Plan(e)t Engineering

Contents

• Gene Wolfe (by David G. Hartwell)
• Logology
• The Books in The Book of the New Sun
• In Looking-Glass Castle
• The Rubber Bend
• The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton
• When I Was Ming the Merciless
• The HORARS of War
• A Criminal Proceeding
• The Detective of Dreams
• Poems
  • British Soldier Near Rapier Antiaircraft Battery Scans for the Enemy
  • Last Night in the Garden of Forking Tongues
  • The Computer Iterates the Greater Trumps
• The Anatomy of a Robot

Editions

Out of print. One edition, in two states, with cover art by Vincent Di Fate, was printed by NESFA Press:

• Trade hardcover state, 5-1/4"x7-1/4", viii+155 pp., 775 copies trade edition, Smyth sewn, cased into B Roxite cloth, $9.00 (including tax) at the convention, $13.00 afterwards, lowered to $12.00, August 1984. out of print!
• Boxed state, 5-1/4"x7-1/4", viii+155 pp., 225 copies boxed, numbered, and signed by the author and artist, Smyth sewn, cased into Sturdite No.18 cloth, $15.75 (including tax) at the convention, $25.00 afterwards, August 1984. The boxed state sold out at the convention. out of print!

Comments

• Plan(e)t Engineering was printed by NESFA Press for Boskone XXI (see Blurb below).
• "The Books in The Book of the New Sun" appeared here for the first time.

The title is a pun on the chemical engineering magazine where Wolfe worked for several years, Plant Engineering.

• In addition to the contents listed above, the book included an "Official Map of the Northwest Area of the Commonwealth," drawn by Suford Lewis.

Blurb

Excerpt, from the NESFA Press Website: Plan[e]t Engineering commemorates Gene Wolfe's appearance as Boskone XXI Guest of Honor. It contains a wide range of works displaying his multifaceted writing talents. Included are stories, essays and poems; plus the first ever publication of a map from the world of The Book of the New Sun. Among the writings included are: "The Books in The Book of the New Sun", a new essay about that world; "The Rubber Bend", the funniest detective pastiche ever; "The Computer Iterates the Greater Trump", the Rhysling Award winning poem; "In Looking-Glass Castle", winner of a 1981 Illinois Arts Council Award; "The Detective of Dreams", an unrecognized masterpiece; "The Anatomy of a Robot", a technical work about the robots in our everyday world; and much more. Also included is an introduction by David G. Hartwell, Boskone's Special Guest this year and editor of The Book of the New Sun.