A review by deathmetalheron
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe

adventurous challenging funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Shadow of the Torturer is a book you have to trust. When Severian arrives in Nessus, meets up with Dr. Talos and all of a sudden Severian completely abandons this thread in order to enter a gift and inevitably get into a duel with an armored man, my initial instinct is to say "this is hard to follow, go it is poorly planned out" and I just had to take a deep breath and reconcile that the established flow of the book is quite intentional and nothing you are experiencing is going to be 'worthless.' This is due to the fact that Shadow of the Torturer is basically a gauntlet to see who Severian acts as a character. I have the benefit of knowing Book of New Sun is a series, and based on that fact my overall interpretation is that SotT acts as an extended prologue to both Severian as a protagonist and the world of Urth as a whole. It shows what rules are in place, what to expect, and how often those rules will be broken--the disorienting nature of the plot feels stressful at times but by the end of the book and when
Severian and Dorcas return with Dr. Talos to perform the play
, it really comes together. I admit I initially felt skeptical of continuing the series but the last 25-30 pages really wove the events of the story together quite nicely while still ending on a cliffhanger.
I have to say, the initial lore of the torturer's guild and the process of acolytes and journeymen is the strongest (and funniest) part of the book. The rest of the book doesn't quite match that level of engagement for me but the tone is quite consistent. 

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