Torturer, Gene Wolfe, Sequels

I have just recently discovered The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, and am quite frankly dazed; seldom do I encounter prose so well-written that I reread sections not for the content, but to reexperience the writing. It's sophisticated stuff. Has anyone else encountered, and read, these? The only others I have been able to find have been Claw of the Conciliator and Urth of the New Sun, and I have read neither. Should I put Shadow down after reading it, and not read the sequels, or are they as well-written as the first? Clay Bond Indiana University Department Linguistics

I've read this series, except for the latest one which is Urth of the New Sun. There are four books in that series, I'm not sure what the names of all four are, but I think other than The Shadow of the Torturer, and Claw of the Conciliator, there is _Sword of the Lictor(sp?) and something of the Antioch. This is if I remember correctly. The series is well written for the style it is in. If you liked the first book, you should read the next three. The whole series ties in nicely. I can't say I really liked the books, but I am glad that I took the time to read them. I haven't read the latest one, Urth of the New Sun but I probably will get around to it as soon as I finish about 20 other books I have to read first. John Jaworski

johnj at ihuxy.ATT.COM (Jaworski) writes:

The first four books, which comprise the "Book of the New Sun", are The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, and The Citadel of the Autarch. There is a little booklet about these called The Castle of the Otter (which is the title given in LOCUS when the fourth book was about to come out). More recently, Wolfe added a "coda" to the series, The Urth of the New Sun. To me, these are among the best books ever produced in the SF field, for their style, for the story, and for the "frenzy of interpretation" Wolfe induces in us as we try to catch his hints as to what is really happening. These are books that should be read in order (The Castle of the Otter is of course optional, but it's fun), and that are worth re-reading many times. In fact, that's probably true of all of Gene Wolfe's books. Fernando Gouvea

bondc at iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (Clay M Bond) writes:

By all means read the other three volumes of The Book of the New Sun. Volume three is The Sword of the Lictor, and book four is The Citadel of the Autarch. This series absolutely blew me away. The Castle of the Otter is a collection of stories and tales and comments about The Book of the New Sun. It is worth reading after you finish the series. I say you must read the other three books because you simply have to see what happens to Dorcas and Jolenta and Dr Talos and Baldanders, and of course, Severian. Each book is a wonder on its own - together they weave a fascinating tale of wonder. Every character is made real, and no one is lost. By the end of Citadel you will know and understand Severian and his world. Another collection of Gene Wolfe short stories is called The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories. Yes, one of the stories is called "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories." Good luck finding the other books! Steven C. Neighorn Intel Corporation Development Tools Operation 80960 Language Group

The zine is subtitled "the newsletter on GW and his works" which may or may not give you an idea as to what it's about.