Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Michael Andre-Driussi (Author), Gene Wolfe (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0964279509 | ISBN-13: 978-0964279506

Lexicon Urthus is an alphabetical dictionary for the complete Urth Cycle by Gene Wolfe: The Shadow of the Torturer; The Claw of the Conciliator; The Sword of the Lictor; The Citadel of the Autarch; the sequel Urth of the New Sun; the novella Empires of Foliage and Flower; the short stories "The Cat," "The Map," and "The Old Woman Whose Rolling Pin Is the Sun"; and Gene Wolfe's own commentaries in The Castle of the Otter. The first edition was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. This second edition includes over 1,200 entries. When the first edition was published, Science Fiction Age said: "Lexicon Urthus makes a perfect gift for any fan of [Wolfe's] work, and from the way his words sell, it appears that there are many deserving readers out there waiting." Gary K. Wolfe, in Locus, said: "A convenient and well researched glossary of names and terms. . . . It provides enough of a gloss on the novels that it almost evokes Wolfe's distant future all by itself. . . . It can provide both a useful reference and a good deal of fun." Donald Keller said, in the New York Review of Science Fiction: "A fruitful product of obsession, this is a thorough . . . dictionary of the Urth Cycle. . . . Andre-Driussi's research has been exhaustive, and he has discovered many fascinating things . . . [it is] head-spinning to confront a myriad of small and large details, some merely interesting, others jawdropping."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Sirius Fiction (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964279509
• ISBN-13: 978-0964279506
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #328,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A labor of love; a gift to Wolfe's readers, August 16, 2008

By 

M. Groves - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition (Hardcover)

Gene Wolfe elevates the sensations of wonder, mystery, and discovery that we associate with science fiction into the realms of aesthetic and religious awe. He reaches back in time to take hold of the the thread of myth, traces this thread through the weave of history and literature, draws it forward into the unimaginable future, and then he ties the two ends together in an infinite loop.

I am profoundly grateful for Lexicon Urthus, a book that is clearly a product of extraordinary time and effort on the part of its author. Lexicon Urthus is a key to the labyrinth that is The Book of the New Sun. It is full of maps, diagrams, and timelines, as well as definitions of the words you won't find in your dictionary, and information about the linguistic, mythical, historical, and/or literary origins and meanings of the names of people and places in the book.

The trouble with much that has been written about Wolfe's works, especially about the New Sun novels, is that it is full of speculation, specious reasoning, and overinterpretation. In contrast, all of the information in Lexicon Urthus is based upon Wolfe's text and upon extrapolation and research; nothing is made up. Lexicon Urthus is an invaluable resource for delving deeper into Wolfe's masterpiece.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for Wolfe fans, October 8, 2008

By 

G. San Martin (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition (Hardcover)

As a proud owner of the first edition of this work (now out of print), I want to make clear that this is a much-expanded second edition (440 pages vs. the original 304) and all the richer for it.

Having read Wolfe's Urth Cycle (as Driussi himself names it) several times, I read this book much like an encyclopedia, with one reference pinging me off to the next and so on. With a full list of characters (named and unnamed), etymological explanations for many terms in the text, as well as longer articles detailing some of the intricacies and going some way to provide answers to the puzzles hidden in the books, it is an invaluable work of reference for the Wolfe enthusiast.

It will also prove of great use to newcomers to Wolfe's books, as the unfamiliar words can be off-putting to some. Rest assured none are truly made up and have their roots in Latin, Greek and many other sources.

My only (very, very minor) quibble with it is the discovery of the odd typo (Chateline, for Chatelaine, for instance), but even the man himself (Wolfe) has been known to make the occasional mistake. On the other hand, as this is a Print On Demand title, perhaps the author will make these minor corrections, rendering my copy even more valuable!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important key to following "Book of the New Sun", September 8, 2008

By 

Steven C. Simmons (Dexter, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition (Hardcover)

The first edition of this book sold out before I could get a copy (before I even heard of its existence), but I was lucky enough to borrow a copy from a friend to accompany my first re-read of "New Sun." It added hugely to my enjoyment and my understanding, and it was with great reluctance I returned it to the owner. I am immensely pleased to see this new edition, and look forward to another pass through "New Sun" with its accompaniment.