When I finished Wolfe's Exodus from the Long Sun, I expressed the opinion that he had rushed finishing off that book so that he could start on this, the first in a trilogy entitled The Book of the Short Sun as a direct (or direct-ish) sequel to the earlier series. And certainly now reading On Blue's Waters bears that out. We are re-introduced to Horn, Patera Silk's pupil, twenty years after he and his wife Nettle settled on Blue, one of the two planets that were the destination of the starship The Whorl in the preceding series. Horn is approached to undertake a journey to try to find Patera Silk and bring him to Blue, for the good of all. The novel recounts Horn's journey to the city of Pajarocu, where it is said that there is a working lander so that he may return to the Whorl and find Silk.

Along the way, he meets characters from the previous books, as well as new acquaintances. But the stories these characters tell are unreliable, as is Horn's narrative itself. For the story is recounted in flashback from a future where the narrator, who we assume is Horn, is recounting the story of Horn's journey whilst acting as ruler of the city of Gaon. And who is his intended audience? Not those whom Horn said, for one thing.

I found the setting remarkable, and different; the writing is rich, but has a deceptive simplicity. Certainly, I found this a more rewarding read than the latter parts of the Book of the Long Sun. We are introduced to one of Horn's sons, Sinew; to a siren-like woman, Seawrack; and to a shape-shifting, vampiric creature, an inhumu, who makes an uneasy alliance with Horn and in turn is treated by Horn as an adopted son, if only for their shared safety.

This series does not appear to have received UK publication, which I find to be a damning indictment of the publishing trade and of some genre readers. ( )

What can I say, Gene Wolfe is brilliant. 5 stars all the way. ( )

Retro Thursday, you cry? Well, I've studiously avoided anything to do with Blue/Green/Whorl for years, out of a deep-seated but legitimate terror that I'd discover Patera Silk had actually died, either at the end of Long Sun or in the intervening time.

He might well die in Green or Whorl (though I doubt it for Green, otherwise have a third book?) but at least so far, he appears not to have in Blue, since he's somewhat contactable; I can therefore finish the series.

Gene Wolfe's writing is, as ever, fluid and thoughtful; it reads less complex than previous narratives which makes me sad (he apparently felt the need to tone this down over time.) However it does suit Horn's style a little better, this being intended as "pure" Horn without Nettle's input, as we had in Long Sun. (One gets the impression that Nettle was extremely clever).

I am always, as ever, amazed by Wolfe's confidence. He doesn't rush, and has no trace of Authorial Anxiety (a real thing). He doesn't force action out of a fear that readers will get bored. It goes at the pace he sets, in the direction he wants, and no faster or further than that. We are so often accustomed in books to authors chivying us along - look here, follow that, note this - that I think we are increasingly unused to just being allowed to sit back and consider events. ( )

I've all of the volumes of Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun," but none of the "Book of the Long Sun," which I believe is really intended to be read before this book (and its sequels).
I did intend on sometime getting around to the Long Sun. However, this one was on a birthday wishlist, so it got bumped up! And - it is an excellent book.
The story is science-fantasy - in a far future, humanity has left the artificial world known as the Whorl, and has recolonized two planets, Green and Blue. On the earthlike Blue,
humanity faces both social disorder and the threat of the vampire-like inhumi, invading from Green. The narrator, a man named Horn, is recruited by some powerful individuals to seek out the missing religious(?) leader Silk, and return him to a place where he may galvanize society as a figurehead. A complex and adventurous journey ensues, but the really interesting aspect of the novel is its structure. It's in the form of a memoir written by Horn. He is not a professional writer, and as he sets down his story, in a rather meandering, prone-to-tangents style, we learn, simultaneously, what happened to him in the past, and what is currently happening to him. It's a book of clues and gradual
revelations... and a story of character.
Highly recommended. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2015/12/review-of-book-of-short-sun-by-gene.htm... ( )