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The Shadow of the Torturer Unknown Binding – January 1, 1981

602 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Urth: Book of the New Sun

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Book 1 of 4

Urth: Book of the New Sun
Publisher

Pocket Science Fantasy
Publication date

January 1, 1981
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Gene Wolfe
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000GRJJPY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Science Fantasy; First Printing edition (January 1, 1981)
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces

Customer Reviews:
602 ratings

About the author

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Gene Wolfe

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Gene Wolfe is winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and many other awards. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He lives in Barrington, Illinois.

Photo by Cory Doctorow licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

602 global ratings

5 star		41%
4 star		29%
3 star		17%
2 star		8%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Great condition!

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2023

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I got this book for a gift for my son. The book was in great condition! It was delivered pretty quickly too.

Mika Kortelainen

Surprisingly entertaining

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2014

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I started reading this book (almost) without preconceptions, having just read a short review in a newspaper on the new translation of the second book. Though the review did not say much about the books narrative story, I was intrigued by the description of the use of language.
So, I had next-to-none knowledge of the book, and for the first, I don't know, perhaps quarter of the book I was still uncertain whether I liked it or not. I kept expecting a familiar scifi or fantasy novel story line, and kept expecting events to start happening. But, this story is not like that, and despite the letdown of my expectations, I found myself enjoying the story, quiet and slow-paced as it was. And, in retrospect, it's not even that slow-paced; instead, the story creeps upon the reader, without fanfare or making too much noice of itself.
In the end, the characters become dear, and you keep hoping for their success. And there are so many hints at what's to come that I cannot wait to get to the next 3 books I've downloaded from Kindle store.
All in all, a surprisingly entertaining and, quietly, gripping story. Highly recommendable read for any friends of scifi and fantasy.

11 people found this helpful

Boring and Quite Difficult to Concentrate On

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2013

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I actually liked the main character in this book, but to be honest I found this a difficult read. It's not that the words used were too difficult for me to understand, it's just that I had a hard time caring enough to put the time in to understand what the author was trying to tell me. Case in point, after reading this book I wasn't too sure where the story was taking place and there were a number of events that happened where I found myself wondering why or how that just happened. Then, when I was done reading and I read a few reviews of this book I questioned whether or not we had read the same book. I even double checked the title. The reviews rave that this was one of the best fantasy books of our generation, but in my opinion it doesn't hold a candle to Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice. Hell, I even enjoyed The Wheel of Time more than this. I find it very difficult not to finish a series after reading the first book, but I can guarantee that I won't be finishing this one. It's entirely possible that things would be cleared up in the following books, but I'd rather not take that gamble and feel like I've wasted my time like I felt after reading the first one.

6 people found this helpful

The first brush strokes of a masterpiece.

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2012

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Gene Wolfe has crafted something very unique in The Shadow of the Torturer and yet it is just the beginning of his magnificent work. It defies classifcation and transcends tacky labels, it is multilayered, ingenious, thoughtful, and seductive. It is a book that can be read again and again such is its richness. It is not a contained work and those reading it should be looking to read the three books that follow it. It traces the tale of Severian, an orphan, apprenticed torturer, an intriguing and yet poignant beginning. He is sent from the only home he remembers out into the world, ironically naive, given his macarbe apprenticeship, to serve as an executioner elsewhere and is quickly caught up in the machinations of those with more cunning minds.

5 people found this helpful

Torturer on kindle

Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2013

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This is, what used to be termed "science fantasy" and one of the great examples of it. However my review is primarily on one of the advantages of using a kindle to read it. I have read this book many times, often with a dictionary beside me, but laziness and an assumption that many terms I did not recognise were made up, led me to not look them up. Now armed with my kindle it is so easy to search words either by the built in dictionary or redirect to Wikipedia, that suddenly after many rereads I realise many of the terms used are archaic either being medieval or of Greek origin. I love my magic reading box!

One person found this helpful

Shadowed by the torturer book

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2016

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Full of richly textured unique language. This book is not a fast read, but rather a long, slow smoldering burn in your head. A great variation on the sci-fi/fantasy theme. I look forward to reading the other books in the series!

One person found this helpful

Not that great but not terrible either

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013

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I've read much worse books and comparatively this isn't so bad. Parts were entertaining but other parts were just boring and poorly written. I didn't connect with any of the characters. The random peppered language was more an annoyance than anything added to the book. The actions and reactions of the characters seemed cardboard and at times just sexist. More often than not it felt medieval instead of in the future. At least this book has seen something of an editor.

Admired five stars' worth, but didn't like it

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2018

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I suppose that I am fantasy-poisoned. I loved Gene Wolfe's precise use of words, but the book itself was flat for me. Been there, read a bunch of stuff like that. Derivative of him, likely.
Wolfe has won Nebulas and Hugos and Grand Masterships, the Triple Crown of speculative fiction writing, so obvs. I am alone here. I admired his writing, but didn't like it.

8 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

The Avid Reader

A Classic: A Must Read: A Truly Remarkable Work: Quality.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2021

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Some won't appreciate this book. It will seem too weighty, too ponderous in terms of vocabulary. Yet as you keep reading, you discover that you can work out the meanings of the archaic language used quite easily. In fact, you soon realise that the voice of the writing is intrinsically dependent on it. You can look up anything that completely baffles you, too, much more easily in the electronic version of today. By the time you make it to Severian's crime and punishment, you should be sailing along. You will be caught up in the tale, intrigued as well as mystified as to where it is going. Don't give up. This book is just the beginning. If you value revelatory reading experiences, this is one of them. The writing has not dated in the forty odd years since I first read this.

This is literature. If that puts you off, you probably don't have the right kind of mind for this kind of written experience. (I'm hoping you will take that as a challenge and persevere when you first find it becoming difficult!)

4 people found this helpful

R J Adam

Incredible world building with a beautiful writing style.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2022

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This isn't an easy book to read, the writing style is deliberately non-modern, although not anywhere near as befuddling as shakespearean prose, it can take a while to 'click'. The book is one of those types where world building is the primary concern with plot a distant second.

That's not to say that the plot isn't there, but there's a very low action-per-page quota which I understand can be frustrating for some; with the extensive deployment of little-used words it's in danger of being confused with a China Meiville's novel, not that this is a bad thing at all.

The writing is beautiful and several times I had to turn back a page to really enjoy what was written, it truly takes you to another place in time and leaves you wanting more. Although this was written in the 80s the setting of far-future coupled with overriding historical technology has given the book a rare sense of timelessness.

If I had to come up with a negative it's that the chap who shows up right at the end (basically gollum) is very rambling and unlikable even in the short time he's been with the group, so there's a risk he'll derail the whole thing, but it won't stop me cracking on with the next book this very evening.

2 people found this helpful

goozer321

Impenetrable, obtuse

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2021

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Little coherent structure and several times I found myself wondering what was going on an=d where the book was going. Humourless and dull. Little action of any kind, just wandering aimless and confused narrative.

One person found this helpful

mr

Couldn't appreciate it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2022

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Apparently one of Neil Gaiman's top books, but I found the language impenetrable and dull, so I managed about two chapters before I ditched it.

J Meyer

Very Poor Kindle Version

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

Apparently this is a good/great book (if you believe the reviews) but the kindle version is full of spelling mistakes which makes this an awful read. At some points it is impossible to understand and I couldn’t bring myself to butcher a good book by continuing.

18 people found this helpful

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