The first two books of The Book of the New Sun, 2000 omnibus printing.

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 unforgiveable 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. Download high resolution version (1106x1620, 610 KB)The cover of the 2000 printing of the first half of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, comprising the volumes The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Concilliator. ... Download high resolution version (1106x1620, 610 KB)The cover of the 2000 printing of the first half of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, comprising the volumes The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Concilliator. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Gene Wolfe (born May 7, 1931) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. ... Severian is the narrator and main character of Gene Wolfes novel, The Book of the New Sun. ... Photographic memory, eidetic memory, or total recall, is the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with great accuracy and in seemingly unlimited volume. ... ... For other uses, see Sun (disambiguation). ...

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 Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ... The Hugo Award is given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy stories of the previous year, and for related areas in fandom, art and dramatic presentation. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ... The Hugo Award is given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy stories of the previous year, and for related areas in fandom, art and dramatic presentation. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ... The Hugo Award is given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy stories of the previous year, and for related areas in fandom, art and dramatic presentation. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ... A generation ship is a hypothetical type of starship that would travel much slower than light across great distances between stars (see interstellar travel). ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years. ...

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. David McCarthy of Lower Columbia College says that An allegory (from Greek αλλος, allos, other, and αγορευειν, agoreuein, to speak in public) is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the cularly important case is the Song of Songs, which was accepted as canonical only...

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. The Dying Earth subgenre is a sub-category of science fantasy which takes place at the end of Time, when the Sun slowly fades and the laws of the Universe themselves fail, with the science becoming indistinguishable from magic. ... John Holbrook Vance (b. ... Dying Earth is a series of fantasy books by Jack Vance. ...

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: This article deals with the mythological character Daedalus. ...

• 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 Fifth Head of Cerberus is the title of both a novella and a collection of novellas, both written by American science-fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe, published in 1972. ...

See also

• Ascian language

The Ascian Language is a fictional language invented by Gene Wolfe for his Fantasy series “The Book of the New Sun”. The language is spoken by the inhabitants of the “northern continents” of the future earth, the Ascians, who are enslaved by their masters (the Group of Seventeen) in a...

References

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The Book of the New Sun

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