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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780312890186
ISBN number: 0312890184
Label: Orb Books
Manufacturer: Orb Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 416
Printing Date: October 15, 1994
Publishing house: Orb Books
Sale Popularity Level: 38587
Studio: Orb Books
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Product Description:
The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe's most remarkable work, hailed as 'a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis' by Publishing houses Weekly, and 'one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century' by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Sword & Citadel brings together the final two books of the tetralogy in one volume:
The Sword of the Lictor is the third volume in Wolfe's remarkable epic, chronicling the odyssey of the wandering pilgrim called Severian, driven by a powerful and unfathomable destiny, as he carries out a dark mission far from his home.
The Citadel of the Autarch brings The Book of the New Sun to its harrowing conclusion, as Severian clashes in a final reckoning with the dread Autarch, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that will forever alter the realm known as Urth.
'Brilliant . . . terrific . . . a fantasy so epic it beggars the mind. An extraordinary work of art!'-Philadelphia Inquirer
'The Book of the New Sun establishes [Wolfe's] preeminence, pure and simple. . . . The Book of the New Sun contains elements of Spenserian allegory, Swiftian satire, Dickensian social consciousness and Wagnerian mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within . . . once into it, there is no stopping.'--The New York Times Book Review
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I was really looking forward to this book. It was a painful process admitting to myself that I didn't like it.
The book has a nice start; an interesting main character, nice pacing, good setting/interesting society/etc, but it just doesn't go anywhere as a whole. Our man Severian has well written, if somewhat random, adventures and recollections.
For myself the main shortcoming is the linear plotline and single point of view, e.g. I was here and I did this, then I woke up there and did that. This is covered up somewhat by frequent jumps to other points in time as the book is told as someone writing their memoirs. There are occasional references to a particular goal but they seem tacked on and have little relevance to the scene in which they are mentioned.
There are terrific scenes, great partial plot lines and stories but the epic is missing. Like Chinese food from the supermarket; it looks good in the case but in the end it just doesn't satisfy. Unfortunately the very first half (this book) is the better of the two.
Rated by buyers 
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How come Wolfe isn't more popular? I love Gene Wolfe's masterpieces and plan on reading everything he's ever written, or at least all the great ones. Are his writing styles and vocabulary just too deep for the masses? There are so many made up animals mentioned in the books that leave it all up to the imagination, what's an arsinoither? I love some of the amazing beings in the books that make it so bizarre, like the cacogens(aliens who pose as humans), cyborgs(who also try to be human), and zointhropes(animals that gave up their humanity). The story is often confusing and the scenery constantly changing, Severian does most of his traveling on foot and covers whole continents. What happens if you don't succeed? You get your manhood taken away. Talk about motivation to succeed.
Rated by buyers 
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Call me a simpleton, but I thoroughly enjoyed the novel without any knowledge of its biblical allusions, or others that may exist. I was actually enthralled with the plot in itself the entire way through. As far as the diction and syntax are concerned, I did find that certain sections were a bit confusing, and I also found that the quality of the writing fluctuated at times. However, when it is taken into account that the text is written by Severian, such inconsistencies, while still frustrating, end up adding to the overall mystique of the text. Just for arguments sake, even if the blame were placed on Gene Wolfe himself, I found that the well written sections captivated me like no other text has. At times, I found myself experiencing something similar to a dream like state, where that ineffable combination of awe and confusion took hold of me. Typically, when I finish a novel, I put it down for good. Yet, as soon as I finished Book of the New Sun, I felt the urge to re-read it. Not because I want to understand its complex literary allusions or because I desire to expand my vocabulary, but because, quite simply, it moved me.
Rated by buyers -
I have just finished The Book of the New Sun, and all I can say is WOW. Not since Dune have I read a SF book that was as amazing as this is. I simply cannot wait to read it again. I'm amazed I have passed over this author until now. This is one of the best modern novels I have read.
Rated by buyers -
Sword and the Citadel and the last two books of the Book of the New sun Quartet. The story picks up after the Shadow and Claw, with Severian, the torturer continuing his Odysseian journey across the southern continent, on an Earth a millenia in the future as our Sun is dying. Severian intends to return The Claw of the Concilliator, a magic relic which seems to give him, at times, the power over death, the the Religious order from whom he accidentally took the claw from. Severian soon finds himself at the heart of events that can literally change the destiny of humanity.
This second and third book are an even greater accomplishment than the very first two of the series were. As I wrote in the very first novels' review, the language utilized throughout this series serves as a plot device in and of itself, not only serving to enhance the foreignness of the reading experience, but adding to the mystery which are part and parcel of its charm.
Severian finds himself evolving quite a bit through these last two novels he is coming to term with his own humanity and the nature of the brutality that is part of everyday. Severian finds himself even more deeply embroiled in the intrique that is the conflict between the rebel leader Vodalus, and the leader of the commonwealth The Autarch.
The brilliance in this novel it is so deeply imagined and so stunningly written that it is hard to imagine this was produced by an author of our time. There is a reason that this novel gets so much praised on it. It draws you in, and then it forces you to constantly cope with it's eccentric characterizations, which is akin to decoding a foreign lanquage that you are only semi fluent in. This is actually extremely satisying, but that is not in and of itself the biggest strength of the narrative. In many "fantasy/sci fi" books merely reads about extraordinary worlds, but in this series, the reader resides as an insider in this world. Ultimately the Sword and Citadel resolve a number of plot lines and mysteries, and of course this makes it greater than the very first two.
The Sword and Citadel, and specifically the Book of the New Sun are indeed one of the greatest fantasy books written of all time. These books should be a part of any serious fan of fantasy, but really any one who enjoys high literature.
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