Exodus from the Long Sun

Gene Wolfe's reputation as one of the finest storytellers and literary stylists in contemporary science fiction is re-affirmed in "Exodus From The Long Sun" the final book in the "Book of the Long Sun" saga. Readers would be well-advised to start with the first book, "Nightside the Long Sun", to catch all the nuanced character shifts and indeed, get a better feeling for Wolfe's fictional landscape, but nonetheless, I found this a compelling, rather rousing, tale to read. There are intriguing, often compelling changes which occur to several major characters, as apparent heroes become villains and vice versa. Wolfe has been a major influence on other contemporary writers of fiction, most notably those from Great Britain, since his prose style is similar to Banks and Mieville especially. For this reason alone Gene Wolfe's fiction is worthy of attention to serious fans of science fiction literature. I look forward to reading the other novels comprising the "Book of the Long Sun".

We've all read "genetic superman" type books before, from Dune to Stranger in A Strange Land to The Stars My Destination, but Gene Wolfe (arguably the finest living writer in SF & F or any genre, including mainstream Lit) really achieves it here, with a portrait of a moral as well as physical and mental "superman" in Patera Silk. More overtly religious in tone than even Wolfe's masterpiece Saviour-of-the-Earth series "The Book of The New Sun", this is the story of a young pagan priest's coming of age, following his enlightenment by the Christian God, in the fantastical enVirons of a decrepit generation ship ruled by computer program "Gods" who don't want the passengers---who're unaware there's anything artificial about their Whorl--- to disembark once it reaches its destination. Besides the fascinating cast of characters, subtle plot twists and multilayered levels of meaning we've come to expect from Wolfe, this is mainly the story of A Beautiful Man. Patera Silk is a believable, moral man, gentle and peace-loving and Christian in nature without knowing Christ, who sees the best in all people and is STILL a genetic "superman", with unusual strength, stamina, reflexes and healing abilities and a facile mind. You ponder out the logical solutions to the many mysteries that await you in this book with him, often arriving at the same logical but WRONG conclusions that the vast body of misleading information leads you to, and love every minute of it! This series is not only highly entertaining and outre, as all Wolfe's work is, but also serves as a valid political commentary of the power structure of a typical human city and a beautifully-drawn portrait of a truly Beautiful Man, of which I haven't read many! My only negative about this fine series is the abrupt, unresolved ending (apparently to be continued in the Books of The Short Sun) and the revelation of a first person narrator, who is not the main character, near the end of the last author-omniscient third person narrative. Still, flawed Wolfe (and this means flawed in comparison to his perfect Book of The New Sun series) is better than 99 percent of all other writers in any genre. As always with Mr. Wolfe, read it and be enriched.

An extraordinary conclusion to an extraordinary series. Wolfe is the SF equivalent of Miles Davis. He frustrates those readers who come to read a space-opera like all the ones they have read and read again. Expecting another great Barry Manilow composition, they find their very world of expectations turned upside-down. This is very reminiscent of Delany's Neveryon series, a series that takes the standard rules and mores of a genre (there sword and sorcery) and completely subverts it. Wolfe's narrative is a maddening flirtation; each time his plot approaches a grand confrontation, or the sort of excitement that absolutely drives narratives of this sort, he deliberately omits the events. We are left to guess and extrapolate what took place from what is happening now. Wolfe declines to spoon-fed anything to us. Left significantly to our own devices, the experienced and mature reader is forced to become involved in Wolfe's novel. What DID happen when Silk climbed up into the engines of the zeppelin? Each reader who completes the book supplies his own answers to many questions here. This novel demands involvement and imagination from the reader. Just as any novel leaves much more work to the audience than a movie, Wolfe has demanded much of us here. This is an action story, but maddenly cuts away just instants before each big blockbuster expolsion, or each incedible escape. Silk is resolutely no sort of action hero at all. He refuses to fight or lie or cheat or oppose. Like Gandi, his unwillingness to participate in conventional intrigue and conflict make him a terrible enemy. He refuses to take to the battlefield and abide by the rules. Much like Wolfe. In the end, the reader is left starving and hungry. We have certainly enjoyed the reading, we won't forget such a work, but Wolfe has refused to completely satisfy. Like an almost-forgotten song, the wisps of his artwork haunt our minds; we recall them again and again and go back, seeking a staid sort of satisfaction that would leave us bloated and lesser in the end.

I had the chance to read all four volumes back-to-back. A long-time Gene Wolfe fan, I am glad I did: because what emerged was, I think, the finest character study I have found in twenty years of reading science fiction. Starting with Silk's real revelation from a real god, and ending on an unresolved note (like much of Wolfe!), the story gradually reveals Silk's character, of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances. Much is left unsaid; by doing so, Wolfe invites the reader to participate in assessing Silk the way his contemporaries would. At the end, the reader is left admiring a thoroughly good yet humanly flawed man coping with an especially ambiguous world, a character drawn as successfully as any in non-genre literature. The book has other complications, of religion and will and governance, but at the end, it is the character study which leaves the book stuck in my memory

Ending a wonderfully magical and original story of Patera Silk and his "Whorl", Gene Wolfe in no way failed to strengthen my love for his writing with this volume. Not only is the story itself captivating but his weaving of words with beautiful skill makes it all the more enjoyable. Patera Silk continues his political and spiritual adventure, where he learns not only about the truths of his Whorl and religion but about himself. Maytera Mint also continues her fight which brings interesting events into play, unveiling yet a bit more about the Whorl and its many wonders. This by far is one of the best SF series written and this book is at the top of the series