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theaurochs 's review for:
Shadow & Claw
by Gene Wolfe
How do you even begin to go about reviewing a book like Book of the New Sun? I’m seriously struggling. Let’s pare it down some very basic questions then; did I actually enjoy reading this book? No, can’t say that I did. Despite the undeniably effective and powerful prose, the minute-to-minute experience of reading it is frustrating, and the overall impression is disjointed, meandering, incomplete and confusing. This may very well be a consequence of the structure of the series; this book contains volumes 1 & 2 of the 5-part series, so perhaps expecting conclusions or even clarifications is a bit much to ask. But I might at least like to have some idea of what is going on by this point. I am at least so frustrated and intrigued that I will be reading the next collected book (volumes 3 & 4) in the hope that anything is explained. If this does turn out to be the case though, I might lay blame at the publishers; a story that so clearly needs to be read as a single unit should perhaps not be split up and sold separately.
We follow the bizarre adventures of Severian the apprentice torturer, exiled from the torturer’s guild for falling in love with a prisoner. As part of his exile, he is instructed to go to the northern town of Thrax and take up residence there, so he dutifully sets off. In these volumes though, he never reaches it; he is waylaid by a series of strange occurrences, coincidences, and strange characters that reappear and may or may not be disguised as other characters. The whole thing is shrouded in an air of mystery, or at the very least of deep confusion- the events really do seem to happen as non-sequiturs, one bizarre thing happening after another and driving us through this strange world with an almost fairy-tale like unlogic. It does feel fairy-tale like in a lot of ways, and you keep expecting to find the ‘moral’ or the ‘point’ underneath it all, but it remains elusive to the very last page. I won’t say until the end, as the book very much does not end but rather just stops, to-be-continued.
The world that we’re in is interesting, but no more so than many other fantasies or sci-fis. On its face, it is presented as very much a fantasy adventure. Severian the torturer, apprentice of the high tower in the old citadel, surrounded by an ancient city; who sets out across the land, epic sword in hand etc etc. But just beneath the surface we can see that the world we’re inhabiting is actually a far-future earth, as the sun itself has reached the latter stages of its life. Humanity clearly had access to interstellar travel and all kinds of futuristic tech, but much of that is lost, or no longer understood by the common person of the time. Given that the book is written from Severian’s perspective, it makes sense then that all of this tech is couched in the pseudo-fantastical language, leaving the readers much work to do to figure out what exactly we’re looking at.
That’s the crux of it then; the reader has much work to do to figure out what exactly we’re looking at, what’s happening, who’s who, what means what and how relevant any of it is. There’s a strong chance that some of this struggle will be rewarded in later books of the series, but for now I’m just left with a bit of a headache. I don’t mind having to figure out what’s going on, but generally I want to be inspired to do so; here the surface-level plot is just not that interesting or engaging, so I’m very much left wondering what the point of any of it is. If your narrator is so unreliable, and your plot so disconnected that literally anything could happen on the next page and I wouldn’t be surprised; what stakes are left? If your characters are uninspiring and all of your women exist purely to be objects of sexual desire, what emotional hooks do I have to latch on to? Compare to my recent favourite read; Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer. In large part I’m reading BotNS because they cite it as inspiration for their series. While I can definitely see the similarities and elements that have been inspirational; in Terra Ignota the surface level story itself is fascinating and packed with interesting characters, and the world is so cleverly constructed that I want to figure out everything that’s going on- this distinction is key. I want to figure it out, rather than I have to, and there’s still joy to be had without caring about the deeper levels. Maybe at the time it was written, BotNS could produce that same kind of joy for its average reader, but these days I need a little bit more than romping across a fantasy land seducing all the women.
Ultimately a deeply frustrating book, constantly torturing the reader with the impression of deeper levels whilst refusing to commit to anything coherent. But it can give a lot to think about. And I’m going to read the continuation, in the vague hopes that the payoff could possibly make this slog worth it.
We follow the bizarre adventures of Severian the apprentice torturer, exiled from the torturer’s guild for falling in love with a prisoner. As part of his exile, he is instructed to go to the northern town of Thrax and take up residence there, so he dutifully sets off. In these volumes though, he never reaches it; he is waylaid by a series of strange occurrences, coincidences, and strange characters that reappear and may or may not be disguised as other characters. The whole thing is shrouded in an air of mystery, or at the very least of deep confusion- the events really do seem to happen as non-sequiturs, one bizarre thing happening after another and driving us through this strange world with an almost fairy-tale like unlogic. It does feel fairy-tale like in a lot of ways, and you keep expecting to find the ‘moral’ or the ‘point’ underneath it all, but it remains elusive to the very last page. I won’t say until the end, as the book very much does not end but rather just stops, to-be-continued.
The world that we’re in is interesting, but no more so than many other fantasies or sci-fis. On its face, it is presented as very much a fantasy adventure. Severian the torturer, apprentice of the high tower in the old citadel, surrounded by an ancient city; who sets out across the land, epic sword in hand etc etc. But just beneath the surface we can see that the world we’re inhabiting is actually a far-future earth, as the sun itself has reached the latter stages of its life. Humanity clearly had access to interstellar travel and all kinds of futuristic tech, but much of that is lost, or no longer understood by the common person of the time. Given that the book is written from Severian’s perspective, it makes sense then that all of this tech is couched in the pseudo-fantastical language, leaving the readers much work to do to figure out what exactly we’re looking at.
That’s the crux of it then; the reader has much work to do to figure out what exactly we’re looking at, what’s happening, who’s who, what means what and how relevant any of it is. There’s a strong chance that some of this struggle will be rewarded in later books of the series, but for now I’m just left with a bit of a headache. I don’t mind having to figure out what’s going on, but generally I want to be inspired to do so; here the surface-level plot is just not that interesting or engaging, so I’m very much left wondering what the point of any of it is. If your narrator is so unreliable, and your plot so disconnected that literally anything could happen on the next page and I wouldn’t be surprised; what stakes are left? If your characters are uninspiring and all of your women exist purely to be objects of sexual desire, what emotional hooks do I have to latch on to? Compare to my recent favourite read; Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer. In large part I’m reading BotNS because they cite it as inspiration for their series. While I can definitely see the similarities and elements that have been inspirational; in Terra Ignota the surface level story itself is fascinating and packed with interesting characters, and the world is so cleverly constructed that I want to figure out everything that’s going on- this distinction is key. I want to figure it out, rather than I have to, and there’s still joy to be had without caring about the deeper levels. Maybe at the time it was written, BotNS could produce that same kind of joy for its average reader, but these days I need a little bit more than romping across a fantasy land seducing all the women.
Ultimately a deeply frustrating book, constantly torturing the reader with the impression of deeper levels whilst refusing to commit to anything coherent. But it can give a lot to think about. And I’m going to read the continuation, in the vague hopes that the payoff could possibly make this slog worth it.