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What's the suggested reading order for the Solar Cycle by Gene Wolfe?
Usually I read series by publication order, but I'm confused about the various collections and omnibuses. I see that Tor.com is giving away Shadow & Claw right now, which is a collection of the first two novels in the series, but Book of the New Sun is itself the name of the collection of the first four (of 12) novels in the series sometimes called by the same name, but often called the Solar Cycle.
Can someone clear it up?
(Comments indicated this question was opinion-based, but as it hasn't been closed, I'll self-answer with the results of my research (thanks to commentators for also providing some information) and invite comments or alternative answers if I'm wrong – I haven't read the books, after all.)
First of all, what I called The Book of the New Sun is a series consisting of four books, usually published in two volumes of two books each. It is itself a sub-series of the larger series/cycle called the Solar Cycle, Urth or the Briah Cycle, which is probably what my question should've asked about from the beginning.
The consensus for the best order to read these novels in seems to be in this publication order. However, according to some people you can also start with The Book of the Long Sun; the first quadrilogy The Book of the New Sun can really be read whenever you want, but The Book of the Long Sun must be read before The Book of the Short Sun.
The Urth of the New Sun is a coda/sequel to The Book of the New Sun and should probably be read after that, although some suggest to read it at the very end of the cycle, and others say it's considered optional reading.
There are also several short stories in the cycle, which take place at different points in the chronology. Although these probably could also be read whenever, some of them reference past events and foreshadow future events, so it seems good to read them when they take place in the chronology.
So! Since the consensus for the main novels seems to be to read them in publication order (although I've mentioned some other suggestions above), here's the suggested reading order I've put together, with short stories interspersed chronologically:
There are also several other short stories in the cycle that in-universe are fables collected in The book of the Wonders of Urth and Sky, which colloquially is known as the "the brown book". Some are told within the main novels, but others were published later as supplemental material. Since they're not part of the actual cycle, but are meta-fictional, they can probably be read whenever:
It's also suggested to newcomers to the Solar Cycle that they read Neil Gaiman's How To Read Gene Wolf.
Boring answer, but just read them in publication order. It's simplest, and I think most would agree that's the best experience.
Literally the only reason anyone suggest otherwise is that Long Sun is more accessible and straightforward than New Sun, so if you're super intimidated by Wolfe and think there's a good chance you'll just nope out of New Sun after one or two books, there's merit in starting with Long Sun, or so the theory goes.
Personally I think that's terrible advice, and here's why. Book of the Short Sun is a direct sequel series to Book of the Long Sun, and is just as complex and confusing as New Sun is. So at best you're putting off something for four books you're going to have to confront anyway, and not training yourself to read Wolfe how Wolfe really needs to be read. Long Sun is kind of an outlier, most of his other stuff isn't that straightforward, and I think it kinda sets false expectations. Not to mention you'll be missing some fun references to New Sun in Long/Short Sun for kinda no reason.
If you're so intimidated by Wolfe you don't feel like you can commit to plowing through all of New Sun no matter what, a much better solution is to just start with one of his standalone novels instead, like Fifth Head of Cerberus or Peace. Much less commitment, no order to worry about, and you'll get a feel for his style and how to read him, so that new sun won't be as scary and then this whole debate becomes pointless.
