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A review by bobpony
The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
A slog! A disappointing slog. I really enjoyed the first book in this series (Shadow of the Torturer), as it focused on a young man and his struggles to reconcile the life he'd been dealt with the life he wanted to live. It was an adventure, but focused on character development. This second book of the series is not that, not at all. It's still an adventure, but kind of a random-bits-thrown-in-a-blender sort of story. It reads more like a poorly constructed D&D campaign, something the DM improvised on the spot. There are plenty of weird things that happen, but there's a distinct lack of character development. The plot advances begrudgingly, and nothing is resolved. It's just stuff. And the author sticks to his use of archaic vocabulary, to the point that the reading in this volume became a chore. I made it through, but I'm not sure I'll continue on. While I like the characters, and I want to know what happens, the books just demand a bit too much. The author acknowledges as much at the end of this one saying that he understands if you choose not to follow along further, because 'the road is difficult'. If you're aware of that...maybe spend another month or two editing and streamlining your book. Lol.
Oh! This book also has a small jump in time from the end of the last book. Maybe it's just a few days, or weeks...it's never explained. And what happened at the end of the last book isn't explained or examined. The characters are in one place, something exciting starts happening...and then in this book they're off in a different place and continuing their journey. What? I felt like I'd missed something, that I'd fallen asleep for fifty pages. But nope, that's just how it is.
And! There's a very long chapter near the end of this book that is a play. Literally, the script for a play, something one of the characters wrote. Does it matter? Does it reveal anything meaningful? Who knows, it's all very obtuse. Do we need to hear every word of this play? Sigh. I want to like all of this. But I fear it's just not for me. I really enjoyed the first book though! 🙂
Oh! This book also has a small jump in time from the end of the last book. Maybe it's just a few days, or weeks...it's never explained. And what happened at the end of the last book isn't explained or examined. The characters are in one place, something exciting starts happening...and then in this book they're off in a different place and continuing their journey. What? I felt like I'd missed something, that I'd fallen asleep for fifty pages. But nope, that's just how it is.
And! There's a very long chapter near the end of this book that is a play. Literally, the script for a play, something one of the characters wrote. Does it matter? Does it reveal anything meaningful? Who knows, it's all very obtuse. Do we need to hear every word of this play? Sigh. I want to like all of this. But I fear it's just not for me. I really enjoyed the first book though! 🙂