As Horn battles with monsters and visits strange societies on weird planets including that, which might be Urth of the dying red sun, he discovers an interesting power that he possesses. In a nanosecond or less, Horn can travel between his home planet of Blue and another world Green that Silk safely led his people to settle on. As Horn moves back and forth between the two planets, his body changes with each transport until his own family fails to identify him as Horn because he now looks more like Silk.

Anyone who has followed science fiction over the past two decades will probably agree that Gene Wolfe belongs on the short list of the top three genre writers. His second novel in "The Book of the Short Sun" is a brilliant tale that although a transition book pays homage to the diversity of the universe. Using eloquent and intelligent prose, Mr. Wolfe states nothing is new under the solar umbrella. Anyone who has not read Mr. Wolfe before will want to read the first book ON BLUE'S WATERS while impatiently waiting for the next novel RETURN TO THE WHORL. Newcomers and some of us old-timers will also return to the related "Book of the New Sun" and "Book of the Long Sun" series that prove Mr. Wolfe deserved his Life Achievement and other awards.