A review by qyburnsideburns
Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

Took a long time to read. A long time. Started this nearly a year ago and put it on hold after ~100 pages. Had a reading gap and thought I would try it again as a put-me-to-sleep read (this is honestly why I paused the first time). Something clicked and I was totally engrossed. The combination of puttering around, incredibly detailed description and total faith to the fuckwit perspective of Severian originally turned me off but this time had me reaching for the book in my downtime this week. Looking forward to the next two parts 

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Content Warnings

some things that stood out: Jolenta’s chub rub being her most identifying characteristic (second to being a babe), Jonas’s character resolution (and the house of absolute jail in general) and the cannibalism!