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Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun' (New Sun)
: A fantasy so fantastic it surpasses the word fantasy and reads more like truth. It is such an intricate and interwoven story that it astounds you. It's flecked with literary references that leaves you wondering how many more you'll catch when you read it again. Have a dictionary close by--even the language plays a part in the story. You won't want to put it down, it's that much fun.
 Having finished the first 2 installments in this series I can safely say I won't be finishing it. It is difficult to read because of the lack of plot and the use of "big" words you haven't seen since the SAT. While you can infer the meaning of most of the words based on the context of the sentence it is still very annoying. The first 2 books are essentially descriptive imagery of the places and people Severian happens to meet on his completely random and meaningless journey. There is no adventure or character development - just an endless stream of bizarre imagery interlaced with hidden references to present day Earth and ancient myths. Maybe the point of this story is revealed in books 3 and 4, but I don't care to find out.
I remember so many things, each of them burned into the retina of my inner eye. The maddening spirals of the Witches' Tower, the yellowed pages of Severian's book of Stories. Severian wishing for hot water as he shaves by the riverside with a soldier's razor. The city of Nessus. The vast Wall. The robes of the Pellerines. The maze-like passageways of the House Absolute. The tragic death of Severian's alter-ego, the country boy who shares his name. These provacative, unforgettable fragments bubble up out of my subconscious when I least expect it. A part of me will now always reside on the Urth of Severian. Unlike any other book I've ever read, Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun allowed me to experience, after a fashion, the world of Urth in much the same way as the boy in The Neverending Story experienced the world of Falcor and Atreu. Through his use of strange, half-forgotten words of the English language and a few new words of his own, Wolfe is able to evoke an utterly alien but hauntingly familiar Earth-- Severian's "Urth." I can't think of any other work which compares to it in scope, or detail, or complicated, lovable, unforgettable characters. To read Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is to experience for the first time a universe you always suspected was close by. So don some fuligin robes and start the journey. Severian's waiting.
What Gene Wolfe has done in these books is to create something completely new, which is a rare thing in the realm of fantasy. Sure, there are great books in the field that have stood the test of time (Lord of the Rings, for instance) but these are inevitably surrounded by massive numbers of pale imitations. These books are so unusual I have nothing to which I can compare them. I read the first book, The Shadow of the Torturer, years ago, and yet I find myself going back again and again to reread this scene or that. When you are reading it, it doesn't even seem that it is affecting you, but there are scenes which will haunt you later. The language is rich--keep a dictionary by your side!--and varied and the world is utterly alien. The characters are memorable and the plot keeps on surprising you. If you enjoy a challenging read, I cannot recommend this highly enough and I cannot wait to read the final two books.
Gene Wolfe has written a classic piece of literature, weaving inventive baroque language and maze-like storytelling to produce a mesmerising tale of the future. Severian is both good and evil, light and dark, cruel and merciful. As he travels across Urth he realizes that he is the Conciliator, the one who can bridge the gap between mankind and the Creator. Christian imagery and symbolism make Severian one of the most memorable characters you will ever come to understand. You will read this book over and over, rewarded each time for your pains by additional richness and depth
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