Loading
Book Information
Shadow & Claw: The First Half of The Book of the New Sun
By Gene Wolfe
Book Actions
Start ReadingDescription
The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as "a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis" by Publishers Weekly.
Shadow & Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:
The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim.
Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Magic stuff . . . a masterpiece . . . the best science fiction I've read in years!"
The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.
"One of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century." -- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Book Actions
Start ReadingBook Information
Shadow & Claw: The First Half of The Book of the New Sun
By Gene Wolfe
Description
The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as "a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis" by Publishers Weekly.
Shadow & Claw brings together the first two books of the tetralogy in one volume:
The Shadow of the Torturer is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim.
Ursula K. Le Guin said, "Magic stuff . . . a masterpiece . . . the best science fiction I've read in years!"
The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.
"One of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century." -- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
About the author
GW![]()
Reviews
I am writing this review several weeks after I finished the book unfortunately. But hopefully I have not forgotten too much.
I can see very well why this book was rated so highly here in Goodreads. Wolfe's writing is lyrical and his imagination is great. However, after reading through the entire book, I just feel as if I am left floundering for direction on my own.
This book felt like a dream. We drift from scene to scene without any true understanding of how each segment began. We travel with the narrator from dank castles and torture chambers to timeless gardens and then end up at an enemy camp and then find ourselves wandering with different companions here and there. We always seem to know where we are going, like in dreams, but never seem to get anywhere no matter how long we travel. In the same vein, this is also how I feel about the supporting characters. People drift in and out of scenes and it always seems natural that we meet up again with old characters and that we lose an important traveling companion for a chapter or two. But when I stop and think, it is really quite strange. Meeting up again with Dr Talos and Baldanders, losing Dorcas for a bit, the reappearance of characters, seeing Thecla's sister, etc. It's so very odd, but for some odd reason as I was paging through the book, I don't question it.
I think it's the nature of Wolfe's writing. It is lyrical and beautiful and dreamy, though he does not flowery language. It's a combination of the way he makes the reader feel as if we are observing along with the narrator and the fantastical situations we watch. For example, the battle with the poisonous plants was particularly intriguing to me. It was different, it was strange, and it was written as if it were completely normal. Same with the gardens. Lovely piece of writing.
But this book frustrates me because I feel as if nothing has been concluded, that there seems to be no purpose in this book (like a dream, hey). I am just so annoyed because the title is called Shadow and Claw, and we don't even understand anything about the Claw. Obviously it's important, but why? What is it's mystery? But the main character doesn't even care about that. What is the battle about? What is so important in that little town he is travelling towards? What is the point of this book?
All Severian does is wander around from town to road to city and back to road, meeting people and seeing fantastical things. But does anything actually happen that is of significance? Sigh.
I also did roll my eyes at how Wolfe describes women and his apparent "love" for them, especially since that love only seemed to be composed of him catching sight of their bodies and falling in love with their appearance. No matter what the women do or say or act. Eh.
But I mostly just paged through those moments and kept going.
Thus, I feel as if I have to rate it 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 stars. Although it was interesting to read, I would never ever read it again. And I highly doubt I will pick up the sequel, even to see how the story would end. My dreams never have a true ending either.
I don't think I would recommend this book to my friends though. It's a very niche sort of writing, in my opinion. I'm not sure what book I could compare this to. But perhaps that's why it is so highly lauded.
Rating: 3I can see very well why this book was rated so highly here in Goodreads. Wolfe's writing is lyrical and his imagination is great. However, after reading through the entire book, I just feel as if I am left floundering for direction on my own.
This book felt like a dream. We drift from scene to scene without any true understanding of how each segment began. We travel with the narrator from dank castles and torture chambers to timeless gardens and then end up at an enemy camp and then find ourselves wandering with different companions here and there. We always seem to know where we are going, like in dreams, but never seem to get anywhere no matter how long we travel. In the same vein, this is also how I feel about the supporting characters. People drift in and out of scenes and it always seems natural that we meet up again with old characters and that we lose an important traveling companion for a chapter or two. But when I stop and think, it is really quite strange. Meeting up again with Dr Talos and Baldanders, losing Dorcas for a bit, the reappearance of characters, seeing Thecla's sister, etc. It's so very odd, but for some odd reason as I was paging through the book, I don't question it.
I think it's the nature of Wolfe's writing. It is lyrical and beautiful and dreamy, though he does not flowery language. It's a combination of the way he makes the reader feel as if we are observing along with the narrator and the fantastical situations we watch. For example, the battle with the poisonous plants was particularly intriguing to me. It was different, it was strange, and it was written as if it were completely normal. Same with the gardens. Lovely piece of writing.
But this book frustrates me because I feel as if nothing has been concluded, that there seems to be no purpose in this book (like a dream, hey). I am just so annoyed because the title is called Shadow and Claw, and we don't even understand anything about the Claw. Obviously it's important, but why? What is it's mystery? But the main character doesn't even care about that. What is the battle about? What is so important in that little town he is travelling towards? What is the point of this book?
All Severian does is wander around from town to road to city and back to road, meeting people and seeing fantastical things. But does anything actually happen that is of significance? Sigh.
I also did roll my eyes at how Wolfe describes women and his apparent "love" for them, especially since that love only seemed to be composed of him catching sight of their bodies and falling in love with their appearance. No matter what the women do or say or act. Eh.
But I mostly just paged through those moments and kept going.
Thus, I feel as if I have to rate it 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 stars. Although it was interesting to read, I would never ever read it again. And I highly doubt I will pick up the sequel, even to see how the story would end. My dreams never have a true ending either.
I don't think I would recommend this book to my friends though. It's a very niche sort of writing, in my opinion. I'm not sure what book I could compare this to. But perhaps that's why it is so highly lauded.
Wow...
I'm barfing rainbows.
Very few books change the way you read, think, write.
Wow...
Rating: 5I'm barfing rainbows.
Very few books change the way you read, think, write.
Wow...
I read these books in the 80's when they were first published. I loved them back then and I loved them again on re-reading. The style seems awkward. The mixing of prose, poetry, plays and invented lore interrupts the narrative. That combined with a less than obvious plot, may push the reader out of their comfort zone.
The blending of science, history, old and new mythology alone makes this worth reading. The places the book took me went far beyond the words on the pages.
Rating: 5The blending of science, history, old and new mythology alone makes this worth reading. The places the book took me went far beyond the words on the pages.
Genuinely strange. There's a whole world of pseudoreligious overtones, and some interesting ideas, but it's one of the few texts that I found to be more work than pleasure to read.
Rating: 3That rarest of gems: a profoundly imaginative work written in some of the most accomplished prose of the 20th century. Book of the New Sun is a staggering achievement in American letters, and a true triumph of the human mind. Look no further, Pilgrim: this is Literature.
Rating: 5So this book is entirely problematic for me. Do I 'get it?'No. It confuses the curl right out of my hair. I keep losing the plot thread. I can't figure out what all the invented words mean. I feel like I'm wandering through this quartet of books. And yet... I made a trip to Powell's to pick up the second half of the series. What magic is it that forces me to read on? I cannot say. The world in the Book of the New Sun series is dark, scary, violent. Life is cheap. And yet, there is love and mystery here, too... A lot of mystery.
Rating: 3Heavy going, but arguably the greatest achievement in SF/fantasy literature since Lord of the Rings. This secured Wolfe's enduring reputation as a literary artist.
Rating: 5"Someone fired a pistol. The bolt set his costume afire, but must have missed his body. Several exultants had drawn their swords, and someone -- I could not see who -- possessed that rarest of all weapons, a dream. It moved like tyrian smoke..."This volume collects the first two books of the four that comprise The Book of the New Sun. The whole series is considered classic, and these two books won awards on their original publication. They're highly regarded, and enduringly popular.At times, it's easy to see why. The world through which the characters move is rich, detailed, and imaginative. Wolfe tells the story in the first person, through the eyes of Severian -- an apprentice to the guild of torturers, cast out from his home and trying to find his way. His voice is grim, thoughtful, and vastly different from that of a typical fantasy hero. When it works, the reader is drawn into a wonderful world, with subtle philosophies at play. Severian is very moral in some ways, and very amoral in others, and it makes for an arresting journey.And yet these books can be incredibly frustrating at times. Wolfe leaves out so much that it is often impossible to maintain an emotional connection with his characters. For example, Severian meets the rebel leader Vodalus early in his life; this encounter influences him greatly; he more or less declares his loyalty to this man above all else; and yet we never have any indication of why.Wolfe seems to be more interested in creating a work of art than a narrative. The narrative, as a result, suffers greatly in places. Fortunately, the art is impressive enough that he gets away with it. Recommended, but only to patient readers.
Rating: 4Reread Audiobook Oct 2011. Wonder upon wonder. The greatest work of the imagination I have ever encountered. A billion stars.
Rating: 5(My review for each book found under their respective titles.)
Rating: 3"It is no easy road" is the sort of literary dare both these novels end on. Should you take the dare?I'd say obviously yes if you are a Wolfe fan or like science fantasy. I don't fit in either category. I've often liked the journey of the Wolfe short stories I've come across but always felt let down by the payoff or felt that I couldn't solve some literary puzzle I had been given. As for science fantasy, I don't mind the amalgam, but I don't seek it out either. So, though I've certainly been aware of how much the Book of the New Sun has been lauded since it was first published, I was in no hurry to read it.Wolfe always intended the Book of the New Sun as a sole volume. Publishing realities - publishers did not routinely publish 800 page fantasies in those days - dictated that book be broken into four volumes, one a year starting in 1980.This first half, though, despite some wanderings in fables, tales, and a play nested in the main narrative, is pretty engaging. Our hero Severan is a member of the Order of Seekers of Truth and Penitence, and, while he's pretty matter of fact about his apprenticeship and training, we don't get a lot of details but just enough glimpses of his work to know that torturer is not a symbolic title. He's also possessed of an eidetic memory with the narrative leavened with bits of foreshadowings that his story will take some unexpected turns.We hear of his youth, an orphan left to the guild, his early encounter with Vodalus - a would be revolutionary whom Severan sort of imprints on, and the sin that sends him into exile: allowing Thecla, a noblewoman sentenced to a peculiar torture, to kill herself. Into exile, he takes Terminus Est, " The Line That Divides", his great sword. That's the first quarter of this volume. The rest of it covers his wanderings during exile until he settles into a provincial city as torturer. We get clues as to the past and present of this world, and Wolfe concludes each novel with a brief appendix explaining some, but not all, of his vocabulary and concepts. That part of Wolfe's puzzle, the nature of the world, I didn't mind as much as the story briefly stalling with all those other nested stories. And I liked Severan pausing the narrative to ruminate on the nature of love and other matters. And, as time goes on, we find out that, while Severan may have a photographic memory, that does not make him a reliable narrator in the matter of his relationship to Thecla.And the characters and scenes largely kept my interest: a mysterious green man and sailor, a giant and his odd doctor companion, a woman of extreme beauty, a woman perhaps retrieved from the dead, cannibalism (this story was written in the 1970s when memory transference via RNA ingestion was an idea that showed up), a prison inhabited by generations who know nothing outside its walls, and the Autarch - leader of this society.But, having gone the whole journey with Severan, I can tell you it does not end well. Still, this first half was enjoyable.
Rating: 4What can I say? The Book of the New Sun, of which this omnibus is the first two parts of four, is a confounding and hypnotic spectacle. I first read this a few years ago and although I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on, I could also not put it down. The basic plot on the surface is the journey of Severian, the apprentice torturer, the Guild of Torturers being a sort of glorified quasi-religious sect of executioners. Severian is cast out of his Guild for showing a modicum of mercy and begins a long sojourn throughout the dying world of Urth, which is described alternately as our own past and future. Nothing is quite as it seems in these books, as the narrator, Severian, is unreliable and the language itself obfuscating. This is far from a straightforward story and it is not for everyone; it will cause many readers great frustration, particularly if they are not enamored with puzzles and double meaning. But, if you approach it with patience and a searching mind, there is much to find here.
Rating: 5Based on 'Shadow of the Torturer' only:Okay first off, I want to know why every single woman that the protagonist interacts with for more than 30 minutes has some kind of sexual encounter with him. And any woman he doesn't physically interact with sexually, he at least ranks on a ladder of 'hot or not' for several paragraphs, rambling about how sexy they are - even if they're not - and how much he wants to bang them. I cannot be the only person who has noticed this.Moving on, this book was a bit of a letdown. The flavorful, exquisite writing style I've heard so much about just isn't to my liking. Wolfe's use of language can, at times, be poetic - but more often than not his reliance on invented and antiquated words feels like it's getting in the way of the writing rather than enhancing it. His style is not as rich or engaging as Peake, Dunsany, or Lovecraft. Many of the descriptions and Severian's introspections stay long past their welcome without feeling like they've contributed anything meaningful.The plot takes quite some time to pick up. Not that nothing happens - events do move forward - but you really have no indication of where the story is going for far too long and no real reason to care. And when the book ends, you have some idea of where things are headed but rather than ending on an engaging cliffhanger, it just feels like the book was cut short.By the end of the first book, Severian has still yet to become an interesting or likeable character. He is a torturer, and the only victim he showed remorse for is one he was attracted to - the victim herself was also not very well-rounded or likable. Her torture was not moving or interesting, and if Sevearian's learned anything from the victim he pittied, it has yet to be revealed. I tend to love inhuman characters who don't show a lot of emotion, but he takes it the level of boredom.That said, the book has its high points. The world is intriguing - the setting has yet to be really fleshed out, but the hints dropped in this book are enough to make me want to see more of the world, its inhabitants, and its history. I'm hoping later books in the series will flesh out these points and use them to build a stronger overall story.
Rating: 3This book is really complicated and difficult to understand because it is written in a highly developed and detailed world the author has created. Wolfe also has a very strange writing style--he writes in first person narration but the narrator, Severian, is very untrustworthy and skips over things sometimes, meaning that the reader has to figure a lot of stuff out for themselves. From what I can tell people either love or hate Wolfe's style, and in my case I love it.
Rating: 5First half of the Book of the New Sun tetralogy. So different than the run-of-the-mill postindustrial SFF world. In fact, for most of the first book, it isn’t clear whether this is a postindustrial or some kind of alternate medieval world. The language style is more epic and formal than most, too. But how can I not be impressed by a story that is not only metatextual, but at one point has two characters discuss semiotics, in a perfectly natural way?
Rating: 4I can feel and understand the genius of this work but I am -at least at this stage in my life- unable to express my feelings of admiration for this work and delight thereof. Suffice it to say, I still can not believe such a work can be created by a human being. I can not begin to understand the workings of such a mind especially when it comes to understanding the ability of expression of such complicated thoughts,impressions,ideas beautifully and pampering the intelligence of the reader.It is a must read but beware it is hard to tackle. If you persevere, you will be rewarded more than fairly.
Rating: 5"Someone fired a pistol. The bolt set his costume afire, but must have missed his body. Several exultants had drawn their swords, and someone -- I could not see who -- possessed that rarest of all weapons, a dream. It moved like tyrian smoke..."This volume collects the first two books of the four that comprise The Book of the New Sun. The whole series is considered classic, and these two books won awards on their original publication. They're highly regarded, and enduringly popular.At times, it's easy to see why. The world through which the characters move is rich, detailed, and imaginative. Wolfe tells the story in the first person, through the eyes of Severian -- an apprentice to the guild of torturers, cast out from his home and trying to find his way. His voice is grim, thoughtful, and vastly different from that of a typical fantasy hero. When it works, the reader is drawn into a wonderful world, with subtle philosophies at play. Severian is very moral in some ways, and very amoral in others, and it makes for an arresting journey.And yet these books can be incredibly frustrating at times. Wolfe leaves out so much that it is often impossible to maintain an emotional connection with his characters. For example, Severian meets the rebel leader Vodalus early in his life; this encounter influences him greatly; he more or less declares his loyalty to this man above all else; and yet we never have any indication of why.Wolfe seems to be more interested in creating a work of art than a narrative. The narrative, as a result, suffers greatly in places. Fortunately, the art is impressive enough that he gets away with it. Recommended, but only to patient readers.
Rating: 4this book is hard core. Not sure I understood everything that was going on, but I couldn't put it down. Brilliant.
Rating: 5Rated as one of the best science fiction stories ever written, this book follows the story of Severian, a journeyman in the Guild of Torturers, who is cast out of the tower for permitting a client to suicide rather than face her allocated punishment. At times incomprehensible, I found that this book started slow and ended puzzlingly, but in the middle it was compelling and difficult to put down. An excellent read.
Rating: 4This is like the Tolstoy of fantasy/sci-fi (it's a bit of a hybrid of the two); in other words, it's literature rather than pulp fiction, so don't expect fast action and cartoon characters. The idea behind it, from what I understand, is studying what the narrator leaves out and doesn't dwell on, as much as on what he describes. I have to confess, I pretty much just read it for the story and all that went over my head, but looking back I can sort of see what other reviewers are getting at. This deserves a re-read, if ever I've the patience, time and inclination.
Rating: 4A series unlike anything else you have ever read in any genre. Reading Wolfe, especially in this series, is to me very much like reading a painting. He can be tough to follow so reading this book does require you to think, as he makes extensive use of metaphors to paint the picture/story for you and time lines are mixed together with little explanation. That said, I found it be a very rewarding read, unique all around and easily one of the best sci-fi/fantasy stories ever written.
Rating: 5This book only pays off with effort. I am not the most well read person and I found this book tough. I was often unsure what was going on and had to re read certain parts. However the author has produced a truly original book with a great story line. The main character is exceptional as are all the concepts. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy and who wants to read more challenging novels. I'm sure some of the books meaning was lost on me. For instance I read in another review that The lead character, who tells the story, constantly lies to the reader. This seems like a really good idea but I cant say I noticed it happening at all.
Rating: 3Heavy going, but arguably the greatest achievement in SF/fantasy literature since Lord of the Rings. This secured Wolfe's enduring reputation as a literary artist.
Rating: 5This is one of the greates fiction books written ever. It is a true masterpiece. It works and suceeds on every level.
Rating: 5