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hank_moody 's review for:
Shadow & Claw
by Gene Wolfe
Somewhere in the future, million years from now, mankind as we know it is not even a memory. The Society is ill, at least that's how Severian, a young journeyman of the Guild of Torturers perceives it, until one night by chance he meets Vodalus, a mysterious people hero figure. That encounter changes everything. Well, that and meeting Thecla, the beautiful prisoner he's charged to guard. Everything from that moment marks the journey of Severian, not to his goal, the town of Thrax, but to something bigger, his hidden destiny.
It's hard to write anything more about "The Book of the New Sun" without reading all four books of tetralogy, as it seems that's how Gene envisioned it. At the end of each book, Severian, whose memoirs we're reading, is telling us that we can continue reading if we want to as if he teases us to find an answer hidden between the lines.
Wolfe is an intelligent writer, who does not serves us anything on a silver plate, but leaves us crumbs along the way. Blink, and you'll miss them. That's why he made Severian an unreliable narrator with eidetic memory, who tells us lies, here and there.
There are layers upon layers buried in Gene's writing, symbols, and metaphors. Some are clear, such as names of saints used for characters, or Christianity themes, but others need careful observation and digging to be found.
This is not a book for those used to the usual tropes of epic fantasy or worlds that copy each other, or those who want action. These are novels to be read carefully, not once, but more times to understand the genius of Gene Wolfe.
It's hard to write anything more about "The Book of the New Sun" without reading all four books of tetralogy, as it seems that's how Gene envisioned it. At the end of each book, Severian, whose memoirs we're reading, is telling us that we can continue reading if we want to as if he teases us to find an answer hidden between the lines.
Wolfe is an intelligent writer, who does not serves us anything on a silver plate, but leaves us crumbs along the way. Blink, and you'll miss them. That's why he made Severian an unreliable narrator with eidetic memory, who tells us lies, here and there.
There are layers upon layers buried in Gene's writing, symbols, and metaphors. Some are clear, such as names of saints used for characters, or Christianity themes, but others need careful observation and digging to be found.
This is not a book for those used to the usual tropes of epic fantasy or worlds that copy each other, or those who want action. These are novels to be read carefully, not once, but more times to understand the genius of Gene Wolfe.