An Odyssey Into The Far Future (Book of the New Sun Vol 1: The Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe)

Member Name: mike_the_magician

Product:	Book of the New Sun Vol 1: The Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe
Date:	16/07/00 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You will be reading an excellent book

Disadvantages: none

This volume contains the first two of the four books that comprise "The Book Of The New Sun", namely "The Shadow Of The Torturer" and "The Claw Of The Conciliator".
This is truly an epic odyssey as the main protagonist, Severian, a torturer's apprentice, journeys across a far future earth.
The story is a magical blend of Fantasy and Science Fiction with poetic and philosophical elements. If you have read "Songs Of Earth And Power" by Greg Bear, you will know what a treat you have in store; the prose and the sheer pervasiveness definitely bear comparison.
This is a book for long uninterrupted evenings, when you can become immersed in another world; an earth of a future so distant that the sun is dying, and reference points to the world we know are tantalisingly few.
To say more would spoil the treat, suffice to say I read the entire four volumes in the space of a week last summer.

Summary: