the shadow of the torturer by gene wolfe

Hellfire and brimstone make great fantasy, but there’s still got to be a story. Now, I’ve got no problem with a little preaching. Each place Severian travels through feels isolated and cut off like islands in the city-sea.įrom what I’ve read from others more Wolfe-wise than I, he is using the Book of the New Sun as allegorical vehicle for some proselytising. My only problem here was that each scene/setting feels a little like the stage of a movie set, filled with props that hide the emptiness behind. Wolfe doesn’t dwell on detail yet creates an exceptionally vivid and realistic setting. The Citadel is a dark, brooding edifice filled with sects and guilds, yet strangely empty more like a museum than a living city. Alongside these plot points Severian explores the local area revealing an ancient city that has forgotten its own past except for a few lonely figures holding a candle up to history. His act of mercy in helping Thecla commit suicide rather than continue being tortured sees him exiled to the distant city of Thrax and, at the same time, he is gifted with the sword Terminus Est. This is consistent throughout the book as Wolfe rarely dwells on his characters’ motivations. I never quite believed in these emotional ties as Severian is an opaque character due to his own unreliable narration.

Unsure of whether he belongs in the guild this fascination leads him into a strange relationship with one of his clients, a woman named Thecla, who is imprisoned due to her sister being Vodalus’ lover. A one-sided bond established after a chance encounter in a graveyard, it is never quite clear why Severian feels such admiration for Vodalus. The first chapters detail his early years in the guild and his growing loyalty with the revolutionary, Vodalus.

The shadow of the torturer by gene wolfe