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The Book of the New Sun #3
Мечът на ликтора
МЕЧЪТ НА ЛИКТОРА е епичен разказ за приключенията на странстващия пилигрим Севериън, чийто труден път продължава през дивите планини на север към езерото Дютурна, където трябва да довърши мрачната си мисия, тласкан от неотменимата си и тайнствена орис.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
235 people are currently reading
7177 people want to read
About the author
Gene Wolfe
506 books3,566 followersGene Wolfe was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. He was a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field.
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.’ Wolfe joins the Grand Master ranks alongside such legends as Connie Willis, Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman. The award will be presented at the 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in San Jose, CA, May 16-19, 2013.
While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement is a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. He lived in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
A frequent Hugo nominee without a win, Wolfe has nevertheless picked up several Nebula and Locus Awards, among others, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. He is also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/genewolfe
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.’ Wolfe joins the Grand Master ranks alongside such legends as Connie Willis, Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Joe Haldeman. The award will be presented at the 48th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend in San Jose, CA, May 16-19, 2013.
While attending Texas A&M University Wolfe published his first speculative fiction in The Commentator, a student literary journal. Wolfe dropped out during his junior year, and was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After returning to the United States he earned a degree from the University of Houston and became an industrial engineer. He edited the journal Plant Engineering for many years before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement is a contribution to the machine used to make Pringles potato crisps. He lived in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
A frequent Hugo nominee without a win, Wolfe has nevertheless picked up several Nebula and Locus Awards, among others, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. He is also a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/genewolfe
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 640 reviews
March 24, 2021
This, as well as the first two books and theoretically the last in the series, is rapidly becoming the most difficult work of SF I've ever read. Why? It's not particularly difficult to follow; the Hero's Quest is rather straightforward throughout. Nor is the main character Severian particularly uninteresting or difficult to like.
My main concern, as well as my questionable joy, is in the author's requirement that we take not just an active role in the reconstruction of this tale, but that even a deconstruction, a literary analysis, a creative interpretation, a fuck-you-sideways until you bleed from your eyeballs reinterpretation, might not quite be enough for us to reconcile story elements from action elements from reflective elements from literary elements.
I'm assuming, just from my own idiocy, that this is a 4-d topographical map and I must rip out the pages according to odd-numbered reoccurring themes, plaster them together in the shape of the Claw of the Conciliator, and then read the text while standing on my head. And I can't do it while inebriated. This isn't, after all, noir fiction.
This is, supposedly, the most brilliant literary mindfuck of a SF novel ever written, only it's so far beyond bizarro fiction that it has usurped James Joyce's throne. Take your pick if you want to liken it to SF Ulysses or SF Finnegans Wake. I mention the last just because this has darkened depths to it where deep literary beasties roam, unseen, and not because it's batshit crazy like the author.
I'm not saying that Gene Wolfe is crazy. Not at all. But for all the ways that this *appears* to be sword and sorcery on the surface, and decent sword and sorcery that happens to take place a million years in the future on Earth where the sun is dying and aliens mess with us and tech indistinguishable to magic roams the earth, events, plot elements, and narrative elements will sometimes hit is from out of nowhere and they will make absolutely no sense at all if you are reading on the simple surface.
Truly, just the little hints are enough to drive me crazy. Yes, I pick up quite a few, like Severian's little discussion with little Severian about men who decide that living like men is too much for them so they get a special lobotomy so they don't have to reflect or worry about what it means to be a man, that they can live happily like beasts. Little Severian says, "Is that why you go without a shirt? Because you are like the beast men?" "No, I haven't undergone the procedure, but yeah, perhaps I do go without reflection like them." Of course, in the story context, he's saved the kid with his name, vows to be his papa, and proceeds to watch him die, moving on to the next quest without much reflection. Right. (Btw, I'm not checking my review for precise quotations, I'm paraphrasing from memory.)
This isn't even the biggest bit of crazy. There's resurrected love interests, either pure memory from an alien juice and another from a time-reversal trick, both of which he loses, aliens with masks as many roles, with the real one being as smooth as unworked clay, as like unformed from conception or story, a mirror for everything else that goes on, and giants who resemble the witches whom Perseus steals the eye and the tooth.
Don't get me wrong. It's pretty cool. But when the fiction turns metafiction, when plots get thrown right into some heavy meta-soup and we're left wondering what the hell we just stepped into, we still have the sense that we *ought* to be knowing what the hell is going on. It doesn't let us drop, exactly. It just tries to entice us into rereading the books 5-10 times to try to figure out just what the hell is going on. I have to question myself: Do I care enough to become a devoted scholar of Wolfe and write at least a dissertation on his work? Do I care at least enough to finish through the 4th book?
The answer is No, and Yes. It's frustrating to see all those little fishes in the dark water below my feet, see them scurrying away, but I'm not quite hungry enough to get down on my hands and knees and beg Poseidon to make them jump right into my mouth.
Maybe someday, when I've burned all my other books and am exiled to a desert island where I have nothing else to read than these four admittedly interesting books will I sit down and devote the rest of life to figuring out just what the hell is going on here. :) I don't quite think I'm alone in this feeling, either.
Shouldn't there be a whole cottage industry devoted to figuring this thing out? Where are the scores of scholars? Is this going to go down into history as "The series everyone wants to say is genius but no one has the guts to say they have no idea what's going on"? I'll at least say it. I don't know what's going on. Surface? Sure. Pretty damn straightforward. It's everything else. Gahh!
My main concern, as well as my questionable joy, is in the author's requirement that we take not just an active role in the reconstruction of this tale, but that even a deconstruction, a literary analysis, a creative interpretation, a fuck-you-sideways until you bleed from your eyeballs reinterpretation, might not quite be enough for us to reconcile story elements from action elements from reflective elements from literary elements.
I'm assuming, just from my own idiocy, that this is a 4-d topographical map and I must rip out the pages according to odd-numbered reoccurring themes, plaster them together in the shape of the Claw of the Conciliator, and then read the text while standing on my head. And I can't do it while inebriated. This isn't, after all, noir fiction.
This is, supposedly, the most brilliant literary mindfuck of a SF novel ever written, only it's so far beyond bizarro fiction that it has usurped James Joyce's throne. Take your pick if you want to liken it to SF Ulysses or SF Finnegans Wake. I mention the last just because this has darkened depths to it where deep literary beasties roam, unseen, and not because it's batshit crazy like the author.
I'm not saying that Gene Wolfe is crazy. Not at all. But for all the ways that this *appears* to be sword and sorcery on the surface, and decent sword and sorcery that happens to take place a million years in the future on Earth where the sun is dying and aliens mess with us and tech indistinguishable to magic roams the earth, events, plot elements, and narrative elements will sometimes hit is from out of nowhere and they will make absolutely no sense at all if you are reading on the simple surface.
Truly, just the little hints are enough to drive me crazy. Yes, I pick up quite a few, like Severian's little discussion with little Severian about men who decide that living like men is too much for them so they get a special lobotomy so they don't have to reflect or worry about what it means to be a man, that they can live happily like beasts. Little Severian says, "Is that why you go without a shirt? Because you are like the beast men?" "No, I haven't undergone the procedure, but yeah, perhaps I do go without reflection like them." Of course, in the story context, he's saved the kid with his name, vows to be his papa, and proceeds to watch him die, moving on to the next quest without much reflection. Right. (Btw, I'm not checking my review for precise quotations, I'm paraphrasing from memory.)
This isn't even the biggest bit of crazy. There's resurrected love interests, either pure memory from an alien juice and another from a time-reversal trick, both of which he loses, aliens with masks as many roles, with the real one being as smooth as unworked clay, as like unformed from conception or story, a mirror for everything else that goes on, and giants who resemble the witches whom Perseus steals the eye and the tooth.
Don't get me wrong. It's pretty cool. But when the fiction turns metafiction, when plots get thrown right into some heavy meta-soup and we're left wondering what the hell we just stepped into, we still have the sense that we *ought* to be knowing what the hell is going on. It doesn't let us drop, exactly. It just tries to entice us into rereading the books 5-10 times to try to figure out just what the hell is going on. I have to question myself: Do I care enough to become a devoted scholar of Wolfe and write at least a dissertation on his work? Do I care at least enough to finish through the 4th book?
The answer is No, and Yes. It's frustrating to see all those little fishes in the dark water below my feet, see them scurrying away, but I'm not quite hungry enough to get down on my hands and knees and beg Poseidon to make them jump right into my mouth.
Maybe someday, when I've burned all my other books and am exiled to a desert island where I have nothing else to read than these four admittedly interesting books will I sit down and devote the rest of life to figuring out just what the hell is going on here. :) I don't quite think I'm alone in this feeling, either.
Shouldn't there be a whole cottage industry devoted to figuring this thing out? Where are the scores of scholars? Is this going to go down into history as "The series everyone wants to say is genius but no one has the guts to say they have no idea what's going on"? I'll at least say it. I don't know what's going on. Surface? Sure. Pretty damn straightforward. It's everything else. Gahh!
May 15, 2021
There are many fine legends about swords: the legendary sword of King Arthur, attributed with magical powers – Excalibur; the sword of Damocles as a symbol of doom and imminent peril and the sword that sliced the Gordian knot in half.
And Gene Wolfe created his own legend of the sword – the executioner’s sword named Terminus Est – It's the End.
And Severian valorously continues his epical trek through the mysteries and dangers waiting for him at the sundown of time and he battles and defeats his adversaries.
Per aspera ad astra – through hardships to the stars…
I whirled then with my cloak wind-whipped behind me and my sword, as I had so often held it, lifted for the stroke; and I knew then what I had never troubled to think upon before – why my destiny had sent me wandering half across the continent, facing dangers from fire and the depths of Urth, from water and now from air, armed with this weapon, so huge, so heavy that fighting any ordinary man with it was like cutting lilies with an ax.
And Gene Wolfe created his own legend of the sword – the executioner’s sword named Terminus Est – It's the End.
And Severian valorously continues his epical trek through the mysteries and dangers waiting for him at the sundown of time and he battles and defeats his adversaries.
Per aspera ad astra – through hardships to the stars…
August 22, 2023
To chyba jedyna seria, podczas czytania której:
- tak mało rozumiem,
- po każdym tomie czuje się wyczerpany,
- robię wielomiesięczne przerwy między tomami,
- wcinam draże marynarze.
A i tak jestem zachwycony każdym tomem. Jajca.
- tak mało rozumiem,
- po każdym tomie czuje się wyczerpany,
- robię wielomiesięczne przerwy między tomami,
- wcinam draże marynarze.
A i tak jestem zachwycony każdym tomem. Jajca.
April 13, 2021
I read the first book in Gene Wolfe’s epic Book of the New Sun tetralogy, The Shadow of the Torturer, in 2017. I liked it but was left confused and disconcerted – like going on a blind date and being assaulted by my date, but then who paid for the meal and gave me a big kiss to close the evening.
The second, The Claw of the Conciliator, was read almost four years later after much introspection and consideration. The critical praise for Wolfe’s work was awe inspiring and, looking back on my earlier read, I finally drank the magic elixir and began to understand his vision. I didn’t say I understood his great writing, just that the door was opened so I could sneak a toe in and BEGIN to understand. Actually it was more like a window, I climbed halfway through an open window and began to maybe have an idea what was going on.
But I more than liked it, I was enraptured and immediately ordered the third book, The Sword of the Lictor.
So after a four year hiatus between books one and two, I finished the third book in only two days – unable to put it down.
This is unlike any fantasy I’ve ever read before, there is a surreal, almost absurdist, quality that is complicated but still approachable. Wolfe eschews science fiction realism for a more magical realism sensibility, almost Borgesian in design. The comparisons to Jack Vance’s Dying Earth writing are apt, this is set in a far distant future where Wolfe creates an almost timeless term, connected with our reality but so far away as to be fantastic – and yet it’s still recognizable and human nature, though strangely altered, has not changed in eons of time. This also made me think of Kafka or even Beckett, when we also consider that our protagonist and narrator is unreliable. Another reviewer made a comparison to Joyce’s Ulysses and that is not unreasonable in terms of the stream of consciousness and unlooked for transitions between present action, dreams, recollections and visions.
If this were made into a film it would be in the Fellini – David Lynch genre, artistically brilliant but maddingly complicated and difficult to follow.
What’s it about? We just continue to follow Severian on his adventures, after he leaves Thrax, goes into the mountains and reconnects with some previous characters. Wolfe uses repetition and symbolism, as well as tone and imagery to paint a portrait of a time and place out of a dream. Subtle allusions to myth and legend, as well as religious themes add further depth and complexity to the narrative.
I’m hooked and am off to the fourth book – hopefully I can get some work done and also some sleep.
*** 2021 Reread - My second reading of this book in as many months, I finished the tetralogy and then started it all over again, too many questions left to answer, mysteries to consider, riddles to ponder.
Wolfe is a master craftsman and this works on multiple layers, the surface story and then layers of symbolism, allusion and allegory.
We again see Severian, the torturer, show mercy to a would be victim, this time running afoul of the ruler in the distant city of Thrax. Wolfe then has us follow the protagonist into the mystical hills above Thrax he flees.
One of the most poignant scenes in the book is of the mountain cabin and the alzabo, a foreign creature who consumes his victims and then retains some of the memories, the source of Severians connection with Thecla.
Wolfe also tells stories within stories and uses the narrative technique of repetition to highlight characters and themes. He also returns to the themes of masks and how the players themselves have multiple and complex backstories. The character Typhon is especially compelling.
Finally, the twin artifacts of Termninus Est and the Claw of the Concilliator are sources and focuses of Wolfe's imaginative use of symbolism and imagery to add further depth to his story.
The second, The Claw of the Conciliator, was read almost four years later after much introspection and consideration. The critical praise for Wolfe’s work was awe inspiring and, looking back on my earlier read, I finally drank the magic elixir and began to understand his vision. I didn’t say I understood his great writing, just that the door was opened so I could sneak a toe in and BEGIN to understand. Actually it was more like a window, I climbed halfway through an open window and began to maybe have an idea what was going on.
But I more than liked it, I was enraptured and immediately ordered the third book, The Sword of the Lictor.
So after a four year hiatus between books one and two, I finished the third book in only two days – unable to put it down.
This is unlike any fantasy I’ve ever read before, there is a surreal, almost absurdist, quality that is complicated but still approachable. Wolfe eschews science fiction realism for a more magical realism sensibility, almost Borgesian in design. The comparisons to Jack Vance’s Dying Earth writing are apt, this is set in a far distant future where Wolfe creates an almost timeless term, connected with our reality but so far away as to be fantastic – and yet it’s still recognizable and human nature, though strangely altered, has not changed in eons of time. This also made me think of Kafka or even Beckett, when we also consider that our protagonist and narrator is unreliable. Another reviewer made a comparison to Joyce’s Ulysses and that is not unreasonable in terms of the stream of consciousness and unlooked for transitions between present action, dreams, recollections and visions.
If this were made into a film it would be in the Fellini – David Lynch genre, artistically brilliant but maddingly complicated and difficult to follow.
What’s it about? We just continue to follow Severian on his adventures, after he leaves Thrax, goes into the mountains and reconnects with some previous characters. Wolfe uses repetition and symbolism, as well as tone and imagery to paint a portrait of a time and place out of a dream. Subtle allusions to myth and legend, as well as religious themes add further depth and complexity to the narrative.
I’m hooked and am off to the fourth book – hopefully I can get some work done and also some sleep.
*** 2021 Reread - My second reading of this book in as many months, I finished the tetralogy and then started it all over again, too many questions left to answer, mysteries to consider, riddles to ponder.
Wolfe is a master craftsman and this works on multiple layers, the surface story and then layers of symbolism, allusion and allegory.
We again see Severian, the torturer, show mercy to a would be victim, this time running afoul of the ruler in the distant city of Thrax. Wolfe then has us follow the protagonist into the mystical hills above Thrax he flees.
One of the most poignant scenes in the book is of the mountain cabin and the alzabo, a foreign creature who consumes his victims and then retains some of the memories, the source of Severians connection with Thecla.
Wolfe also tells stories within stories and uses the narrative technique of repetition to highlight characters and themes. He also returns to the themes of masks and how the players themselves have multiple and complex backstories. The character Typhon is especially compelling.
Finally, the twin artifacts of Termninus Est and the Claw of the Concilliator are sources and focuses of Wolfe's imaginative use of symbolism and imagery to add further depth to his story.
September 5, 2025
Questo terzo capitolo è stato piuttosto imbarazzante e non mi aspettavo un cambiamento di questa portata, ma forse lo temevo.
Severian il torturatore intraprende un lungo viaggio, visita luoghi suggestivi, incontra persone e strane creature in sequenza, ma il tutto avviene e si risolve troppo semplicemente e dal gusto altalenante. Si nota il cambiamento in Severian che lo porta a mettere in dubbio il suo stesso lavoro di torturatore e i suo senso di giustizia neutrale, tutto il suo addestramento e quindi la sua vita.
Mentre i primi due romanzi erano riusciti a catturare tutta la mia attenzione, grazie allo stile di scrittura di Wolfe pieno di misteri nascosti e da un'ambientazione che aveva nella scoperta il suo punto di forza, in questo terzo romanzo tutto questo viene a mancare. Se quindi vengono a mancare le uniche vere particolarità che avevano reso speciali i precedenti romanzi, allora rimane ben poco altro. Non erano, infatti, nè la cura nell'introspezione del protagonista né i personaggi secondari, né una trama particolare a catturare la mia attenzione. Erano i misteri da svelare facendo attenzione al testo.
Rimane la grande prova immaginifica dell'autore che stupisce sempre per somma inventiva, ma pecca nello sviluppo. La magia per ora si è perduta, speriamo nel finale.
--------------------------------------------
This third chapter was quite embarrassing and I didn't expect a change of this magnitude, but maybe I feared it.
Severian the torturer undertakes a long journey, visits suggestive places, meets people and strange creatures in sequence, but everything happens and is resolved too simply and with a mixed taste. We notice the change in Severian that leads him to question his own work as a torturer and his sense of neutral justice, all his training and therefore his life.
While the first two novels had managed to capture all my attention, thanks to Wolfe's writing style full of hidden mysteries and a setting that had discovery as his strong point, in this third novel all this is missing . Therefore, if the only real peculiarities that had made the previous novels special are missing, then very little else remains. In fact, it was neither the protagonist's attention to introspection nor the secondary characters, nor a particular plot that captured my attention. They were the mysteries to be revealed by paying attention to the text.
It remains the great imaginative proof of the author who always amazes with his total inventiveness, but fails in his development. The magic has been lost for now, hopefully in the finale.
Severian il torturatore intraprende un lungo viaggio, visita luoghi suggestivi, incontra persone e strane creature in sequenza, ma il tutto avviene e si risolve troppo semplicemente e dal gusto altalenante. Si nota il cambiamento in Severian che lo porta a mettere in dubbio il suo stesso lavoro di torturatore e i suo senso di giustizia neutrale, tutto il suo addestramento e quindi la sua vita.
Mentre i primi due romanzi erano riusciti a catturare tutta la mia attenzione, grazie allo stile di scrittura di Wolfe pieno di misteri nascosti e da un'ambientazione che aveva nella scoperta il suo punto di forza, in questo terzo romanzo tutto questo viene a mancare. Se quindi vengono a mancare le uniche vere particolarità che avevano reso speciali i precedenti romanzi, allora rimane ben poco altro. Non erano, infatti, nè la cura nell'introspezione del protagonista né i personaggi secondari, né una trama particolare a catturare la mia attenzione. Erano i misteri da svelare facendo attenzione al testo.
Rimane la grande prova immaginifica dell'autore che stupisce sempre per somma inventiva, ma pecca nello sviluppo. La magia per ora si è perduta, speriamo nel finale.
--------------------------------------------
This third chapter was quite embarrassing and I didn't expect a change of this magnitude, but maybe I feared it.
Severian the torturer undertakes a long journey, visits suggestive places, meets people and strange creatures in sequence, but everything happens and is resolved too simply and with a mixed taste. We notice the change in Severian that leads him to question his own work as a torturer and his sense of neutral justice, all his training and therefore his life.
While the first two novels had managed to capture all my attention, thanks to Wolfe's writing style full of hidden mysteries and a setting that had discovery as his strong point, in this third novel all this is missing . Therefore, if the only real peculiarities that had made the previous novels special are missing, then very little else remains. In fact, it was neither the protagonist's attention to introspection nor the secondary characters, nor a particular plot that captured my attention. They were the mysteries to be revealed by paying attention to the text.
It remains the great imaginative proof of the author who always amazes with his total inventiveness, but fails in his development. The magic has been lost for now, hopefully in the finale.
September 1, 2014
I am by no means competent to review this literary masterpiece, but — having read the litany of confusion on the review pages of this volume and its companions — I wish to state the following, simply in order to be helpful.
1. The four volumes of The Book of the New Sun are one long novel, not four separate books. It was originally published in four volumes because it was too expensive and cumbersome to print as one. Don't expect the satisfaction of an ending at the conclusion of every volume. Expect cliffhangers.
2. You will almost certainly doubt it more than once while you are reading, but the novel, taken as a whole, does tell a coherent, linear story. It is the story of how and why Severian, the narrator and hero, became what he is at the end of the last book. Everything you read, however irrelevant it may seem, is part of that story and vital to the plot. The apparently (but only apparently) meandering style of the narrative is designed to confuse. This book, more than most, is a game the reader is invited to play with the author.
3. The dice in this game are heavily loaded. It is impossible to understand The Book of the New Sun on a first reading. At any rate (and I have studied the matter), I have never heard or read of anyone who has. It is a book you have to read at least twice. The author actually tells you this explicitly, using the voice of Severian to do so. Thoughtfully, he saves the advice until the last page of the last volume.
4. To complicate matters further, there is a story underneath the story. Understanding that story, you will at last understand why Severian's journey is so long and why the incidents in it are so strange and seemingly incomprehensible. This story may not reveal itself at even a second reading.
5. The small stories within the main narrative (there are many of them scattered throughout all four volumes) are also very relevant to the main plot, and even more relevant to the subtextual 'under-story' mentioned above. To repeat, nothing in The Book of the New Sun is irrelevant.
6. This is science fiction, not fantasy (even though it won a World Fantasy Award). Nothing supernatural happens in it, with the exception of two major, frequently-repeated events that take place at various points during the narrative. One you will not even realize is happening the first time you read the book; I actually had to have it pointed out to me after not even having noticed it on my second reading. The second is easy enough to spot, but is not really presented as supernatural. Anyway, in The Book of the New Sun, what is supernatural on one level always turns out to be perfectly natural on a different level — as indeed it must be, if you think about it. Even God can't be supernatural from His own point of view.
I have read this book three times over a period of roughly 20 years. My last reading began after having spent some months lurking on urth.net, an email forum dedicated to the works of Gene Wolfe, on which obsessive readers discuss his work in excruciating detail. Even so, there is much in The Book of the New Sun that I don't understand, though neither the plot nor the subtext are mysteries to me any longer.
This book certainly isn't for everyone; like Buddhism, you need to have travelled far along the path already before you can take it up and gain anything from it. It is a special treat for literary sophisticates who are also fans of fantasy and/or science fiction; not a very common combination. If you find what I have written above intriguing rather than offputting, Gene Wolfe's masterpiece may be for you. Otherwise, seriously, don't bother.
A final word of warning. if you are one of those people who think the meaning of a work of literature is contained in its symbolism, you will never understand Gene Wolfe. He loves to play with symbols, and he does it on practically every page of this book; but most of the time he does it playfully, as a literary conceit, and for the entertainment of the best-read among his readers. Follow his symbolism hoping to understand the story, and you will be woefully misled. I think he does it intentionally, and three cheers for him too.
1. The four volumes of The Book of the New Sun are one long novel, not four separate books. It was originally published in four volumes because it was too expensive and cumbersome to print as one. Don't expect the satisfaction of an ending at the conclusion of every volume. Expect cliffhangers.
2. You will almost certainly doubt it more than once while you are reading, but the novel, taken as a whole, does tell a coherent, linear story. It is the story of how and why Severian, the narrator and hero, became what he is at the end of the last book. Everything you read, however irrelevant it may seem, is part of that story and vital to the plot. The apparently (but only apparently) meandering style of the narrative is designed to confuse. This book, more than most, is a game the reader is invited to play with the author.
3. The dice in this game are heavily loaded. It is impossible to understand The Book of the New Sun on a first reading. At any rate (and I have studied the matter), I have never heard or read of anyone who has. It is a book you have to read at least twice. The author actually tells you this explicitly, using the voice of Severian to do so. Thoughtfully, he saves the advice until the last page of the last volume.
4. To complicate matters further, there is a story underneath the story. Understanding that story, you will at last understand why Severian's journey is so long and why the incidents in it are so strange and seemingly incomprehensible. This story may not reveal itself at even a second reading.
5. The small stories within the main narrative (there are many of them scattered throughout all four volumes) are also very relevant to the main plot, and even more relevant to the subtextual 'under-story' mentioned above. To repeat, nothing in The Book of the New Sun is irrelevant.
6. This is science fiction, not fantasy (even though it won a World Fantasy Award). Nothing supernatural happens in it, with the exception of two major, frequently-repeated events that take place at various points during the narrative. One you will not even realize is happening the first time you read the book; I actually had to have it pointed out to me after not even having noticed it on my second reading. The second is easy enough to spot, but is not really presented as supernatural. Anyway, in The Book of the New Sun, what is supernatural on one level always turns out to be perfectly natural on a different level — as indeed it must be, if you think about it. Even God can't be supernatural from His own point of view.
I have read this book three times over a period of roughly 20 years. My last reading began after having spent some months lurking on urth.net, an email forum dedicated to the works of Gene Wolfe, on which obsessive readers discuss his work in excruciating detail. Even so, there is much in The Book of the New Sun that I don't understand, though neither the plot nor the subtext are mysteries to me any longer.
This book certainly isn't for everyone; like Buddhism, you need to have travelled far along the path already before you can take it up and gain anything from it. It is a special treat for literary sophisticates who are also fans of fantasy and/or science fiction; not a very common combination. If you find what I have written above intriguing rather than offputting, Gene Wolfe's masterpiece may be for you. Otherwise, seriously, don't bother.
A final word of warning. if you are one of those people who think the meaning of a work of literature is contained in its symbolism, you will never understand Gene Wolfe. He loves to play with symbols, and he does it on practically every page of this book; but most of the time he does it playfully, as a literary conceit, and for the entertainment of the best-read among his readers. Follow his symbolism hoping to understand the story, and you will be woefully misled. I think he does it intentionally, and three cheers for him too.
May 25, 2016
I can't deal with this anymore. I need books where I can actually care what's going on.
May 15, 2021
I hate to sound like a broken record, but—as I said at the beginning of my review of The Claw of the Conciliator, the “jury is still out” on The Book of the New Sun for me.
True, Wolfe’s world is meticulously constructed, his lapidary prose (enriched by hard words) prepares a supportive mood for his world, and yet the narrator Severian’s artfully cautious tone—no less cautious in moments of candor—causes us (like a torturer) to put to the question every element of this carefully built world. So far so good. It may make for chilly fantasy, but I happen to like chilly fantasy. (My favorites: The Broken Sword, The Elric Saga, and the Viriconium series).
Still, there’s something about the whole project that seems unfocused to me. What is the nature of Severian’s journey? Is he mostly picaro, alchemist, or questing knight—or is he equally all three? I’m now three-quarters of the way through the The New Sun, and I still don’t have a clue.
Still, though, there’s plenty of neat stuff here: the frightening attack of the alzabo, the beast who absorbs and manipulates the personalities of the humans he devours; the encounter with the wily old god Typhon; his capture by the men who wear claws on their hands; the shore-dwellers battle with the floating-island men; and the final fight at Baldander’s castle.
So far, there’s been plenty here to keep me interested, and I look forward to the fourth volume, The Citadel of the Autarch. Still, there’s much here that is still unresolved, and I will be surprised (and extraordinarily pleased) if The Book of the New Sun is brought to a successful conclusion.
October 22, 2025
Все така хаотично върви историята, но е малко по-добре закърпена. Тоя Севериън излезе непоправим женкар…
Стигна се до някаква частична развръзка, която обаче очаквах. Да видим, какво ще се случи в последната книга от оригиналната тетралогия.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
Стигна се до някаква частична развръзка, която обаче очаквах. Да видим, какво ще се случи в последната книга от оригиналната тетралогия.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
February 23, 2015
POTENTIAL SPOILERS, READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW DETAILS.
I continue to be drawn into the world of Urth, which is lush and fascinating. I can’t believe the detail that Wolfe indulges in—the many bioclimatic zones that are described, the details of the landscapes, the many ranks and levels of society, the details of cities. I was willing to follow Severian through his journeys just to experience more Urth.
Severian himself continues to be an enigma. He’s an intelligent guy, but so emotionless. His paramour, Dorcas, is plunged into a depression of some kind and what does he do? Installs her at an inn and goes to a fancy-pants masquerade party that his employer has commanded his attendance. So far, so good, he was ordered to go. But once there, he proceeds to make love to another woman (who turns out to be the boss’s wife) as if Dorcas doesn’t exist. So on one hand, he cares enough about Dorcas to spend a bit of dough on her, but not enough to resist the attentions of a woman who admits she’s old enough to be his mother.
He is also particularly unmoved by the deaths of people around him—and, fair enough, he’s a torturer so that kind of makes sense. And the torturers’ guild makes very sure not to admit people who get all excited about killing people (i.e. sadists), which makes me think he must have some other mental disorder that prevents him from feeling emotion. Just when I’ve decided that, he turns around and has “mercy” on his boss’s wife, who he is supposed to strangle, and sets her free to go seek asylum in another city. Later, he takes on an orphaned boy, understands that the kid may be traumatized from watching his family die, but then seems to feel barely a twitch of remorse when the child too is killed. Add to that his eidetic memory and I’m starting to play with the idea that he’s not entirely human.
So, I don’t know what to think of this guy, but I am still fascinated by the world—the alien life forms that feature, the strange mixture of space-faring & medieval technology, wondering how Earth became Urth. The aliens are absolutely enigmatic—I can’t fathom their purposes at all at this point.
Of course NOTHING is resolved in this book, so it’s on to The Citadel of the Autarch now to see if I can find some satisfaction.
Title number 164 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy reading project.
I continue to be drawn into the world of Urth, which is lush and fascinating. I can’t believe the detail that Wolfe indulges in—the many bioclimatic zones that are described, the details of the landscapes, the many ranks and levels of society, the details of cities. I was willing to follow Severian through his journeys just to experience more Urth.
Severian himself continues to be an enigma. He’s an intelligent guy, but so emotionless. His paramour, Dorcas, is plunged into a depression of some kind and what does he do? Installs her at an inn and goes to a fancy-pants masquerade party that his employer has commanded his attendance. So far, so good, he was ordered to go. But once there, he proceeds to make love to another woman (who turns out to be the boss’s wife) as if Dorcas doesn’t exist. So on one hand, he cares enough about Dorcas to spend a bit of dough on her, but not enough to resist the attentions of a woman who admits she’s old enough to be his mother.
He is also particularly unmoved by the deaths of people around him—and, fair enough, he’s a torturer so that kind of makes sense. And the torturers’ guild makes very sure not to admit people who get all excited about killing people (i.e. sadists), which makes me think he must have some other mental disorder that prevents him from feeling emotion. Just when I’ve decided that, he turns around and has “mercy” on his boss’s wife, who he is supposed to strangle, and sets her free to go seek asylum in another city. Later, he takes on an orphaned boy, understands that the kid may be traumatized from watching his family die, but then seems to feel barely a twitch of remorse when the child too is killed. Add to that his eidetic memory and I’m starting to play with the idea that he’s not entirely human.
So, I don’t know what to think of this guy, but I am still fascinated by the world—the alien life forms that feature, the strange mixture of space-faring & medieval technology, wondering how Earth became Urth. The aliens are absolutely enigmatic—I can’t fathom their purposes at all at this point.
Of course NOTHING is resolved in this book, so it’s on to The Citadel of the Autarch now to see if I can find some satisfaction.
Title number 164 in my Science Fiction & Fantasy reading project.
February 23, 2025
Favorite one so far!
Will probably say more about it when I am done BotNS, but this was the most captivating to me. Especially from an emotional investment point of view. I am really glad I am enjoying this series as much as I am.
9/10
Will probably say more about it when I am done BotNS, but this was the most captivating to me. Especially from an emotional investment point of view. I am really glad I am enjoying this series as much as I am.
9/10
December 13, 2023
Probably one of the best books I’ve read.
January 10, 2019
_Sword of the Lictor_ has proven to be my favourite volume so far in my re-read of the New Sun series. Some obvious reasons are some really great moments, such as the disturbing scene with the Alzabo in which we discover the true nature of the creature from which a key ingredient of Severian’s ghoulish banquet with Vodalus was derived, and the biblical debate with Typhon on the mountaintop (which has obvious resonance for any readers of the subsequent Long Sun series).
Severian continues to develop further and further from his identification with the Guild of the Torturers, at least internally. It’s true that he freely uses that identity to aid him in his journeys when this association might at all benefit him, but we begin to see more and more instances of Severian acting in a way that the young torturer of earlier volumes would likely not even have considered let alone performed…though it is important to keep in mind that there may be an underlying reason for this aside from any purely individual personal growth Severian is undergoing.
The story begins in Thrax, Severian’s final destination throughout the previous books (with, yet again, a significant distance in space and time from the climax of the previous volume with no answers to its unresolved mysteries in sight). Undertaking the role of Lictor (or executioner and head jailer) of the provincial town we see Severian inhabiting a role of real political power fully invested in his role as torturer (ironically at the very time that he is beginning to grow out of it). It is everything that he had once dreamed might be possible for himself, but the bloom is definitely off the rose for him now. A few of the mysteries that have been dogging Severian, and the reader, are at least partially explained, while others are of course introduced or left to grow even bigger as we begin to get a wider picture of Urth and the complex powers and influences that play upon it.
There’s really a heck of a lot going on in this book even when just looked at from a plot/action perspective (which isn’t always the case with Wolfe), nevermind the obvious layers of allusion, implication, and metaphor that exist alongside these events. With the hope of avoiding as many spoilers as possible I think I can at least note that we have: Severian as official torturer turned fugitive, a physical battle with wild alien beasts and a much more cerebral one with a band of purported sorcerers, a contest both moral and physical with a truly satanic ruler from the deep past, and his capture by old friends who prove to be foes culminating in yet another battle that has great repercussions for Severian as holder of the relic known as the Claw of the Conciliator.
The book ends on much less of a cliff-hanger than the previous two volumes and we seem to be at a new stage for Severian as he must now look beyond his previous goals of simply reaching Thrax, or finding his place as an exiled torturer, and see what lies ahead as the true goal to which the many mysterious events of his life have been pushing him. I really enjoyed this one and am anxious to see how volume 4 fares.
Severian continues to develop further and further from his identification with the Guild of the Torturers, at least internally. It’s true that he freely uses that identity to aid him in his journeys when this association might at all benefit him, but we begin to see more and more instances of Severian acting in a way that the young torturer of earlier volumes would likely not even have considered let alone performed…though it is important to keep in mind that there may be an underlying reason for this aside from any purely individual personal growth Severian is undergoing.
The story begins in Thrax, Severian’s final destination throughout the previous books (with, yet again, a significant distance in space and time from the climax of the previous volume with no answers to its unresolved mysteries in sight). Undertaking the role of Lictor (or executioner and head jailer) of the provincial town we see Severian inhabiting a role of real political power fully invested in his role as torturer (ironically at the very time that he is beginning to grow out of it). It is everything that he had once dreamed might be possible for himself, but the bloom is definitely off the rose for him now. A few of the mysteries that have been dogging Severian, and the reader, are at least partially explained, while others are of course introduced or left to grow even bigger as we begin to get a wider picture of Urth and the complex powers and influences that play upon it.
There’s really a heck of a lot going on in this book even when just looked at from a plot/action perspective (which isn’t always the case with Wolfe), nevermind the obvious layers of allusion, implication, and metaphor that exist alongside these events. With the hope of avoiding as many spoilers as possible I think I can at least note that we have: Severian as official torturer turned fugitive, a physical battle with wild alien beasts and a much more cerebral one with a band of purported sorcerers, a contest both moral and physical with a truly satanic ruler from the deep past, and his capture by old friends who prove to be foes culminating in yet another battle that has great repercussions for Severian as holder of the relic known as the Claw of the Conciliator.
The book ends on much less of a cliff-hanger than the previous two volumes and we seem to be at a new stage for Severian as he must now look beyond his previous goals of simply reaching Thrax, or finding his place as an exiled torturer, and see what lies ahead as the true goal to which the many mysterious events of his life have been pushing him. I really enjoyed this one and am anxious to see how volume 4 fares.
October 26, 2022
Think this might be my favourite entry in the series yet. I love the way Wolfe reveals and conceals things.
"Do you know what I brought up?"
She was staring at the low ceiling, and I had the feeling that there was another Severian there, the kind and even noble Severian who existed only in Dorcas's mind. All of us, I suppose, when we think we are talking most intimately to someone else, are actually addressing an image we have of the person to whom we believe we speak. But this seemed more than that; I felt that Dorcas would go on talking if I left the room. "No," I answered. "Water, perhaps?"
"Sling-stones."
I thought she was speaking metaphorically, and only ventured, "That must have been very unpleasant."
Her head rolled on the pillow again, and now I could see her blue eyes with their wide pupils. In their emptiness they might have been two little ghosts. "Sling-stones, Severian my darling. Heavy little slugs of metal, each about as big around as a nut and not quite so long as my thumb and stamped with the word strike. They came rattling out of my throat into the bucket, and I reached down—put my hand down into the filth that came up with them and pulled them up to see. ... Do you remember, Severian, how it was when we left the Botanic Garden? You, Agia, and I came out of that great, glass vivarium, and you hired a boat to take us from the island to the shore, and the river was full of nenuphars with blue flowers and shining green leaves. Their seeds are like that, hard and heavy and dark, and I have heard that they sink to the bottom of Gyoll and remain there for whole ages of the world. But when chance brings them near the surface they sprout no matter how old they may be, so that the flowers of a chiliad past are seen to bloom again."
"I have heard that too," I said. "But it means nothing to you or me." Dorcas lay still, but her voice trembled. "What is the power that calls them back? Can you explain it?"
"The sunshine, I suppose—but no, I cannot explain it."
"And is there no source of sunlight except the sun?" I knew then what it was she meant, though something in me could not accept it.
"When that man—Hildegrin, the man we met a second time on top of the tomb in the ruined stone town—was ferrying us across the Lake of Birds, he talked of millions of dead people, people whose bodies had been sunk in that water. How were they made to sink, Severian? Bodies float. How do they weight them? I don't know. Do you?"
I did. "They force lead shot down the throats."
"I thought so." Her voice was so weak now that I could scarcely hear her, even in that silent little room. "No, I knew so. I knew it when I saw them."
November 30, 2023
Reread - I read this once or twice in the Portuguese translation, when a teenager (because it existed and it existed in the library and there were not those many sf/f books around when i was a teen). And one can read this series at any kind of depth (because there are layers upon layers) and I certainly have not got too deep quite yet. But rereading now in english (oh the vocabulary.. Poor translators...) and checking things out.
Also in the "do as I say but not as I do" category, if reading or rereading, read the whole series close together and not far apart, to get as much of the references as possible. But I was distracted and kept chasing other books and only returning here occasionally, and that is not optimal. (I will never read it as focused as the first time, but that was before google, or massive dictionaries!)
Totally, absolutely not a standalone, one of a set of 4 books. Wolfe plays some of his usual tricks (perhaps more of his usual tricks that I can spot), with some judicious skipping things, random times which make you doubt your memory and then flashbacks and Severian's famous memory being famously sketchy.
It is undoubtedly a masterpiece (or part of one) and interesting in so many ways: the sf setting, the unreliable narrator, the references, the use of language (really, not genre related, so many words which exist and I had never encountered, the use of language is remarkable by ANY standards, not within genre). It is also (IMO,for what it is worth) rather easy and simple to read chapter by chapter, full of surprises and flowing so well, one can read this at any level, shallow, deeper and even depper - even if very hard to truly grasp what is below the surface, really going on or how that world is. But I admire it somewhat coldly rather than wholeheartedly love it, there is some distance from all characters, and I never quite believe in them. Particularly the women characters - even discounting the unreliability (and/or unlikability) of Severian, I often put the book down over the "thing-ness" of these women characters and how loathsome Severian's gaze on women was and how little aware of it the women were. IMO Gene Wolfe was not good at writing women, or women with agency, and that was in my mind during this reread.
I am continuing the reread and planning to get to The Urth of the New Sun, which I have never read and long meant to, eventually.
Also in the "do as I say but not as I do" category, if reading or rereading, read the whole series close together and not far apart, to get as much of the references as possible. But I was distracted and kept chasing other books and only returning here occasionally, and that is not optimal. (I will never read it as focused as the first time, but that was before google, or massive dictionaries!)
Totally, absolutely not a standalone, one of a set of 4 books. Wolfe plays some of his usual tricks (perhaps more of his usual tricks that I can spot), with some judicious skipping things, random times which make you doubt your memory and then flashbacks and Severian's famous memory being famously sketchy.
It is undoubtedly a masterpiece (or part of one) and interesting in so many ways: the sf setting, the unreliable narrator, the references, the use of language (really, not genre related, so many words which exist and I had never encountered, the use of language is remarkable by ANY standards, not within genre). It is also (IMO,for what it is worth) rather easy and simple to read chapter by chapter, full of surprises and flowing so well, one can read this at any level, shallow, deeper and even depper - even if very hard to truly grasp what is below the surface, really going on or how that world is. But I admire it somewhat coldly rather than wholeheartedly love it, there is some distance from all characters, and I never quite believe in them. Particularly the women characters - even discounting the unreliability (and/or unlikability) of Severian, I often put the book down over the "thing-ness" of these women characters and how loathsome Severian's gaze on women was and how little aware of it the women were. IMO Gene Wolfe was not good at writing women, or women with agency, and that was in my mind during this reread.
I am continuing the reread and planning to get to The Urth of the New Sun, which I have never read and long meant to, eventually.
May 24, 2016
I loved it even though I didn't fully understand it.
December 18, 2010
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
Gene Wolfe’s The Sword of the Lictor essentially contains no plot, but it’s the best plotless book I’ve ever read. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, period. I loved every moment of it! (I read this on audio; Audible Frontiers' audio version, read by Jonathan Davis, is exceptional.)
This third installment of The Book of the New Sun continues Severian’s journey from apprentice in the torturers’ guild to Autarch. He doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to his exalted position (if anything, I’d say farther) and we’re no closer to understanding how he’s going to get there. But that’s totally fine. Unburdened by a need to be anywhere or to achieve any goals or deadlines, Severian wanders the earth almost aimlessly, and it’s this wandering that’s so fascinating.
For a reader who’s only anxious for action and story progression, The Sword of the Lictor is not likely to work and, indeed, I usually get annoyed with authors who take too long to tell their stories. However, when I’m reading Gene Wolfe, it not only works — it is pure delight. For Wolfe’s old earth, set in a far future when the sun is dying (similar to Jack Vance’s Dying Earth), is full of wonder and amazement and he tells us all about it in his simple but elegant style:
“… authors are so anxious to move their stories forward (however wooden they may be, advancing like market carts with squeaking wheels that are never still, though they go only to dusty villages where the charm of the country is lost and the pleasures of the city will never be found)… The assassin who holds a dagger to his victim’s neck is eager to discuss the whole matter, and at any length the victim or the author may wish. The passionate pair in love’s embrace are at least equally willing to postpone the stabbing, if not more so… In life it is not the same…”
I wish I could be there with Severian as he climbs down the steep cliff overhung with a waterfall and embedded with the fossils of earth’s lost architecture, and explores the round metal building that we recognize (but he doesn’t) as a spaceship… I’d love to tell you more and to discuss what it all means (there’s so much symbolism here), but then you’d miss the jaw-dropping, eye-widening, brain-expanding experience for yourself. I’ll just say that what Severian experiences on his journey perfectly captures the essence of excellent speculative fiction — it’s the reason I love SFF.
Nobody creates such a sense of wonder and amazement, such truly unique and bizarre ideas, and relates them in such a beautiful way as Gene Wolfe does. I want to spend a lot more time exploring his world.
Gene Wolfe’s The Sword of the Lictor essentially contains no plot, but it’s the best plotless book I’ve ever read. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, period. I loved every moment of it! (I read this on audio; Audible Frontiers' audio version, read by Jonathan Davis, is exceptional.)
This third installment of The Book of the New Sun continues Severian’s journey from apprentice in the torturers’ guild to Autarch. He doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to his exalted position (if anything, I’d say farther) and we’re no closer to understanding how he’s going to get there. But that’s totally fine. Unburdened by a need to be anywhere or to achieve any goals or deadlines, Severian wanders the earth almost aimlessly, and it’s this wandering that’s so fascinating.
For a reader who’s only anxious for action and story progression, The Sword of the Lictor is not likely to work and, indeed, I usually get annoyed with authors who take too long to tell their stories. However, when I’m reading Gene Wolfe, it not only works — it is pure delight. For Wolfe’s old earth, set in a far future when the sun is dying (similar to Jack Vance’s Dying Earth), is full of wonder and amazement and he tells us all about it in his simple but elegant style:
“… authors are so anxious to move their stories forward (however wooden they may be, advancing like market carts with squeaking wheels that are never still, though they go only to dusty villages where the charm of the country is lost and the pleasures of the city will never be found)… The assassin who holds a dagger to his victim’s neck is eager to discuss the whole matter, and at any length the victim or the author may wish. The passionate pair in love’s embrace are at least equally willing to postpone the stabbing, if not more so… In life it is not the same…”
I wish I could be there with Severian as he climbs down the steep cliff overhung with a waterfall and embedded with the fossils of earth’s lost architecture, and explores the round metal building that we recognize (but he doesn’t) as a spaceship… I’d love to tell you more and to discuss what it all means (there’s so much symbolism here), but then you’d miss the jaw-dropping, eye-widening, brain-expanding experience for yourself. I’ll just say that what Severian experiences on his journey perfectly captures the essence of excellent speculative fiction — it’s the reason I love SFF.
Nobody creates such a sense of wonder and amazement, such truly unique and bizarre ideas, and relates them in such a beautiful way as Gene Wolfe does. I want to spend a lot more time exploring his world.
November 21, 2023
Sāku nedaudz nogurt no Severīna "overlong account of my adventures".
Varētu teikt, ka šajā grāmatā notiek ļoti daudz kas, bet varētu arī teikt, ka tā īsti nenotiek nekas, un abējādi nebūs melots. Ja nezinātu, ka nākamā daļa būs noslēdzošā un arī beidzot šo to paskaidros, tad laikam būtu gatavs likt punktu.
Saprotu, ka daļai lasītāju izraisa sajūsmu grāmatas, kas jālasa vairākkārt, lai saprastu, ko autors īsti domājis, taču man tas šķiet no autora puses drusku vīzdegunīgi. Lielais vairums ideju un atsauču man vienkārši lido pāri neaizsniegti, bet neko darīt.
Varētu teikt, ka šajā grāmatā notiek ļoti daudz kas, bet varētu arī teikt, ka tā īsti nenotiek nekas, un abējādi nebūs melots. Ja nezinātu, ka nākamā daļa būs noslēdzošā un arī beidzot šo to paskaidros, tad laikam būtu gatavs likt punktu.
Saprotu, ka daļai lasītāju izraisa sajūsmu grāmatas, kas jālasa vairākkārt, lai saprastu, ko autors īsti domājis, taču man tas šķiet no autora puses drusku vīzdegunīgi. Lielais vairums ideju un atsauču man vienkārši lido pāri neaizsniegti, bet neko darīt.
November 22, 2021
Ma la giustizia non ritorna
"Conobbi allora, là sul braccio della gigantesca figura, l'ambizione di riuscire a dominare il tempo, un'ambizione alla quale il desiderio di raggiungere soli lontani era solo l'avidità di un piumato capitano da quattro soldi di riuscire a soggiogare un'altra tribù."
Difficile leggere un'opera più respingente e surreale de Il libro del Nuovo Sole di Gene Wolfe. L'archiviazione di questo terzo volume restituisce, purtroppo, l'impressione di una gargantuesca occasione sprecata. Fa rabbia vedere un mondo così potente nel concept essere ridotto a pallido sfondo di scena, tanto quanto il sole morente che svetta su Urth; ancora più irritante è la latitanza di un'introspezione profonda del personaggio principale, difetto che grava enormemente sulle ambizioni di questo ciclo.
Alcuni pregi innegabili (il bestiario di creature, con in testa l'inquietante alzabo analettico; l'anello dorato del catafratto; Thrax, la Città senza Finestre) scendono a compromessi con l'intreccio narrativo il più delle volte farraginoso, imbastito su incontri improbabili - a esser generosi - e dialoghi oscillanti tra il brillante e lo sconclusionato.
Lettura interessante, con potenziale ragguardevole; ma da un autore così stimato era lecito attendersi di più.
"Conobbi allora, là sul braccio della gigantesca figura, l'ambizione di riuscire a dominare il tempo, un'ambizione alla quale il desiderio di raggiungere soli lontani era solo l'avidità di un piumato capitano da quattro soldi di riuscire a soggiogare un'altra tribù."
Difficile leggere un'opera più respingente e surreale de Il libro del Nuovo Sole di Gene Wolfe. L'archiviazione di questo terzo volume restituisce, purtroppo, l'impressione di una gargantuesca occasione sprecata. Fa rabbia vedere un mondo così potente nel concept essere ridotto a pallido sfondo di scena, tanto quanto il sole morente che svetta su Urth; ancora più irritante è la latitanza di un'introspezione profonda del personaggio principale, difetto che grava enormemente sulle ambizioni di questo ciclo.
Alcuni pregi innegabili (il bestiario di creature, con in testa l'inquietante alzabo analettico; l'anello dorato del catafratto; Thrax, la Città senza Finestre) scendono a compromessi con l'intreccio narrativo il più delle volte farraginoso, imbastito su incontri improbabili - a esser generosi - e dialoghi oscillanti tra il brillante e lo sconclusionato.
Lettura interessante, con potenziale ragguardevole; ma da un autore così stimato era lecito attendersi di più.
October 30, 2021
This was a fascinating installment in Book of the New Sun and a lot happens. Severian continues to be framed as a sort of perverse Christ figure- doing miracles of healing and resurrection, facing temptation....but in subversive ways that are often violent. We get more understanding of the world and its history, encounter extant technologies that seem magical, re-encounter aliens, and more. This book takes some effort to read and unpack but I think it's worthwhile. Also there's less overt sexism than previous installments, though it's definitely still there. Like when he ends up sleeping with an enslaved girl that he frees. Lovely. Overall though, I'm finding the series interesting.
September 24, 2023
La tercera parte del Nuevo Sol continúa en muchos aspectos similar a sus dos entregas anteriores. Y a la vez en algunos otros parece asentarse en derroteros más usuales del género, a sentirse más familiar.
Especialmente porque aquí hay más ‘viaje’. Y a todos aquí eso nos hace sentir como en casa. Los prodigios se suceden, intercalados con las movidas ya clásicas de Wolfe. Medias verdades y hechos que sólo el protagonista puede corroborar. Una escena que es para variar un símil de un capítulo de los evangelios. Y una serie de cosas que se dicen los personajes y que se implican entre líneas.
La idea central de este libro, que es comprender conceptos de ciencia ficción a través de los ojos de alguien que los ve como fantasía, comienza a cansar también a medida que vamos llegando a las 3/4 partes del libro completo
Al terminar de leer cada libro estoy siguiendo episodios del podcast Alzabo Soup, especializado casi en una lectura línea por línea de la obra de Wolfe. Y al darme cuenta de que no ‘caché’ la mayor implicación del clímax del libro me comenzó a hacer sentir frustrado. Empiezo a pensar que un libro que requiere relecturas y material de apoyo para ser comprendido quizá no sea lo ideal. Y pienso igual de Erikson.
Especialmente porque aquí hay más ‘viaje’. Y a todos aquí eso nos hace sentir como en casa. Los prodigios se suceden, intercalados con las movidas ya clásicas de Wolfe. Medias verdades y hechos que sólo el protagonista puede corroborar. Una escena que es para variar un símil de un capítulo de los evangelios. Y una serie de cosas que se dicen los personajes y que se implican entre líneas.
La idea central de este libro, que es comprender conceptos de ciencia ficción a través de los ojos de alguien que los ve como fantasía, comienza a cansar también a medida que vamos llegando a las 3/4 partes del libro completo
Al terminar de leer cada libro estoy siguiendo episodios del podcast Alzabo Soup, especializado casi en una lectura línea por línea de la obra de Wolfe. Y al darme cuenta de que no ‘caché’ la mayor implicación del clímax del libro me comenzó a hacer sentir frustrado. Empiezo a pensar que un libro que requiere relecturas y material de apoyo para ser comprendido quizá no sea lo ideal. Y pienso igual de Erikson.
June 4, 2021
I seem to have hit the jackpot in terms of reading all the best books of different series at the same time. Sword of the Lictor is my favourite of the three Book of the New Sun books I've read so far. My thoughts on this installment are quite similar to the previous books, so again, I do not have much to say that is specific to this novel.
We clearly see Severian's growth as a character, and thinking back to Shadow of the Torturer, he has come a long way. His rising disdain for the Torturer's Guild and his growing conscience and guilt have a major impact on his character and the decisions he makes. This book is also where the most interesting and wild events occur at regular intervals, with cacogens, spaceships, a two-headed man, an alzabo and much more. Wolfe's prose is gorgeous to read and his skill with atmosphere and tone is on display fully in this book, with some scenes including the alzabo feeling like it was plucked straight out of a horror novel.
All the locations and settings feel vivid and distinct, the knife-like shape of the city of Thrax, the green floating islands, and the mysterious castle. There remains a dreamlike, strange quality to the world and the writing that deepens the immersion. We also get a lot of lore and depth about the history of Urth, and the layers are slowly being peeled back with more overt science and advanced technology being discussed, though the brilliant jewel, the Claw of the Conciliator, still remains a mystery. A multitude of shocking revelations occur that provide an entirely new perspective to the events of the previous two books. Overall, an amazing continuation of Severian's adventure with great characterization, revelations, and explanations; the puzzle pieces are slowly fitting together, though the complete picture is not yet visible.
8.7/10
We clearly see Severian's growth as a character, and thinking back to Shadow of the Torturer, he has come a long way. His rising disdain for the Torturer's Guild and his growing conscience and guilt have a major impact on his character and the decisions he makes. This book is also where the most interesting and wild events occur at regular intervals, with cacogens, spaceships, a two-headed man, an alzabo and much more. Wolfe's prose is gorgeous to read and his skill with atmosphere and tone is on display fully in this book, with some scenes including the alzabo feeling like it was plucked straight out of a horror novel.
All the locations and settings feel vivid and distinct, the knife-like shape of the city of Thrax, the green floating islands, and the mysterious castle. There remains a dreamlike, strange quality to the world and the writing that deepens the immersion. We also get a lot of lore and depth about the history of Urth, and the layers are slowly being peeled back with more overt science and advanced technology being discussed, though the brilliant jewel, the Claw of the Conciliator, still remains a mystery. A multitude of shocking revelations occur that provide an entirely new perspective to the events of the previous two books. Overall, an amazing continuation of Severian's adventure with great characterization, revelations, and explanations; the puzzle pieces are slowly fitting together, though the complete picture is not yet visible.
8.7/10
June 9, 2019
The end of this volume brings me to the end of the second act of Book of the New Sun. It's where the whole thing begins to actually take form of a real story, in my head, with a well-structured start and middle and end. Up until the last parts of this book, it was difficult to tell. Severian's adventures in the bizarre and alien world of his were always interesting, but they always felt a little... aimless? Like I did not really know where exactly the whole thing was going?
Well, I'm starting to see it a little better now, I think. It brings a new appreciation to the previous two books as well, and I know I'll have to read the entire saga for a second time sometime in the future. This one changed the context of those previous works in many ways.
I think I'll have a pause here, pick up a few other books and other projects, then eventually grab the conclusion to the New Sun and finally see where this whole damned thing is going. If you wish to walk no farther with me, I do not blame you. It is no easy read.
Well, I'm starting to see it a little better now, I think. It brings a new appreciation to the previous two books as well, and I know I'll have to read the entire saga for a second time sometime in the future. This one changed the context of those previous works in many ways.
I think I'll have a pause here, pick up a few other books and other projects, then eventually grab the conclusion to the New Sun and finally see where this whole damned thing is going. If you wish to walk no farther with me, I do not blame you. It is no easy read.
July 22, 2019
Same procedure as with the first two books: 4.5 stars – and I dearly hope Gene Wolfe is taking the piss out of Severian with his take on sexuality …
Either I’ve gotten used to Wolfe’s style or this third book was a lot more approachable than the first two. It was much easier for me to follow and it offered answers for a change. I was quite satisfied with some of the explanations which were hinted at in former books, some revelations came a bit out of the blue for me. This series definitely cries out for a re-read. I’m sure there is so much more to detect the second time.
Around the half point I feared that it would become too easy – after all the charm and fun of this series is the time/space/subconscious layer puzzling, but then Severian encountered the next mind spinning firework of weird ideas and I was happy.
I’m mesmerized by and absolutely pleased with this series, that continues to tickle my brain like little else I’ve read.
On to part four with barely concealed excitement!
Either I’ve gotten used to Wolfe’s style or this third book was a lot more approachable than the first two. It was much easier for me to follow and it offered answers for a change. I was quite satisfied with some of the explanations which were hinted at in former books, some revelations came a bit out of the blue for me. This series definitely cries out for a re-read. I’m sure there is so much more to detect the second time.
Around the half point I feared that it would become too easy – after all the charm and fun of this series is the time/space/subconscious layer puzzling, but then Severian encountered the next mind spinning firework of weird ideas and I was happy.
I’m mesmerized by and absolutely pleased with this series, that continues to tickle my brain like little else I’ve read.
On to part four with barely concealed excitement!
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September 16, 2018Nemam da podelim ništa mudro osim generalnog beskrajnog uživanja u tekstu. Knjiga Novog sunca je ozbiljna potvrda onog da smisao putovanja nije u dolasku na cilj nego u samom putovanju (tako da, ko ne voli digresije...) a uz ovaj deo bih samo pomenula kako baš treba biti car pa u skromnu uokvirenu priču skrkati i predanja o Aleksandrovom rođenju i Romula i Rema i Moglija ali sve tako da se zapravo referiše na okvirnu priču (tj. ceo roman) i ima veze s njom a istovremeno funkcioniše i kao zaokruženi narativ.
September 22, 2025
Por fin Severian llega a Thrax, la ciudad a la que se dirige desde el primer libro, y apenas dura unos capítulos cuando se vuelve a marchar. Y ahí que sigue recorriendo el mundo y en cada capítulo le ocurre algo distinto.
No le puedo poner un pero a la narración e imaginería de Gene Wolfe. Es lo único que me mantiene leyendo la historia. Pero trama como tal está muy soterrada y aunque tenga todo un hilo conductor en cada capítulo van sucediendo cosas sin mayor explicación, situaciones alegóricas que pueden tener muchos significados y como siempre termina muy abruptamente y el propio autor comenta que entiende que no sigan leyendo los lectores. Como soy muy cabezón voy a seguir hasta terminar la saga pero no es una fantasía muy recomendable para todos los públicos.
No le puedo poner un pero a la narración e imaginería de Gene Wolfe. Es lo único que me mantiene leyendo la historia. Pero trama como tal está muy soterrada y aunque tenga todo un hilo conductor en cada capítulo van sucediendo cosas sin mayor explicación, situaciones alegóricas que pueden tener muchos significados y como siempre termina muy abruptamente y el propio autor comenta que entiende que no sigan leyendo los lectores. Como soy muy cabezón voy a seguir hasta terminar la saga pero no es una fantasía muy recomendable para todos los públicos.
August 28, 2017
This is the third book in the series The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. I don’t have too much to say about it, but I enjoyed it at the same level as the previous two.
The previous book had a couple things that drove me nuts, and this book did not. Even Severian’s constant harping about his perfect memory is toned down to a more tolerable level. The story also held my interest pretty consistently all the way through. On the other hand, there really weren’t any secondary characters in this book that I felt attached to like I had in the previous book.
I have one very spoiler-ish thing to talk about in spoiler tags:
This book continues to create more questions, but it also answered or hinted at answers to quite a few things. On to the fourth book!
The previous book had a couple things that drove me nuts, and this book did not. Even Severian’s constant harping about his perfect memory is toned down to a more tolerable level. The story also held my interest pretty consistently all the way through. On the other hand, there really weren’t any secondary characters in this book that I felt attached to like I had in the previous book.
I have one very spoiler-ish thing to talk about in spoiler tags:
This book continues to create more questions, but it also answered or hinted at answers to quite a few things. On to the fourth book!
August 29, 2023
As a main character, Severian is SO weirdly unnecessarily sexist that I’ve started to tip over into charmed by its almost absurd consistency. Take a shot every time he meets a new woman and then immediately compares her, in list form, to every other woman he’s ever known. I love the list. I’m obsessed with the list. It’s the only way he can tell if a woman is hot and/or worthy of respect.
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May 9, 2023i need a cigarette
June 28, 2016
This has got to be the most complex and cryptic book in the series, and although there are some revelations at the end, which Wolfe mercifully gives his reader, but the entire book definitely took a lot of effort and will on my part to complete.
The other stupid thing which I did was, I bought hard copy of the book instead of reading it on my kindle due to which every word which I did not know had to be searched in order to fully comprehend its meaning which made it an tiresome effort for me, because where I am able to read two chapters I was able to read only a page or two at a time.
Wolfe introduces a lot of new words and he uses them in a completely different context than their meaning, the note at the end of the book explains some of the words and the context with which Wolfe uses them.
Well now that is off my chest, let me get down to the things which I liked and did not like about this book.
Some of the weak points of the book are
1.Too much work for the reader
2.Story seems to drag.
Some of the strong points of the book are
1.Satisfying conclusion.
Let me elaborate on the above points now
1.Too much work for the reader
Although Wolfe warns us at the end of each book in the series through Severians' voice that this is not easy journey and if we don't complete it, he does not have any issues with the reader, but still he expects a lot from his reader because not everyone is well versed in Catholicism or Theology. He explains lot of technology in a very cryptic way which makes it a tedious process to figure out what exactly Severian is trying to describe to us.
Wolfe also uses a lot of names of priests and nuns, that is another thing which confuses because is the name describing the character ? or is it just an illusion.
The story also seems totally non linear because one moment Severian is at one place and then something completely different happens to him and he shifts to a place completely new.
All the above just creates a completes mess in your mind regarding what is going on and figuring out the truth from the text.
2.Story seems to drag.
We are never given a coherent way as to how Severian reached a particular place, he just starts from that place when you turn a page and the scenery of this place is completely different from what was described to us previously, due to that the reader has to reconstruct this place again in his mind, and due to that the story definitely drags in this book.
Regarding the strong point of the book
1.Satisfying conclusion.
If you are able to complete the book by the sheer will power Wolfe definitely gives you a satisfying conclusion unlike the previous books in the series and things tend to clear up a little, but I think that is just the tip of iceberg which he clears up for the reader, nonetheless it satisfied me that at least I understood some part of it.
Definitely not an easy read I give this 3/5 stars.
The other stupid thing which I did was, I bought hard copy of the book instead of reading it on my kindle due to which every word which I did not know had to be searched in order to fully comprehend its meaning which made it an tiresome effort for me, because where I am able to read two chapters I was able to read only a page or two at a time.
Wolfe introduces a lot of new words and he uses them in a completely different context than their meaning, the note at the end of the book explains some of the words and the context with which Wolfe uses them.
Well now that is off my chest, let me get down to the things which I liked and did not like about this book.
Some of the weak points of the book are
1.Too much work for the reader
2.Story seems to drag.
Some of the strong points of the book are
1.Satisfying conclusion.
Let me elaborate on the above points now
1.Too much work for the reader
Although Wolfe warns us at the end of each book in the series through Severians' voice that this is not easy journey and if we don't complete it, he does not have any issues with the reader, but still he expects a lot from his reader because not everyone is well versed in Catholicism or Theology. He explains lot of technology in a very cryptic way which makes it a tedious process to figure out what exactly Severian is trying to describe to us.
Wolfe also uses a lot of names of priests and nuns, that is another thing which confuses because is the name describing the character ? or is it just an illusion.
The story also seems totally non linear because one moment Severian is at one place and then something completely different happens to him and he shifts to a place completely new.
All the above just creates a completes mess in your mind regarding what is going on and figuring out the truth from the text.
2.Story seems to drag.
We are never given a coherent way as to how Severian reached a particular place, he just starts from that place when you turn a page and the scenery of this place is completely different from what was described to us previously, due to that the reader has to reconstruct this place again in his mind, and due to that the story definitely drags in this book.
Regarding the strong point of the book
1.Satisfying conclusion.
If you are able to complete the book by the sheer will power Wolfe definitely gives you a satisfying conclusion unlike the previous books in the series and things tend to clear up a little, but I think that is just the tip of iceberg which he clears up for the reader, nonetheless it satisfied me that at least I understood some part of it.
Definitely not an easy read I give this 3/5 stars.
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