I just finished a re-read of “The Shadow of the Torturer”.
It was better this time around. I guess I was more ready for it. I gave it 3 stars, but perhaps by the time I finish the series, I will up that. Perhaps it will join my annual re-read rotation? We’ll see…
The first time I read it, I did not finish. Too slow, too boring. Don’t care. Also, it felt like a fantasy. It’s not, it’s clever scifi dressed as fantasy. Yay!
I gave the book more of a chance this time. It is still very slow, but I appreciate the language more.
Here’s a plot summary from gpt4.5:
The Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolfe, follows Severian, an apprentice torturer in the Citadel of Nessus. After showing mercy by secretly aiding a prisoner, he is exiled from his guild. Armed with the executioner’s sword, Terminus Est, Severian journeys through a decaying world beneath a dying sun, encountering strange companions and ancient relics. The novel blends fantasy, science fiction, and philosophical reflection as Severian navigates moral dilemmas and mysterious forces, beginning a path toward eventual rulership.
Spoilers chatgpt!!
Severian is a great name!
I liked the stuff in the citadel. I liked the plot against him by the brother and sister and the execution.
The end was fast and confusing. What happened exactly?
LLMs resist telling me. I asked a few and got wildly different answers. And some serious hallucinations.
- The gem (The Claw of the Conciliator) saved him in the dual.
- The play had some meaning too I guess.
Oh well.
I’m working my way through the whole series.
I’ve been told the “The Book of the New Sun Series” is an epic like lord of the rings. Okay, let’s see.
They’re not fat books, very reasonably sized, but I have to be awake when reading them. The language is thick. Literary.
Next up, The Claw of the Conciliator.