The shadow of the Torturer

tim · 05 Jun 1983, 06:02 · from net.sf-lovers.1983.mbox

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From: tim at unc.UUCP
Subject: Re: Re:The shadow of the Torturer
Date: Sun, 5-Jun-83 02:02:12 EDT
Message-ID: <5315 at unc.UUCP>
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers

Gene Wolfe is one of the brightest new talents in speculative fiction.
His best work is the four-volume "Book of the New Sun", consisting of
The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword
of the Lictor, and The Citadel of the Autarch.  The second volume
won the Nebula Award, and the third and fourth are likely candidates
for the same award.

The protagonist of the series is Severian, a young and quietly insane
journeyman of the despised Torturer's Guild (the Guild of Seekers
of Truth and Penitence).  The setting is a time so far in the future
that today is less than a memory, with even our legends forgotten.
Mankind has flourished and fallen over the millions of years.  The
setting is surrealistic medieval.  The influence of Vance's excellent
The Dying Earth is clear, but it would be a mistake to label Wolfe
as in any way derivative.

This is probably not a work for people who only read science fiction
or fantasy.  The literary and mythological allusions are thick, though
never really annoyingly so, and the style is far from the usual
matter-of-fact description of sf, full of ambiguity and unusual
metaphor.  If the books seem to drag, you're probably not paying
enough attention -- there is more on many pages than in entire
chapters of most fantasies.

I can't see how to give a useful plot synopsis without spoiling it
for you, so I can only recommend it highly.

Tim Maroney

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