''The Urth of the New Sun'' is a 1987

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

novel by

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

that serves as a coda to his four-volume '' Book of the New Sun'' series. Like ''Book of the New Sun'', it is of the

Dying Earth ''Dying Earth'' is a fantasy series by the American author Jack Vance, comprising four books originally published from 1950 to 1984. Some have been called picaresque. They vary from short story collections to a fix-up (novel created from older ...

subgenre. It was nominated for the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

for Best Novel,

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

for Best Science Fiction Novel and the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

for Best Novel in 1988. ''Urth of the New Sun'' picks up the tale of

Severian Severian is the narrator and main character of Gene Wolfe's four-volume science fiction series ''The Book of the New Sun'', as well as its sequel, ''The Urth of the New Sun''. He is a Journeyman of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence (a Guild of ...

, the protagonist of ''Book of the New Sun'', years after that work's end. He leaves his role as Autarch of Urth to seek a new sun for Urth.

Plot summary

Unlike ''

The Book of the New Sun ''The Book of the New Sun'' (1980–1983) is a four volume, science fantasy novel written by the American author Gene Wolfe. It inaugurated the "Solar Cycle" that Wolfe continued by setting other works in the same universe (''The Urth of the Ne ...

'', ''The Urth of the New Sun'' mostly takes place outside Urth. The book is yet again a continuation of Severian's narration of the aftermath of his ascent to the throne and subsequent journey "between the suns" to be judged and win back the fountain of life that will rejuvenate the slowly dying sun and revive life on Urth. When the book begins, Severian has already rewritten his accounts of before and is beginning his new log aboard the spaceship that will take him to Yesod, an enigmatic planet, home to the godlike beings who have the power to grant Urth and its sun a new lease on life. Aboard the ship, Severian meets Zak, a mysterious being, who begins small and soon develops human form and turns out to be the all-powerful Tzadkiel of

Yesod Yesod (Hebrew: יְסוֹד ''Yəsōḏ'', Tiberian: ''Yăsōḏ'', "foundation") is a sephirah or node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, a system of Jewish philosophy. Yesod, located near the base of the Tree, is the sephirah below Hod and ...

. Once in Yesod, Severian faces an immense task of facing all the deceased people he has encountered since his childhood, including Thecla and Master Malrubius. When he faces the tribunal to be judged by Tzadkiel, he is told that the trial was already successfully passed. Severian is made the New Sun. After his return to Urth from Yesod, he finds the sun still dying, and that the New Sun is still very far, far away, but nevertheless moving relentlessly. He learns that many years have passed backwards. He also learns that he possesses healing power that he once attributed the Claw of the Conciliator and is taken as a prisoner into the Citadel, where he tells a story to his followers to comfort them. A prisoner in the next cell writes it down as ''The Book of the New Sun'', the holy text of the Church of the Conciliator. He encounters the first Autarch Ymar and an earlier version of Typhon, who attempts to kill him. He manages to escape via the Corridors of Time. There, with the aid of a version of Tzadkiel, he travels back to the future. In his palace he finds his wife Valeria sitting on the throne attended by his old rival Baldanders (who has grown enough to match the size of an undine). Shortly after Severian reveals himself, an apocalyptic flood washes away the citadel and much of the land of Urth, thus bringing destruction and rebirth. Severian travels as far into past as he can and a primitive tribe accepts him as their divine king Apu-Punchau. After teaching and helping them for decades, he finally decides to leave, but is then killed by the tribe in their panic. He wakes inside a tomb and is once again accompanied by the Hierodules Ossipago, Barbatus and Famulimus, as well as the dead body of Apu-Punchau. It is revealed that Severian is an eidolon, a ghost-like being become material, and that he actually died on Tzadkiel's ship. Once more, Severian flees through the Corridors of Time. Urth, now called

Ushas Ushas (Vedic Sanskrit: / ') is a Vedic goddess of dawn in Hinduism. She repeatedly appears in the Rigvedic hymns, states David Kinsley, where she is "consistently identified with dawn, revealing herself with the daily coming of light to the wor ...

, has recovered from the flood. A priest recognizes Severian as the Sleeper, one of their gods, and then leads him to where the other gods sleep as the novel ends.

Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

reviewed ''The Urth of the New Sun'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes f ...

'' #95, and stated that "Light is cast on minor points like the origin of the Claw, or Severian's link with the bygone demigod Apu-Punchau, but the old enigmas remain. Fascinating and infuriating." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' considered it to be "brilliantly inventive, dense, demanding" and "intellectually stunning", but nonetheless faulted the narrative for having "frequently impenetrable metaphysical musings", and described Severian as "remote" and "unengaging".THE URTH OF THE NEW SUN
reviewed at ''

''; published November 23, 1987; retrieved March 26, 2018 The ''

SF Site SF may refer to: Locations * San Francisco, California, United States * Sidi Fredj, Algeria * South Florida, an urban region in the United States * Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland In arts and entertainment Genre ...

'' praised Wolfe's imagery, but noted that Severian's departure from linear time can be difficult to follow.The Urth of the New Sun
reviewed by Stephen M. Davis, at the ''

''; published 1998; retrieved March 26, 2018 ''The Urth of the New Sun'' was nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 ...

, the

Locus Award for Best Novel Winners of the Locus Award for Best Novel, awarded by ''Locus'' magazine. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Novel was presented from 1971 (when the awards began) to 1979. S ...

, and the

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

in 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urth Of The New Sun, The 1987 American novels 1987 science fiction novels 1987 fantasy novels American science fiction novels Novels by Gene Wolfe Fiction with unreliable narrators Tor Books books The Book of The New Sun