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A review by brandoneckroth
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
After reading Claw of the Conciliator, I absolutely had to update my review. It isn't until you're into book two that you truly come to understand what Gene Wolfe is doing in Shadow of the Torturer. If you're about to dive into this book, be prepared to immediately pick up Claw right after. I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised at how everything starts to fall into place. Think of Shadow as being an extra long, beautifully written puzzle with elegant prose, intriguing character development, and deep world building. It's not an easy read by any means, but very worth it in my opinion.
Original review before reading Claw:
Giving this one a 3.5 for now. From the reviews I've read, I need to get into the next book or two to really get what Gene Wolf is trying to do with this series. But as this novel stands on its own, it was weird and fun and gruesome and honestly quite enjoyable. It gets 3.5 starts right now for how confusing it was at times and some of the plot feeling quite random (albeit entertaining). There's definitely something here and I'm excited to continue the series to find out what that is.
Original review before reading Claw:
Giving this one a 3.5 for now. From the reviews I've read, I need to get into the next book or two to really get what Gene Wolf is trying to do with this series. But as this novel stands on its own, it was weird and fun and gruesome and honestly quite enjoyable. It gets 3.5 starts right now for how confusing it was at times and some of the plot feeling quite random (albeit entertaining). There's definitely something here and I'm excited to continue the series to find out what that is.