Reviews

The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

alliemco's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

 

If there's one thing to say about The Shadow of the Torturer, it's that it's unique and seriously challenges the reader. Even though it's just over 200 pages, it demands a lot of thought.

Reading this book is like stumbling into the dreams of someone barely keeping their sanity. The plot is non-linear and postmodern, so it doesn't hold your hand or explain what's going on, which can be both frustrating and fascinating. The upside is that you're immediately inside Severian's head, sharing his understanding of the world around him.

The reason I gave it three stars is that, as a standalone book, it's not satisfying. It only really works as part of a larger novel or series. The story isn't clear, the characters don't go anywhere, it's confusing to follow, and the structure is problematic. The climax comes early, characters are introduced and then shoved aside, and it ends with three cliffhangers. I have to admit, I was able to fully follow the book because I was simultaneously reading and listening to a book analysis.

That said, the more I think about this book, the more I like it. However, how much I ultimately enjoy it will depend on how the series develops and if things start to make sense. I could see myself finishing the series and looking back on this book as a piece of genius, or as an impenetrable mess. Or possibly getting frustrated and not finishing the whole thing. At this point, all outcomes seem equally likely. 

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

4.0

If I wasn’t too stupid to actually figure out what ultimately was going on then I’d have probably added another star to this review. Despite that I loved the atmosphere and pacing that Wolfe created and the story was a perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy with commingled weirdness that made it really entertaining. I’ll definitely read the other books in the series and will hopefully suss out the ultimate narrative.

spanks_mackenzie's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

froggiemoment's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

blazeofredfiree's review against another edition

This was an interesting one- not like anything I've ever read before!
Wolfe is clearly an incredibly talented writer- his descriptions and prose was so vivid and gorgeous. His worldbuilding was also very clever- there was no infodumping or explicit feeding of information, yet I could still get the impression of a very detailed and unique world.
Severian was an interesting main character- a lot of emotional depth. I feel like there was a lot of subtext when it came to him and the world that I just didn't really understand/pick up on. Perhaps this will be one to reread in the future! The literary style was somewhat dense for me (it's not something I'm used to) but it ended up fitting with the story very well I feel- which felt quite messy and meandering, but ended up tying together in a somewhat satisfying way.
I didn't really love the fact that every female character seemed to be an object of desire for the main character, and there are some rather outdated ideas about women scattered throughout. Whether that's just because of the time or it's supposed to reflect the main character's own prejudices wasn't entirely clear to me, but I managed to ignore it and it didn't affect my enjoyment too much.
Not quite sure what to make of this one- I wouldn't say I was gripped throughout, but I was certainly intrigued. Though it felt meandering, I also feel that the author has a much grander plan in mind with this series. Perhaps I wil read the others to see, perhaps not, but I don't regret reading this one!

lavidaquees's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

danieltol's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

0.25

This book is fucking disgusting! It has some of the most egregious examples of ‘Men writing Women’ I’ve ever read. There is an incredible hyperfocus on women’s sexuality. Literally every woman in this book is oversexualized and wants to throw themselves upon the piece of cardboard that is our protagonist from the moments he looks their way to then be sexually dominated and discarded. 

It is shockingly bad. 

It doesn’t help that the rest of the book is so incredibly boring. The writing style is bland with flourishes of poetic pretensions that constantly fail and long tangents and expositions that don’t go anywhere along with boring characters and uninspired plot. 

I’m baffled this is held in such high regards by acclaimed writers because for the life of me I can’t know why.
 

Seriously, fuck this book! 

brandoneckroth's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

After reading Claw of the Conciliator, I absolutely had to update my review. It isn't until you're into book two that you truly come to understand what Gene Wolfe is doing in Shadow of the Torturer. If you're about to dive into this book, be prepared to immediately pick up Claw right after. I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised at how everything starts to fall into place. Think of Shadow as being an extra long, beautifully written puzzle with elegant prose, intriguing character development, and deep world building. It's not an easy read by any means, but very worth it in my opinion. 

Original review before reading Claw:
Giving this one a 3.5 for now. From the reviews I've read, I need to get into the next book or two to really get what Gene Wolf is trying to do with this series. But as this novel stands on its own, it was weird and fun and gruesome and honestly quite enjoyable. It gets 3.5 starts right now for how confusing it was at times and some of the plot feeling quite random (albeit entertaining). There's definitely something here and I'm excited to continue the series to find out what that is. 

lucassalvatore's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.75

zhusl33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75