The Book of the New Sun is a novel (initially published in four volumes) written by fantasy and science fiction author Gene Wolfe. It chronicles the journey of Severian, a journeyman torturer who is exiled from the Guild of Torturers for committing the one unforgivable act, showing mercy to his victim, and through a series of adventures eventually rises to the highest position in the land. Severian, who has a perfect memory, tells the story in first person; the books are presented by Wolfe as a translation of Severian's writings into contemporary English. The series takes place in the distant future, where the Sun has dimmed considerably and the world is slowly cooling.

The four volumes in the series are:

• The Shadow of the Torturer (nominated for the 1980 Nebula Award)
• The Claw of the Conciliator (nominated for the 1982 Hugo Award, winner of the 1981 Nebula Award)
• The Sword of the Lictor (nominated for the 1983 Hugo Award and the 1982 Nebula Award)
• The Citadel of the Autarch (nominated for the 1983 Nebula Award)

A coda, The Urth of the New Sun (nominated for the 1988 Hugo Award and Nebula Award), which takes place several years after the events of The Book of the New Sun, was added later. Wolfe has since written two series that exist loosely within Severian's universe, The Book of the Long Sun (a four-book series set on a generation ship; two of the books were nominated for Nebula Awards) and The Book of the Short Sun (a three-book series following the inhabitants of the generation ship after their long journey has finally finished).

The Book of the New Sun has been widely analyzed for its deeper meanings; some of these analyses have been published, such as Michael Andre-Druissi's Lexicon Urthus (ISBN 0964279592). Wolfe makes extensive use of allegory within the series, as Severian is identified as a Christ/Apollo figure: he is destined to revitalize the Sun and save the Earth while at the same time destroying it. Adding further to the books' many riddles is Wolfe's usage of archaic, obscure (but never invented) words to describe the world of the far future. Wolfe explains that this is one of the difficulties in translating Severian's writing ("in a tongue that has not yet achieved existence") into English.

The New Sun series belongs to the Dying Earth subgenre (a title inspired by Jack Vance's popular Dying Earth series), a kind of science fiction set in a distant future when the Sun is dying, set against a background of mysterious and obscure powers and events.

Interpretations

Interpretations abound in a variety of other books such as Michael Andre Druissi's Lexicon Urthus, Peter Wright's Attending Daedalus, and Robert Borski's Solar Labyrinth. Among other theories:

• Severian's home city of Nessus is actually a future Buenos Aires.
• The characters Agia and Agilus are Severian's cousins.
• Father Inire and Ossipago are not only the same character, but the offspring of Severian and one of the Hierodules.
• Wolfe's earlier book, The Fifth Head of Cerberus is in fact set in the same universe, and is a prequel to the Book of the New Sun, the Book of the Long Sun, and the successor Short Sun books.
• The Book of the New Sun purports to be a translation from the self-inscribed memoirs of an unreliable, and possibly insane, ruler; this is almost certainly a deliberate echo of Robert Graves's Claudius novels.

See also

• Ascian language
• Terminus Est

References

• ISBN 0312890176 — Volume 1, Shadow & Claw
• ISBN 0312890184 — Volume 2, Sword & Citadel

Science fiction novels | John W. Campbell award winner | Nebula Award winning works