which I find to be a damning indictment of the publishing trade and of genre readers.
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Blue's Waters bears that out. We are re-introduced to Horn, Patera Silk's pupil, twenty years after he and his wife Nettle settled on Blue, one of the two planets that were the destination of the starship The Whorl in the preceding series. Horn is approached to undertake a journey to try to find Patera Silk and bring him to Blue, for the good of all. The novel recounts Horn's journey to the city of Pajarocu, where it is said that there is a working lander so that he may return to the Whorl and find Silk.Along the way, he meets characters from the previous books, as well as new acquaintances. But the stories these characters tell are unreliable, as is Horn's narrative itself. For the story is recounted in flashback from a future where the narrator, who we assume is Horn, is recounting the story of Horn's journey whilst acting as ruler of the city of Gaon. And who is his intended audience? Not those whom Horn said, for one thing.
I found the setting remarkable, and different; the writing is rich, but has a deceptive simplicity. Certainly, I found this a more rewarding read than the latter parts of the Book of the Long Sun. We are introduced to one of Horn's sons, Sinew; to a siren-like woman, Seawrack; and to a shape-shifting, vampiric creature, an inhumu, who makes an uneasy alliance with Horn and in turn is treated by Horn as an adopted son, if only for their shared safety.
This series does not appear to have received UK publication, which I find to be a damning indictment of the publishing trade and of genre readers.
Show Less