The Book of the New Sun
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfeby Gene Wolfe
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 38 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended for its inventive language, tone and prescient visions of the future; one caveat is that it can be confusing.
Recommended for its inventive language, tone and prescient visions of the future; one caveat is that it can be confusing.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong recommendations from fans
“Wolfe is one of my favourite writers, and I highly recommend New Sun.”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs” “Can't recommend Wolfe enough!”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs” Creative use of language
“Another contemporary writer who worked with new words in a very creative way”
Comment from 25 Feb 2026 in “Half million 'Words with Spaces' missing from dictionaries” “For the ultimate in non-basic vocab, try Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” Prescient, small visions of future
“I really love Wolfe for his small almost throwaway visions of the future”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Butlerian Jihad” “good sci-fi really is prescient”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Butlerian Jihad” Enjoyable tone and vibe
“It's so incredibly different in terms of tone, content, philosophy, and style.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “while I really enjoyed the vibe, I was often confused”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Often confusing to follow
“while I really enjoyed the vibe, I was often confused”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Book of the New Sunby Gene WolfeThis page | 14 | 2 | 88% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
12 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I really love Wolfe for his small almost throwaway visions of the future”
“good sci-fi really is prescient”
“while I really enjoyed the vibe, I was often confused”
“It's so incredibly different in terms of tone, content, philosophy, and style.”
“For the ultimate in non-basic vocab, try Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.”
“they remain among the top ~3 series I've ever (re-)read”
“fun and easy reads that have meat on the bone”
“Except maybe book of the new sun - kind if a bummer”
“Wolfe is one of my favourite writers, and I highly recommend New Sun.”
“Can't recommend Wolfe enough!”
“nah, that's the one to read first”
“Another contemporary writer who worked with new words in a very creative way”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.