The Book of the Long Sun

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"The Litany of the Long Sun", first book of The Book of the Long Sun, 2000 omnibus printing.

The Book of the Long Sun is a tetralogy by Gene Wolfe, comprising Nightside the Long Sun, Lake of the Long Sun, Calde of the Long Sun, and Exodus from the Long Sun. The first two volumes are published together as Litany of the Long Sun and the last two as Epiphany of the Long Sun. The working title for the series was Starcrosser's Landfall, and dust jacket mockups of the first volume were printed with that title.

The saga begins with the attempt of Silk, a young priest, to save his manteion (the equivalent of a neighborhood church and school) from being destroyed by a ruthless crime lord. Silk soon, however, becomes a revolutionary leader and prophet as he learns more about his world (called the Whorl): its origins and fate, and the nature of the pantheon of gods he worships. Silk soon learns to distrust those gods and grows to revere the supposedly minor god known as The Outsider, who has provided him with enlightenment.

The Long Sun series has a sequel series, The Book of the Short Sun. While not precisely a sequel, the tetralogy is related to Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. This relationship becomes clearer in The Book of the Short Sun.

1 Main Characters
2 Minor Characters
3 References

[edit] Main Characters

Note: Characters in The Book of the Long Sun adhere to rigid naming conventions. Male biochemical characters are named after an animal or animal product; 'Blood,' 'Musk,' 'Quetzal,' etc. Female biochemical characters are named after a plant or plant product; 'Chenille,' 'Orchid,' 'Hyacinth,' etc. Chemical characters, such as soldiers and the large tank-like taluses, are named for inanimate minerals and rocks; 'Marble,' 'Sand,' 'Schist,' etc.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Patera Silk

Patera Silk begins the tetralogy as the twenty three year old Augur of the Sun Street Manteion, arguably the poorest manteion in Viron. He believes himself to be "enlightened" by a minor deity known as the Outsider, who implores Silk to save his manteion, which has been sold to the crime lord Blood for tax reasons. His quest to save the manteion starts him on a journey into Viron's underworld. In the first book in the tetralogy, Nightside of the Long Sun, Silk begins to question his own moral fiber as he engages in various "immoral" acts for the sake of this quest.

His theophanies continue, and Patera Silk eventually develops a large following because of his continued contact with the gods of Viron. He becomes a popular hero, and with the help of a spy named Doctor Crane, he is elevated to the political position of Caldé, the high administrator of Viron. It is later discovered that Patera Silk is the rightful heir to this position, having been born from an embryo purchased by the previous Caldé, Tullah, before he was assassinated by the oligarchical councilors of the Ayuntamiento, another governing body of Viron.

Silk eventually marries the ex-prostitute Hyacinth and journeys with Auk to the city Mainframe, where the whorl's main computer is housed. During this trip he goes through a brief suicidal crisis, and comes to final conclusions about the moral doubts that he possessed during the earlier parts of the series.

When the Book of the Long Sun concludes, Patera Silk's fate is unknown.

Silk is an allegorical character, as is typical for Wolfe's work. He is often associated with Moses.

[edit] Maytera Marble

Maytera Marble is a chemical citizen of Viron, or a "chem." This means that she is a robot who possesses a self-aware, sentient mind. Maytera Marble was initially designed to be a maid, but as her life progressed she found a more religious calling and became one of the Sibyls at Patera Silk's Sun Street Manteion. Being over three hundred years old, certain body parts of hers have been replaced and others have worn away. At the beginning of the tetralogy, her functions have so decayed that she can no longer remember her precise age. Marble is Silk's main confidante at the manteion, Maytera Rose being too harsh for him and Maytera Mint initially too shy.

Later in the series she reclaims several prosthetic parts from the dead Sibyl Maytera Rose, which causes her to obtain some of Rose's memories, resulting in an identity crisis of sorts.

Maytera Marble eventually claims that her real name is Molybdenum, with the short nickname Moly, so that she can marry the soldier Hammerstone and begin constructing a daughter. Evidently she was originally a maid at the manteion and the death of a sibyl necessitated that she take vows. Patera Quetzal releases her from her service so that she can be wed to Corporal Hammerstone. However, as predicted by Silk, she later reveals that her name is in fact Maggie, or Magnesia, and she lied about being Moly so that Hammerstone would marry her.

[edit] Maytera Mint

Maytera Mint is one of the sibyls of the Sun Street manteion. Initially rather shy, her concern starts the relationship between Patera Silk and the sneak-thief Auk. She is eventually inhabited by a piece of the deity Kypris, goddess of love. Kypris does not completely possess Maytera Mint, and the incomplete personality transfer gives Maytera Mint a newfound assertiveness.

At the funeral sacrifice for Maytera Rose, Maytera Mint presides over the sacrifices because Patera Silk has not yet returned from being captured by the Ayuntamiento. There is a theophany, during which the queen goddess Echidna appears and proclaims Mint to be her "sword" in the revolution against the Ayuntamiento. Leading a band of dissatisfied citizens, she becomes General Mint in Silk's army, facing off against the City Guard and eventually Viron's force of chem "soldiers."

[edit] Minor Characters

Auk: A criminal, Auk is later the prophet of the god Tartaros after receiving a head wound.

Blood: The crime lord who purchases Silk's manteion. Blood is later killed by Silk during the uprising that makes Silk into the Caldé.

Musk: Musk is Blood's lover and an amateur falconer. He is killed during Maytera Rose's funeral sacrifice, when he attacks Patera Silk.

Doctor Crane: Doctor Crane is a spy from the city of Trivigaunte. He masquerades as Blood's personal physician. He is killed during a mistaken 'rescue attempt.'

Corporal Hammerstone: Hammerstone is a low-level Soldier in Viron's chem Army. He tells tales of his lost love Moly, or Molybdenum. Maytera Marble later impersonates Moly to marry Hammerstone. He is reprogrammed by Patera Incus to turn against the Ayuntamiento.