Reviews

Epiphany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe

oddsign's review

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

4.75

steadman_slick's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

tallblondehandsome's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

arthurbdd's review

4.0

Perhaps the weaker half of the saga, but even mid-level Wolfe is still damn good compared to any other SF author of his generation. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2023/08/10/gene-wolfes-solar-cycle-part-2-a-long-drawn-out-sunset/ 

funfamilyvideos's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

scarylions's review

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

spikespiegel's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jimhart3000's review

challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

iliapop's review

5.0

It's astonishing just how many storytelling risks Wolfe takes with the final volume of the Long Sun series. There's a sense of gleeful perversity to some of the tricks he pulls – like the slowly dawning realisation that is built up in the 'I'm Auk' chapter, or when Silk insists that the reason for his suicidal thoughts is obvious when it's clearly not. The final revelation

Spoiler

about the authorial voice

is unique and brings the themes of the series closer to the preceding Book of the New Sun's games with unreliability. This is an author at the height of his powers constantly on the lookout for ways to outfox his readers. Some might find Wolfe's playfulness exasperating rather than charming, but I think the power and skill of Wolfe's writing make the series a success.

phoenicality's review

3.0

This tetralogy didn't grab me nearly as much as Book of the New Sun did. I noticed partway through that nothing in the book actually happened during the narrative - it was composed entirely of people sitting around after the fact and discussing it. But not in a narratively interestingly way; just a whole lot of scenes of people sitting in parlors and on benches, talking about the exciting things that had just happened. Also, fewer of the mysteries were left to mystery, and more of them were hamfistedly explained later on; the book cemented the idea that Wolfe only succeeds as a writer where he leaves his books shrouded in vagueness, but he doesn't do that by actually writing a vague work, just writing his normal overbearing insulting explanations and then excising them later. Same goes for Urth of the New Sun. If Wolfe isn't in his needlessly-obfuscatory-for-its-own-sake mode, he ultimately lacks subtlety and finesse in his prose. It would be nice to see a balance struck, instead of relying on a gimmick author to deliver a puzzle book (however intriguing the puzzle is).