GATE OF HORN, BOOK OF SILK - A Guide to Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun - Michael Andre-Driussi

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Eliana

Gate of Horn, Book of Silk is a guide to Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun. The work frames the reading through Horn and the Gate of Horn, discusses narrative reliability, and provides an organizing approach to the Long Sun half and the Short Sun half. It also includes appendices addressing languages of the Whorl, typographical and pagination issues across editions, and reconciliation concerns between related volumes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages328

Reading Time8 h 25 min

Note on Citations

“Ring Bell at Gate” by Gene Wolfe

Introduction

The Long Sun Half

Appendices

The Short Sun Half

Appendices

Bibliography

GATE OF HORN, BOOK OF SILK A Guide to Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun MICHAEL ANDRE-DRIUSSI with a few words by Gene Wolfe Sirius Fiction Albany, California [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Contents Note on Citations “Ring Bell at Gate” by Gene Wolfe Introduction The Long Sun Half Appendices 1. Languages of the Whorl 2. Typos of The Book of the Long Sun 3. Pagination of the first edition 4. Pagination of the omnibus edition The Short Sun Half Appendices 1. Pagination of The Book of the Short Sun 2. Typos of The Book of the Short Sun 3. Conflict between The Book of the Short Sun and The Book of the New Sun Bibliography [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Note on Citations I = Nightside the Long Sun (first edition, hardcover) II = Lakeside the Long Sun (first edition, hardcover) III = Caldé of the Long Sun (first edition, hardcover) IV = Exodus from the Long Sun (first edition, hardcover) V = On Blue’s Waters (first edition, hardcover) VI = In Green’s Jungles (first edition, hardcover) VII = Return to the Whorl (first edition, hardcover) “list” (in a citation) = the character list found at the beginning of each volume. “Not on lists” means a character is not found on any of the character lists. Abbreviations BLD = Bouvier ’s 1856 Law Dictionary LS Half = the Long Sun Half of this book OED = Oxford English Dictionary Prt1 = Eric Partridge’s A Dictionary of Historical Slang Prt2 = Eric Partridge’s A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English Prt8 = Eric Partridge’s A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Eighth Edition (revised) SS Half = the Short Sun Half of this book [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Ring Bell at Gate BY GENE WOLFE The Ancient Greeks have clearly been on Michael Andre-Driussi’s mind, so I thought I might begin by telling you about them. They said, and perhaps believed, that dreams emerged into our world through two gates, the Gate of Ivory and the Gate of Horn. Those that entered through the Gate of Ivory were lovely, but not true and thus not useful. Those of the Gate of Horn were less lovely but true, and thus very useful indeed. In the hands of the Greeks, objects of ivory were pretty and sometimes exquisite, but they were to be admired and not to be used or trusted. Objects of horn—generally spoons, combs, and the like—were not thought pretty and not much admired; but they were put to use every day. If you have read reviews of my books, you have been told a hundred times over that I use unreliable narrators. There is some truth in that, though not much. Oh, my readers and good friends, there is no such creature as a perfectly reliable human narrator. What Michael is telling you is less academically fashionable but much more useful. It is that Horn, who narrates Silk’s adventures and his own, is as reliable as human beings ever get. That being the case, we may enter Silk’s world through Horn’s gate, finding there various lovely things and many more, unlovely, but useful in understanding Silk’s story. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) Introduction The overture to what has been an epic of effort is just a few simple statements: I started working on this book in 1997; I quit a few years later; I picked it up again in late 2009. The first time I heard about additional fiction set in the New Sun universe was at a convention. I was talking with Gene Wolfe, and he told me he was writing a “book of the long sun,” to be followed by a “book of the short sun.” Then he laughed and said,“You should see your face right now!” That must have been at the World Fantasy Con in Tucson, 1991. He said the first series would be set on the generation starship sent out by Typhon. He said the second series would be a trilogy, which he likened to The Fifth Head of Cerberus, saying that each volume would be actually further removed from its putative subject—for example, the first one,“On Blue’s

FAQs

What symbolic idea does the guide use to frame the reading experience?

The guide uses the ancient Greek idea of two dream gates—Gate of Ivory and Gate of Horn—where Horn is linked to truth that is useful. It positions Horn as the narrator who is reliable for understanding Silk’s story.

What does the Long Sun half cover?

The Long Sun half is structured as a substantial portion of the guide, supported by appendices that address topics such as the Whorl’s languages, typos, and pagination across editions.

How are edition differences and conflicts handled in the Short Sun half?

The Short Sun half includes appendices that address pagination and typos for The Book of the Short Sun and also notes conflict between The Book of the Short Sun and The Book of the New Sun.

Jul 30, 2026

Upload by Eliana