Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Shadow of the Torturer

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

10 reviews

deathmetalheron's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

Shadow of the Torturer is a book you have to trust. When Severian arrives in Nessus, meets up with Dr. Talos and all of a sudden Severian completely abandons this thread in order to enter a gift and inevitably get into a duel with an armored man, my initial instinct is to say "this is hard to follow, go it is poorly planned out" and I just had to take a deep breath and reconcile that the established flow of the book is quite intentional and nothing you are experiencing is going to be 'worthless.' This is due to the fact that Shadow of the Torturer is basically a gauntlet to see who Severian acts as a character. I have the benefit of knowing Book of New Sun is a series, and based on that fact my overall interpretation is that SotT acts as an extended prologue to both Severian as a protagonist and the world of Urth as a whole. It shows what rules are in place, what to expect, and how often those rules will be broken--the disorienting nature of the plot feels stressful at times but by the end of the book and when

Severian and Dorcas return with Dr. Talos to perform the play

, it really comes together. I admit I initially felt skeptical of continuing the series but the last 25-30 pages really wove the events of the story together quite nicely while still ending on a cliffhanger.
I have to say, the initial lore of the torturer's guild and the process of acolytes and journeymen is the strongest (and funniest) part of the book. The rest of the book doesn't quite match that level of engagement for me but the tone is quite consistent.

Content Warnings

tekolote's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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je_fancyb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It is hard to read this book, Wolfe is intentionally obtuse and convoluted in his writing from the point of view of Severian, a guy who sucks and is awful.

It's a neat weird little scifi world tho and the book is rewarding if you pay good attention

Content Warnings