Customer Reviews

SEVERIAN OF THE GUILD: SHADOW OF THE TORTURER;CLAW OF THE CONCILIATOR;SWORD OF THE LICTOR;CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH: WITH SHADOW OF THE TORTURER AND CLAW ... AND CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH (GOLLANCZ S.F.)

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I read this "tetralogy" many years ago and it continued to rattle around my brain and I would often remember it as the most amazing SF read I had ever had. Recently I had the urge to read it again and I am appreciating it in a whole new way. This is a book like Lord of the Rings, that is, it leaves you wondering how one human brain could conceive and execute such a thing. Gene Wolfe's erudition is remarkable, his vision fantastical, his language outlandish and extravagant, but curiously restrained and simple in parts.
He must have had the full oxford dictionary at hand as he wrote; you will never encounter more obscure but real English words anwhere. A helpful clue to his language and themes lies in knowing he got much of his background from a reading of Byzantine history. Lots of Byzantine words and themes in there!
His relatively simple narrative is interspersed with surprisingly diverse philosophical and religious musings that take you by surprise and frequently baffle you. Like LOTR, I suspect multiple rereading would continue to yield gold. Wow! Just read it. (Make sure to reread it later; you will miss a lot the first time around).