Hero as Torturer (Book of the New Sun Vol 1: The Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe)

Member Name: comicman

Product:	Book of the New Sun Vol 1: The Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe
Date:	17/01/02 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Rich story telling, strong characters, original

Disadvantages: little action if that is what you are looking for

Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is a story told in four books, the first of which is Shadow of the Torturer, which introduces us all to the central character of the story; Severian. As he narrates his we see the world through his eyes as he grows from adolescence to a grown man after the completion of his Torturer apprenticeship. After eventually being exiled from the Citadel for helping the first woman he truly loves to commit suicide instead of being put through the Excruciations, Severian's journey truly begins. With his trusty sword -Terminus Est and an historical stone Severian like any hero faces the first of his challenges in the outside world.

The series is set far into the future. Earth's (or Urth's) sun is dying out. Severian is a journeyman in the Order of the Seekers of Truth and Penitence (a torturer) and chronicles his begining life as part of his guild. Through his exile and wanderings and meetings with the strange cultures and inhabitants of the Earth of the very distant future Severians life unfolds before your eyes. The brilliance in these books is based more on startling situations and personalities than plot which is more than enough to keep you reading it.

A more graphically macabre and disturbing tale than The Lord of the Rings, this tale is certainly a harder read in that respect. Not enough of a concern though to unbalance the overwhelmingly positive aspects. I have never read any other stories where the protagonist is an executioner, much less a torturer, which immediately sets an eerie, unusual tone and a base for interesting discussions on crime and punishment. The death penalty which I don't personally agree on is strong at times and you may have a hard time countering his arguments (If criminals are forced to work for the state, they take jobs away from the poor who may be forced into crime themselves; if criminals are confined in comfort, they live longer often better lives than the poor; if b
anished, they become soldiers and spies for enemies). Any of this familiar?

I won't go any further with the second book Claw of the Conciliator as this is a continuing story, the next two books being in Fantasy Masterworks 12 which I have still to read. It is hard to decipher the story as sci-fi or fantasy. It certainly feels more like a fantasy novel as there is no reference to anything mechanical. We know it is our planet millions of years into the future but as of yet in the first novel everything shares a more earthy quality, even the vehicles which rarely appear.

The first book alone not only entertains but continually challenges our assumptions and beliefs. It dares us to look more deeply into our experience. Wolfe's fiction is dense but rewarding, and his use of language is often stunning. He makes good use of obscure words, not to show off, but to enhance the grandeur and alienness of his settings. If you are expecting all out action then this isn't the book for you. It is simply about characters and one heroes journey in particular. A quote from the Sci-Fi encyclopedia aptly describes my main impression: 'Evocative, profound, hypnotic. . . a novel of dreamlike beauties and awesome terrors'.

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