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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Yowza. This was a beautifully written but mostly incomprehensible book. Sort of Tolkien meets china mieville and it all takes place in a world that has "moved on" in the dark tower. At times I went from a one star to five star rating in my progressive review which is on its face... as crazy as this book. Ultimately however no matter how well written a book is I have to ask myself "did I enjoy it" and ultimately the answer here is no. I felt enriched by it at times, and it was a rewarding and dense read, but I can't say I enjoyed it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
A fever dream of a book. The story is very incomplete, and I feel like I can’t judge the book properly until I’ve read the second half.
It’s not an easy read, and not always pleasant, but there are a few amazing moments sprinkled throughout. And a fair share of misogyny from the narrator, our often unlikable main character…
It’s not an easy read, and not always pleasant, but there are a few amazing moments sprinkled throughout. And a fair share of misogyny from the narrator, our often unlikable main character…
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
A masterpiece. I went into this (my second read?) thinking it would be slow and dense but worth it; I was mistaken, it zooms along. So much there to discover and ruminate upon if you want it, but also an extremely interesting story if you're only able to see what's on the surface. His writing of "women" (who aren't really even people, unfortunately) is atrocious though, so be forewarned about that.
I picked this up on my Kindle after hearing it was a masterpiece (probably on Reddit, always Reddit). It may well be, though having now finished only the first two collected works in the tetralogy I am not in a position to declare it so. It's written for a literary ear and the writing will carry you forward even when your interest wanes.
Of the two books, the first is the more conventional and I enjoyed it and looked forward to continuing the story. The 2nd book, "Claw", was all over the map - a series of strange encounters and allusions that are as fascinating as they are disjointed and difficult to follow.
"Shadow" by itself would have been a strong 3 rating, while "Claw" would have rated a weak 2 due to my having to will myself to finish it.
I plan to read the next collected volume to complete the tetralogy and perhaps then I'll be able to recommend this story, or not.
Of the two books, the first is the more conventional and I enjoyed it and looked forward to continuing the story. The 2nd book, "Claw", was all over the map - a series of strange encounters and allusions that are as fascinating as they are disjointed and difficult to follow.
"Shadow" by itself would have been a strong 3 rating, while "Claw" would have rated a weak 2 due to my having to will myself to finish it.
I plan to read the next collected volume to complete the tetralogy and perhaps then I'll be able to recommend this story, or not.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
If Homer wrote Odyssey with a contemporary understanding of physics, science, and linguistics he might’ve wrote something like The Book of the New Sun. Epic in its expanse and style, there is a weight not only to the text but the protagonist Severian. I recall another reader referring to Severian as a liar and the fact that this isn’t immediately apparent (for me at least) illustrates just how complex and fleshy he reads, despite the alien world Wolfe makes out of future Earth/Urth.
I am familiar with googling terms and concepts whole reading hard scifi, but I found myself falling down deeper than usual rabbit holes searching up Wolfe’s inventive and fantastical terms for the world’s animals alone! After the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer) and a particularly long rabbit hole session following a lead on Dorcas (the saint) I discovered the Lexicon Urthus and bought a copy. This proved helpful not only as a companion for quick-searching terms, but also the variant maps it includes, and most especially the volume synopses.
A line in the book perfectly sums up my experience of the series so far: “There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.”
I am familiar with googling terms and concepts whole reading hard scifi, but I found myself falling down deeper than usual rabbit holes searching up Wolfe’s inventive and fantastical terms for the world’s animals alone! After the first volume (The Shadow of the Torturer) and a particularly long rabbit hole session following a lead on Dorcas (the saint) I discovered the Lexicon Urthus and bought a copy. This proved helpful not only as a companion for quick-searching terms, but also the variant maps it includes, and most especially the volume synopses.
A line in the book perfectly sums up my experience of the series so far: “There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.”
I re-read this last month (read the first half in college once), and realized I remembered almost nothing of it. widely regarded as the first half of one of the finest sci-fi series of all time, or at least the 20th century, it is full of portentous language and high-falutin' ideas. I don't hold that against it, as it is also richly imagined and very well-written. I'm in the midst of finishing the quadrilogy now.