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uncleanjoe 's review for:
Shadow & Claw
by Gene Wolfe
After finishing the first half of Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun (Shadow & Claw covers the first two volumes of this tetralogy), I can rightfully understand why this series has received so much acclaim. The world building alone is astounding, as it takes place far in Earth's future during Sun's decline. But although it is science fiction in part, Shadow & Claw is more similar to the sword and sorcery trend of fantasy novels of the period, as human society has also declined with the Sun, resulting in technology to be lost and society to retrograde towards feudalism.
Gene Wolfe crafts this world much like an expert Dungeon Master would, hinting at a lost past with ancient weapons and relics, while at the same time creating local terminologies and idiosyncrasies. Here in my humble opinion lies both the strength and weakness of Shadow & Claw. The first book, The Shadow of the Torturer, consisted mostly of backstory and world building, forcing the pace of the novel to crawl along at times. In addition our protagonist, Severian, is very passive and is led from location to location by actions of other characters. It reminded me of a narrative driven DnD session, where a DM would have to nudge the party towards the direction where the narrative should be going.
Therefore I found the majority of The Shadow of the Torturer to be a chore to get through, with much of its world building seemingly leading to nothing in the end. But luckily it is in the second half of this collection The Claw of the Conciliator where the world building and backstory begins to pay off. Here we also begin to see the overarching plot of tetralogy take form, and I am genuinely excited to read the concluding volumes of this series. It was also in Claw where the adventure actually begins in earnest, with the swordplay and monster battles one comes to expect from a fantasy novel. In addition, Wolfe manages to seamlessly weave in science fiction elements into the plot, estranging us from the conventions of standard fantasy novels.
Shadow & Claw was slow to win me over, but after finishing I can see how Gene Wolfe's series has paved the way for modern classics such as Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy, by creating a unique and memorable world reminiscent of Earth's past as well as the promise of its future.
Gene Wolfe crafts this world much like an expert Dungeon Master would, hinting at a lost past with ancient weapons and relics, while at the same time creating local terminologies and idiosyncrasies. Here in my humble opinion lies both the strength and weakness of Shadow & Claw. The first book, The Shadow of the Torturer, consisted mostly of backstory and world building, forcing the pace of the novel to crawl along at times. In addition our protagonist, Severian, is very passive and is led from location to location by actions of other characters. It reminded me of a narrative driven DnD session, where a DM would have to nudge the party towards the direction where the narrative should be going.
Therefore I found the majority of The Shadow of the Torturer to be a chore to get through, with much of its world building seemingly leading to nothing in the end. But luckily it is in the second half of this collection The Claw of the Conciliator where the world building and backstory begins to pay off. Here we also begin to see the overarching plot of tetralogy take form, and I am genuinely excited to read the concluding volumes of this series. It was also in Claw where the adventure actually begins in earnest, with the swordplay and monster battles one comes to expect from a fantasy novel. In addition, Wolfe manages to seamlessly weave in science fiction elements into the plot, estranging us from the conventions of standard fantasy novels.
Shadow & Claw was slow to win me over, but after finishing I can see how Gene Wolfe's series has paved the way for modern classics such as Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy, by creating a unique and memorable world reminiscent of Earth's past as well as the promise of its future.