VIII: Density, Devotion, and Disintegration in "The Book of the New Sun" w/ Henry Hale

This week we sat down with our friend Henry Hale, who made the case for his favorite science fiction novel: Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun. Along the way, we talked about which sci-fi will be remembered, why some fantasy worlds feel “dense”, what gives Catholic its enduring power, and the disintegration of the self. Check it out!For further context, check out Kevin’s recent article: Gene Wolfe’s ‘The Book of the New Sun’ and the Quest for Timeless Sci-Fi!EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:00:27 - What causes sci-fi works to last and what causes them to fade away?00:00:32 - What causes a work of sci-fi to be remembered?00:03:02 - Is hard / technical sci-fi dying?00:04:05 - Is hard sci-fi destined to be more decentralized than other parts of the genre?00:04:14 - Hard science can be more similar to hard fantasy than most space operas00:06:33 - The assumed body of knowledge has shifted a lot over time in both literary and science fiction00:08:21 - How The Book of the New Sun creates engrossing layers of mystery00:11:37 - Caves of Qud00:13:16 - Mother of Learning by nobody10300:16:39 - The time Gordon unintentionally roasted Kevin freshman year of college by comparing him to Zorian00:18:09 - "Density" in fantasy novels00:21:16 - Christian allegory in The Book of the New Sun00:21:58 - How Catholicism identifies the True, the Good, and the Beautiful00:23:12 - Is Catholicism interested in finding the truth?00:24:44 - Introduction to the quasi-religions of rationalism and effective altruism00:27:44 - The quasi-religious experience of reading the Sequences00:29:33 - Hating on Buddhism00:32:07 - There Is No Anti-Memetics Division by qntm00:35:23 - Conclusion and final recommendations This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit synthesizedsunsets.substack.com/subscribe