Deeper Symbolism in Citadel of the Autarch | The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Review

[@tasosalexiadis7748]

A small correction. Yesod is not a planet, it is a higher plane of existence modeled after the Kabalistic tree of life. The Hierogrammates exist in a plane higher than Briah, which is our universe and so they are free of the big bang-bing crunch endless cycles.

[@iSamwise]

I did not catch that… but that’s really good! Thanks for the correction!

[@akiyrjana6558]

One of the great thrills in reading Wolfe is that you really have to connect the dots while ingesting the story. It makes the reader an accomplice, a creator in the world where the narrator does not know everything. (EDIT: I aspired to become a theologian in my youth, before world made me a writer, so I thoroughly enjoy the parallels you bring up.)

[@iSamwise]

Absolutely! It makes a reread so incredible!

[@Chris_Traylor]

Great stuff, I just read these books over the last year because I’m a big Sun Eater fan. It’s filled me with such awe in a way no other fictional story has. Your interpretations as a fellow Christian are very inspiring.

[@iSamwise]

@@Chris_Traylor thanks Chris! I read this book primarily on Ruocchio’s recommendation too! It’s easily my favorite work of science fiction now!

[@OrlandoOrtiz570]

Spoilers: "Inside the silken tent we knelt before a simple altar heaped with flowers. Ava prayed. I, knowing no prayers, spoke without sound to someone who seemed at times within me and at times, as the angel had said, infinitely remote." This book is offensively amazing. It's not at all fair how good Gene Wolfe is.

[@iSamwise]

Absolutely!! Purely brilliant.