book 1 of The Book of the Long Sun

by Gene Wolfe

isbn: 0812516257
subject: SF, Fiction and Literature
finished: 12/26/1999

It begins:

Enlightenment came to Patera Silk on the ball court; nothing could ever be the same after that.

Nightside the Long Sun is a look at religion on a generation ship -- an artificial world -- created by technology that is no longer available to its inhabitants. Soon after being enlightened, Silk learns that his manteion has been sold; throughout most of the rest of the book, he is trying to steal it back.

Silk is one of the few genuinely good characters in literature who is also interesting. Even so, he shares many characteristics with the typical Wolfe protagonist: he's strong (but physically handicapped), intelligent, impulsive, and somewhat ruthless. Although it's wonderfully written, this book does not seem to have the depth of Wolfe's earlier work such as The Book of the New Sun. Still, I highly recommend it.