The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Jul 25, 2021 Tani rated it did not like it

Shelves: male-author, fantasy, 2021-novels, sff-2021

Wow, I didn't like this. I thought about giving it two stars, but honestly, it was so much effort to finish, I ended up docking that additional star. The story meanders. I found Severian completely unsympathetic, and would happily see him die in a fire. He's one of those male characters who objectifies every woman he meets, playing weird power games with them and treating them terribly, and the text rewards him for it, consistently. It's gross, and it sapped a large amount of enjoyment from the ...more

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Sep 05, 2007 Tracey rated it liked it · review of another edition

found all 4 parts of The Book of the New Sun at a used book store after seeing it listed on the Top 50 SF & Fantasy books as listed by the Science Fiction Book Club. I'd never heard of Gene Wolfe & thought I'd give him a try. An online friend said she'd just started this book early last week, so I thought I'd join her in the reading.

We follow the story of Severin, as he recounts his history, beginning as an apprentice torturer. Severin is by turns incredibly naive and extremely ambitious, and at ...more

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Jul 03, 2010 NebulousGloom (FK) rated it liked it

Not terribly difficult to read, but kind of wandering. I'm more a fan of plot-driven literature. This book seems to be just a rambling tale. The characters and events are kind of interesting. ...more

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Sep 01, 2012 JM rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy

I did not follow a lot of what was happening, and found the passages between recognizable (memorable) action to be dry, dusty, and too, too long. I'm sure this book is enjoyable for other people. ...more

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