From Publishers Weekly
Few of the mysteries presented in the first two volumes of the Book of the Short Sun trilogy (On Blue's Waters; In Green's Jungles) are actually explained in this latest novel by one of SF's acknowledged masters, but Wolfe continues to provide literary entertainment of a high order. Horn, the supposed author of Wolfe's previous tetralogy, the Book of the Long Sun, continues his search for the now legendary Cald‚ Silk, the godlike former ruler of the city of Viron. Traveling back and forth between the aging generation starship known as the Whorl, the planets Green and Blue, and, strangely enough, the decadent and dying universe of Wolfe's much earlier Book of the New Sun sequence, Horn encounters a series of bizarre characters, some familiar from earlier books and others, like the blind giant known as Pig, new to this volume. Most of the novel consists of conversations between the various characters as they make their way from place to place on one world or another, attempting to answer some of the complex questions that the author has established over the course of 10 earlier volumes. Not the least of these mysteries is why Horn has begun to look like Silk, so much so that he is consistently mistaken for the legendary hero by people who know both men. For all its many beauties, Wolfe's latest novel is likely to remain opaque to any reader unfamiliar with at least the previous two volumes in the series. Still, longtime fans of Wolfe's complex plotting and ornate literary style will find much to cheer. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Horn's long journey in search of the missing hero Patera Silk carries him full circle from his home on the planet Blue to its sister world, Green, and even to the starship known as the Whorl. Shifting identities, elusive truths, and enigmatic encounters mark the conclusion to Wolfe's latest epic series (On Blue's Waters, In Green's Jungles) set in the same far future universe as his "Book of the New Sun" and "Book of the Long Sun" series. The author's attention to style as well as substance mark him as one of the genre's most brilliant contributors. Though dependent on previous series titles, this volume is recommended for most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Wolfe concludes his alternately dreamy and chilling Book of the Short Sun trilogy by following the narrator, Horn, through a winding search for the venerated Patera Silk. The talking bird Oreb has firmly attached himself to Horn and raucously identifies Horn as Silk wherever they travel. Increasingly, those they meet on the road also recognize Horn as Silk, including even Horn's twin sons, Hoof and Hide. Increasing the aura of puzzlement are multiple story lines, related from different points in time, that describe Horn's adventures without, however, ever revealing key events that would spoil the suspense. The closely hidden weakness of the vampire Inhumu is revealed, and Horn must make terrible choices between the well-loved people he left on the planet Blue and the struggling remnant population of the enormous spaceship known as the Whorl. Intriguing new characters, such as Pig, an enormous, Oedipus-like blinded mercenary, happily augment the striking mix of philosophy, humor, and horror that is uniquely Wolfe's stock-in-trade. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Astonishing literary brilliance."-Interzone

"Sentence by sentence, Wolfe is as fine a writer as science fiction has produced. He demands a lot from his readers. It is worth meeting him more than halfway."-The New York Times Book Review



Review
"Astonishing literary brilliance."-Interzone

"Sentence by sentence, Wolfe is as fine a writer as science fiction has produced. He demands a lot from his readers. It is worth meeting him more than halfway."-The New York Times Book Review



Book Description
Gene Wolfe's Return to the Whorl is the third volume, after On Blue's Waters and In Green's Jungles, of his ambitious SF trilogy The Book of the Short Sun . . . It is again narrated by Horn, who has embarked on a quest in search of the heroic leader Patera Silk. Horn has traveled from his home on the planet Blue, reached the mysterious planet Green, and visited the great starship, the Whorl and even, somehow, the distant planet Urth. But Horn's identity has become ambiguous, a complex question embedded in the story, whose telling is itself complex, shifting from place to place, present to past. Perhaps Horn and Silk are now one being. Return to the Whorl brings Wolfe's major new fiction, The Book of the Short Sun, to a strange and seductive climax.



Download Description
Gene Wolfe is back with another multiple volume novel, the Book of the Short Sun, that follows the narrator, Horn, who appeared in the earlier Book of the Long Sun, as he journeys across two planets and returns to the Whorl, the giant ship still inhabited by the civilization that brought settlers to the new worlds, Blue and Green. This three-book work is now generally considered the best thing Wolfe has written in nearly twenty years, maybe the best yet.


About the Author
Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by The Washington Post. A former engineer, he has written numerous books and won a variety of awards for his SF writing.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Gene Wolfe's Return to the Whorl is the third volume, after On Blue's Waters and In Green's Jungles, of his ambitious SF trilogy The Book of the Short Sun . . . It is again narrated by Horn, who has embarked on a quest in search of the heroic leader Patera Silk. Horn has traveled from his home on the planet Blue, reached the mysterious planet Green, and visited the great starship, the Whorl and even, somehow, the distant planet Urth. But Horn's identity has become ambiguous, a complex question embedded in the story, whose telling is itself complex, shifting from place to place, present to past. Perhaps Horn and Silk are now one being. Return to the Whorl brings Wolfe's major new fiction, The Book of the Short Sun, to a strange and seductive climax.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Few of the mysteries presented in the first two volumes of the Book of the Short Sun trilogy (On Blue's Waters; In Green's Jungles) are actually explained in this latest novel by one of SF's acknowledged masters, but Wolfe continues to provide literary entertainment of a high order. Horn, the supposed author of Wolfe's previous tetralogy, the Book of the Long Sun, continues his search for the now legendary Cald Silk, the godlike former ruler of the city of Viron. Traveling back and forth between the aging generation starship known as the Whorl, the planets Green and Blue, and, strangely enough, the decadent and dying universe of Wolfe's much earlier Book of the New Sun sequence, Horn encounters a series of bizarre characters, some familiar from earlier books and others, like the blind giant known as Pig, new to this volume. Most of the novel consists of conversations between the various characters as they make their way from place to place on one world or another, attempting to answer some of the complex questions that the author has established over the course of 10 earlier volumes. Not the least of these mysteries is why Horn has begun to look like Silk, so much so that he is consistently mistaken for the legendary hero by people who know both men. For all its many beauties, Wolfe's latest novel is likely to remain opaque to any reader unfamiliar with at least the previous two volumes in the series. Still, longtime fans of Wolfe's complex plotting and ornate literary style will find much to cheer. (Feb. 6) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Horn's long journey in search of the missing hero Patera Silk carries him full circle from his home on the planet Blue to its sister world, Green, and even to the starship known as the Whorl. Shifting identities, elusive truths, and enigmatic encounters mark the conclusion to Wolfe's latest epic series (On Blue's Waters, In Green's Jungles) set in the same far future universe as his "Book of the New Sun" and "Book of the Long Sun" series. The author's attention to style as well as substance mark him as one of the genre's most brilliant contributors. Though dependent on previous series titles, this volume is recommended for most sf collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

This, the third and final part of Wolfe's Short Sun trilogy (In Green's Jungles, p. 842), itself a sequel to a tetralogy, the Book of the Long Sun, concludes the saga of Patera Silk, the one-time ruler of an immense starship, the Whorl, the story's narrator, Horn, various other characters—some of whom may have become a composite—and the planets that Whorl's colonists have populated. So much is clear. For the remainder, Wolfe includes his usual teasing list of"proper names in the text," which helps less than not at all. Also, this time, Wolfe provides a typically elusive recap and update guaranteed to disconcert readers not already perplexed—Wolfe's demands upon his readers grow more onerous with every volume. If by this point you have even a tenuous idea of what the series is all about, you'll certainly enjoy the finale. For the rest of us mere mortals, Wolfe's grace and power evoke gleams of admiration even as we float away on a tide of indifference.