Customer Reviews

Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun'

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This book is one of the most beautiful writings ever produced in the English language. It is not what I would call an accessible "storytelling" book; Stephen King is the master at writing such novels. This book is beautifully written and complex at every level, from each sentence to the whole story and every image and thought it creates in one's mind. It is also an unforgiving book -- nothing is really explained. But, the book rewards careful reading and re-reading. I enjoy it anew every time I read it. My son has read it several times since he was a teenager and has become enthralled. Without compromising, Wolfe is letting his central character tell a story that takes place in a culture and a physical environment far removed from our own. The reader must struggle to comprehend this alien landscape with only the unfamiliar and idiomatic, but still human, narrative of a single person from this other time in the far future.

To say The Book of the New Sun to a retelling of the old testament is to say that "Smokey and the Bandit" is a retelling of Ulysses.

I was originally taken in by the rave reviews and even gave the first volume, Shadow of the Torturer a grudging three stars. Now that I have completed the four novels I feel cheated. The "great vocabulary" is nothing more than a device that actually tires after awhile, not because one can't understand it, but rather it becomes a gimmick.

Good writing may make a reader search for meaning, but it doesn't make a reader search for plot. And that is one of several problems with this story. I kept expecting some sort of summation, some revelation of several needlessly ambiguous plot points. But, no such luck. Fine, if you want to convince yourself that being confused by an underplotted, overwritten storyline is really being treated intelligently by the writer, then go ahead. But an final vigorous editing is what this series needed badly.

Wolfe seems to "write on the fly". In other words, something is suddenly revealed in book three about a character in book one. You're left thinking- what? He uses this technique not because he planned it or to make the story or characters deeper or for any other reason than it fits into the gimmick storyline/adventure he has thought up for Severian at that moment in his writing. To think it's more complex than that is to fool yourself.

In the end this is a tale silly beyond words. Early on the main character- Severian- actually takes part in the horrible and brutal torture of the woman he loves. Well, at least one of the women he "loves", seems Severian falls in love at the drop of a hat. Redemption here, doesn't even build up. He just announces that he won't torture/kill again after letting a "client" go. The redemption itself is a response to the terrible critical beating Wolfe took over the ammorality of Severian by several literary reviewers of that time (early eighties), not to any pre-planned story line.

The characters are basically one dimensional, with little thought to any depth except maybe only slightly Severian, who is not that likeable for that matter. At the end of book II before he meets the "rebel" commander, he needlessly kills the three guards who work for the man he supposedly admires. Then, V, after seeing the headless body of one of his men, greets Severian as....a guest. Not exactly a military leader that would inspire confidence among his soldiers.

I began to think that Urth would actually be a better place if the main character and all of his torturers guild were basically wiped off the planet and the series itself would be a much better one if the mystery of how Urth became the way it was became the main point of the story rather than a collateral one.

So, if you are impressed by little used vocabulary, consider being confused by a poor plot "intellectually challenging" and are wowed with sophmoric philisophical musings thought up by one dimensional characters, then by all means take a stab at this. Otherwise look elsewhere.

This is the greatest, most intelligent modern work of fiction I have ever read. I dont profess that is necessarily benevolant, but it is what it is, and deserves recognition. To say it is well worwth the read, is an understatement.

Why try to go in-depth? This book is the pinnacle of american fantasy: kafka-esque, nightmarish, but full of hope. The interludes provide a very-real backdrop to a society that has slowly lost itself over millions of years of stagnation. Severian is the chlorine thrown into the stagnant water that is modern fantasy.
This series will leave the most gourmet appetite filled. Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman fanbois need not apply.

If you have found yourself in the same position as I, were time and again you run into typical cliché formulated fantasy and science fiction. Then I feel you will find this novel and its predecessors truly captivating. The novel tells the story of a Severian, an apprentice of the guild of torturers, who through his own mercy becomes an outcast in a world as alien to him as it is to the reader. The series guides Severian through a long a struggle filled journey filled with characters and locations that range from humorous to out right bizarre. Summing up the depth and elegance of Wolfe's creation is something that can only be achieved by reading the novel itself. The language, the intricate story that weaves its web in subtle ways, the philosophy, the mysteries that uncover the identity of the world all bring something new to the table of fantasy. I was truly captivated by this novel and recommend it to any advanced reader. I say advanced because I will admit the language is difficult and from what I read from other reviewers this seems to bother a few people. This is not romp along cheesy fantasy and if that is your ticket I'll suggest you should avoid. Anyone who is looking for something that provokes the mind, and has a bit of rich texture go no further then this novel and its follow up Sword and Citadel.

I find it astounding that some reviewers think that those who didn't like this book have no imagination. I would like to start by saying that I'm a huge fan of obscure, bizarre and challenging fiction. Some of my favorite writers are Jonathan Caroll, Murakami, Jeff Noon, Mark Daniliewski, to name just a few. That should give you an idea that I definitely do not like to be "spoonfed".

But..... It's not an invention of the unimaginative that a book of fiction, and especially a novel, must have a plot, and a continuity. It is not an ivention of the "dumbened" by mainstream that in a work of fiction, ideas must tie into the plot. A story must have a climax, or at least if one part of it ends with a cliffhanger the next one must pick up where the previous one left off. Those are RULES OF LITERATURE, people! No matter what kind of writing you like you just can't ignore those! A work of fiction does not necessarily have to tell a story in a simple, easily understandable way, but it MUST TELL A STORY. If a work of fiction does not have a plot it is either a) not a work of fiction or, b) a rather bad work of fiction. Putting together a nice collection of interesting thoughts and colorful scenes does not turn them into a novel.

The reason I'm giving 2 stars is because the first book in this series is not bad. It creates a wild setting, interesting characters and a great premise. I swallowed the first book really quickly, and could not wait to get to the second. Unfortunately, the second book is simply horrendous. I did not mind the weird language, by the way. That's not my gripe. My gripe is that the book wanders without aim all over the place. There is simply NO PLOT, no matter which way you put it. Hey, I thought Severian was sent to this city in the north to do his guild's work there. What the heck is he doing joining a theater troupe, having sex with pretty much every female he comes across and, in general, doing things that have neither reason nor point???

Maybe I'm in fact stupid and just don't get it. This seems to be the common explanation from all the reviewers who give this book 5 stars. But, easy as it is to say, I'm yet to see at least one of them explain exactly WHAT makes this book so great. It's easy to say "this is amazing". But WHAT is so amazing? WHAT revelations are you talking about, WHAT subtleties, WHAT twists, WHAT complexities? Name just one! Then I might start believing you.

(...)

Right off the bat I found it hard to get into the story. Didn't seem to have any kind of flow.

By the number of awards bestowed upon this admittedly legendary series, I have to admit that I was anticipating being 'blown away' by the book(s). Quite the contrary, unlike legendary works by Tolkien (admitted 20th century master of Fantasy) or Dickens (to whom he's compared on the book jacket) or Hemmingway, Gene Wolf's works are not pre-eminently accessible to the common man.

Now, with that being said, this isn't to say that books should be on the ubiquitous 6th grade-level or that Gene Wolf's work is not excellent in the abstract, impressionistic, stream-of-consciousness sense of the word.

However, not disclaiming the aforementioned caveat would be, itself, a tremendous oversight by a reviewer.

Additionally, while the author's metaphorical prowess is astounding--- such as an entire play serving as a chapter in the Claw book while,too, apocryphically detailing the entire mythos of the series-- so, too, is the author's (or, as it's first person, the protagonist's) amazing inability to have any semblance of a conclusion to each of the (original) books.

As with a rambling speaker that loses his audience due to tangental gambits, so too do(es) the book(s) digress and diverge before coming an amazingly abrupt ending.

I found myself torn between my full appreciation of Gene Wolf's linguistic mastery and those sections of the book that fleshed out characters such as Dorcas, Jonas and Jolenta (among others), while despising those sections, which, to date--perhaps resolved in the concluding volume(s)-- should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Where's the lithium? The book(s) need(s) it.

I don't have any credentials whatsoever - I don't have a degree, so this is going to be a plain-jane working man's review. I spent some hard earned money on this series so I feel compelled to read them - however much I don't want to.

The writing in the this novel is allegorical and thick. It reminds me of Gormenghast and Dahlgren (which was about the worst book I've ever tried to read) in it's prose, or maybe even James Joyce's Portrait of the artist as a young man.

The plot had a good premise but nothing in the novel is concrete - which I guess is OK if you want to ponder on what the whole thing means (if it does even have a meaning). All this would be forgivable (I've been reading Gardens of The Moon - the series which is fairly incomprehensible) if there was some action or story that was engaging.

As it is it's just a jumble of mythic allegory, dream sequences, sex, and violence.

This novel would be best catogorized if you took a Greek Myth, left the symbology intact, and had it narrarated in the first person.

I would say that if you like Kafka type novels you'd probably like it. If your looking for a novel that you can follow, identify with the characters, and share in a plot arc that lets the characters develop - this novel isn't for you.

In short : not bad but certainly not good reading either.

I purchased this book as a recommendation from a friend who enjoys the same genre of novels as I do. His initial description of this book was deceptive, however.

The world itself is interesting, and I very much liked the concept of a Torturer's guild, and the way it's presented. That being said, the plot seemed a bit thin to me, and the language used almost over-flowery at times. Wolfe seems to lose himself in his prose, and more than once I had to go back and sometimes reread a few pages, just to understand what had happened. The lines between science fiction and surrealism are blurred here, and I haven't read many books like this, which is why I have little appreciation for it.

An interesting book, yes. A classic? I'm not sure yet. I purchased both Shadow & Claw and Sword & Citadel, and I will read the other two books before I can judge the series accordingly. My advice: Try to find a sample of the prose before you purchase. If you find it difficult, it might be a better idea to borrow this from a library than purchase it cold, like I did. Of course, if that isn't a concern to you, then go for it! I don't regret the purchase, if only for the uniqueness of some of the ideas contained in these books.