christianholub 's review for:

Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe

5.0

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I've long heard that the "Book of the New Sun" is one of the best sci-fi books of the last few decades, but when I first tried reading it years ago it was honestly beyond me. Trying again, I found myself luxuriating in the prose here, as Wolfe constructs a totally unique universe at the intersection of sci-fi and fantasy. He creates one of the most singular protagonists I've ever encountered in the genre (Severian, a lowly torturer with perfect memory and a strange destiny that eventually will make him king of the universe) and also gives him my new favorite fictional sword: Terminus Est. I tore through this first half and can't wait to finish the series.