G.Wolfe _Shadow of the Torturer_

Matt Austern · 23 Jul 1991, 18:04 · from rec.arts.sf-lovers.1991.mbox

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From: matt at physics16.berkeley.edu (Matt Austern)
Subject: Re: G.Wolfe _Shadow of the Torturer_
Date: 23 Jul 91 18:04:07 GMT
Message-ID: <MATT.91Jul23100408 at physics16.berkeley.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-lovers
References: <9107221851.AA00898 at nowalls.UCSD.EDU> <1991Jul23.164922.11000 at leland.Stanford.EDU>

In article <1991Jul23.164922.11000 at leland.Stanford.EDU> repnomar at leland.Stanford.EDU (Janet M. Lafler) writes:

> There are four books in the series, _The Shadow of the Torturer_, _The Claw
> of the Conciliator_, _The Sword of the Lictor_ and _The Citadel of the 
> Autarch_.  There is also a companion volume, _The Urth of the New Sun_,
> which I haven't read but have been reliably informed is awful.  That's all
> the books there are in the series; I think we can count on him not to write
> any more.

Awful?? Gene Wolfe?  Them there's fightin' words.  The Urth of the New
Sun certainly isn't as good as The Book of the New Sun, but a book
could be much worse than The Book of the New Sun and still be very
good indeed.  Urth of the New Sun still has the calm voice and
meticulous craftsmanship and sense of inevitability that I find
characteristic of Wolfe's writing.

Actually, I don't think I would call The Book of the New Sun a series,
or a tetrology, so much as a four-volume novel.  (And I would call
The Urth of the New Sun a sequel.)

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