Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun' Paperback – October 15, 1994

THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURERGene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is a popular recommendation in terms of non-traditional fantasy/science-fiction, and the man is well-respected by authors I respect so I figured it was time to find out why.The Shadow of the Torturer is the first book in a tetralogy and it feels like it. It's a little sliver of a world, a little taste-test of Urth (a planet with a dying sun) and its weary inhabitants, and then cuts off hard at the end, offering no real conclusion. In a sense I expected this, as this story is often sold as two volumes of two books, or even a single volume of all four books. So in a way I was ready for it to be a very... introductory type story, and it was. It is a very promising introduction though.I am a sucker for sci-fi settings that take place so far in the future that they end up feeling like the past instead. Science-fantasy, I've heard it called (though I prefer space-fantasy). The types of stories that rest on forgotten epochs and eons upon eons of history. Dune is like that. But unlike Dune Wolfe's books take place on Earth itself, or Urth. It is unclear just how far in the future the story takes place (at least, it's unclear at this time) but you can feel the history of the world. It's a tangible thing, and you can read it in the characters' faces, scry it in the ancient river Gyoll, see it in the massive border-wall of Nessus, and in the eerie halls of the Citadel... It's a world that feels old—with all of the strange mythos and cultural idiosyncrasies one would expect—and those are often the best kind.Now, I was less sold on the characters than I was on the world itself. The story is about Severian, an apprentice of the Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence, more commonly known as the Guild of Torturers. We are being told the story, in Severian's own words, of his exile from the guild and ascension to the throne of the autarchy. And while that story is really just getting started, the nature of Severian's unreliable narration is one of the more interesting parts of the series thus far. This unreliability could certainly be why I don't quite know how to feel about Severian yet, but the other characters that surround him sometimes felt like mere carriers of plot points instead of people with agency. I'm looking for improvement there.Beyond the story, beyond the characters, the writing itself is noteworthy. I must be on a path of difficult lexicons or something. First Wallace, now Wolfe. I should read McCarthy soon and complete the hat trick. Bring a dictionary, is what I'm saying. Better yet bring a google search bar, because not only is Wolfe using words of utmost antiquity, he's perverted them with time. Which is realistic, but does not help in the effort of deciphering the language. Vocabulary aside, the man can write. His prose is that of someone who loves language, and wants you to love language. And there were phrases that caught me in just the right way.So ultimately, it was a good start. And I did enjoy joining Severian as he encounters the wider world outside of his guild's Citadel. He has a lot to learn, and frankly so do I.THE CLAW OF THE CONCILIATORA step up from the first book, I am considering giving this one all five stars. I felt that it lost some of its steam toward the end, but may yet still change my mind.In any case, certainly a step up. Though honestly it may just be the simple fact of getting more familiar with the world, more familiar with the characters. It's what generally happens in any series that I spend more time with (assuming consistent—or in this case improved—quality).The Claw of the Conciliator seems to take a firmer grip on what Wolfe is shooting for this series to be. Drug experiences, strange creatures, non-linear time, secrets and myths, even tongue-in-cheek stage plays, all of these things lent to a more... involved feeling story for me here in book two.Severian... I still don't know what to think about Severian. He has a strong sense of justice, and often does honorable things. He’s loyal, and even compassionate at times. But he also performs despicable acts, seemingly without thinking about them. And I'm not talking about his work as a headsman. In fact, as morbid a thought as it is, I actually found it fascinating how this book gets you inside the head of someone whose job is to torture and kill people for a living, and forces you to consider the thoughts and emotions that accompany such a role. Severian is a professional. He doesn't worry about the things that would make someone like me squirm. He worries about his nerves. He worries about doing a good job. In a weird way, it makes him far more relatable.But then there's also the fact that the entire story—told as it is by Severian himself—could be full of as many lies and deceptions as he sees fit to tell. Additionally, I did not really think all that much during the first book about the repercussions of having perfect recollection. The dangerous possibility of getting lost in such a thing. How could you differentiate memory from reality? Memory from dream? Dream from reality? It would be very difficult, and is thus on occasion difficult for the reader to differentiate between these things, on top of the unreliable narration.From a writing standpoint, I think I needed to get used to Wolfe's prose just like I needed to get used to the setting, because it was really hitting for me at times here. Many vividly and poetically described scenes that I found myself appreciating.Taking a short break then I'll read on for the third and fourth entries in the tetralogy.

A very short take on these books would be: had Herman Melville adapted a King Crimson album into a full length novel then we'd get something like the Book of the New Sun series. Extremely meditative and introspective, with only sporadic and out-of-the-blue action that often feels tacked on, Book of the New Sun is more about moving through life than moving through a plot. Everything is a bit strange and unrelatable. The characters are never particularly likeable. The constant use of "big words" seems a bit overly theatrical and showy. It's read in the anticipation that it will eventually "get going", but it never really does. The best scenes involve Severian's travels with a young orphan, since they are actively being pursued and all the stakes in the story revolve around the secondary characters--as we know Severian himself will survive to the end.Then there are all the coincidences. For a series that generally eschews conventions, a fistful of sci-fi tropes do make an appearance. On top of that we have the bait-and-switch of the setting being largely medieval and feudal instead of some futurescape world, the main character is a "chosen one" figure, the villains have a bit too much plot armor, and more! We have soldiers armed with swords fighting an enemy with laser cannons. Sure. On the plus side, that characters come and go, never to be seen again, feels more real than most plots that revolve around a fixed "cast of characters" that are attached to each other with light-years long bungee cords, ready to bounce back together again. There are some very good aspects of mystery and intrigue present, since the world is seen through the eyes of one who barely understands it. Aliens, robots and monsters are well explained. Some of the future tech fits well into the "so advanced as to seem magical" quality. We also can't quite tell, for example, if the horses in the story are every bit as natural as the ones we have today, or if they've been bred or genetically engineered to some special purpose. That goes for all the other animals and people, too. Some humans are not entirely so, we find out, and some robots are not entirely mechanical either. This all helps to establish a good sense of mood throughout, and it's really the feel of the novel that causes one to keep reading, rather than some specific emotional manipulation through character work or plot contrivance. A great deal of the personal journey of the main character revolves around the concept of "transference", where the characters bleed together into one mind. Even if potentially intriguing, it's never used to great effect. It's just a metaphor for intense memories, or perhaps author-character relationships; for don't characters "live" inside their authors? Is Gene Wolfe the Autarch the way JRR Tolkien was Eru Iluvatar?That said, few sci-fi authors could hope to write as well as Gene Wolfe, who has a command of the english language and command of his whole world that seems almost alien in itself. The words don't leap off the page like some of GRR Martin's better efforts, but he manages an efficiency in print Martin can't dream of. If you are a fan of King Crimson, this series is for you.

El libro es un clásico; difícilmente se puede hablar con justicia de él en tan pocas líneas, pero si te interesa mínimamente vale la pena leer toda la saga. El único problema es que la edición, al incluir dos libros, tiene letras bastante pequeñas, combinado con que es una lectura complicada de por sí, hace de la experiencia algo cansada y tediosa. De todas formas vale la pena comprarlo, es un buen precio y es de las pocas ediciones que se puede encontrar a la venta. 10/10

Wolfe's writing is far from simple. This two-books-made-one (and also the others from the New Sun series) are difficult to read; the vocabulary is sometimes confusing, the sentences are mostly convoluted and several concepts are difficult to comprehend. The story, however, is rich, with interesting characters and bizarre situations. The narrative is mainly slow-paced, diverging from other high fantasy stories.Reading this book is a challenge. And, in my opinion, a totally rewarding one, since its plots and storytelling structure does not follow the same rules and formulae applied in almost every fantasy story currently available.

This fascinating scifi-fantasy hybrid had me from the get go. An original, compelling narrative expressed in taut, daring and keenly observant prose. It’s much more than the usual fantasy style quest story. In fact, you quickly suspect that much more is going on beneath the surface narrative - and it’s this duality that keeps you engrossed from one page to the next. Luckily, we are in the capable hands of a skilled storyteller so that the hints of past, present and future events, interwoven into the narrative, don’t seem forced but entirely natural and appropriate in context. I can’t imagine any of today’s Fantasy hacks coming within shouting distance of Gene Wolfe’s mastery of form, ideas and expression.Does it require concentration? Absolutely! But there’s hardly a page in this story that doesn’t reward the reader with inventiveness, language and insight that so completely surpasses your expectations.A masterclass in how good genre fiction can be...

Aunque probablemente no entiendiera la mayoria de las refrencias y alegorias, el libro esta escribo de una manera hermosa.Por si sola es una gran historia, siendo accesible pero a la vez contiene muchas capas de simbolismo dentro de si lo que hace que reelerlo siempre sea un placer, buscando lo que Gene Wolfe dejo escondido para nosotros los lectores.

The first book is really my favorite. I really wish someone would make a movie/game of this already, though some of Gene's ideas only work in a written work. In the second book, some stuff happens that absolutely ties these two together. The prose is my favorite of any Gene Wolfe book and the story gets better and better the older I get. Must read for any Lovecraft fans.