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Gene Wolfe
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The Complete Book of the New Sun: The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, The Citadel of the Autarch, The Urth of the New Sun (The Book of the New Sun) Kindle Edition

by Gene Wolfe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 348 ratings
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This discounted Gene Wolfe ebundle includes: The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, The Citadel of the Autarch, The Urth of the New Sun

“Magic stuff...a masterpiece...the best science fiction I've read in years!” —Ursula K. Le Guin

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 Publishers Weekly, and “one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century” by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The Shadow of the Torturer introduces young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, who has been exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession—showing mercy toward his victim.

The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic, and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.

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.

The Urth of the New Sun is the long awaited sequel to Gene Wolfe's four-volume classic, The Book of the New Sun. We return to the world of Severian, now the Autarch of Urth, as he leaves the planet on one of the huge spaceships of the alien Hierodules to travel across time and space to face his greatest test yet.

More Tor books by Gene Wolfe
The Book of the Long Sun
Nightside the Long Sun
Lake of the Long Sun
Caldé of the Long Sun

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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  1. Print length
    1844 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Orb Books
  5. Publication date
    November 14, 2017
  6. File size
    5138 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
348 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book extraordinary, inimitable, and fantastic. They describe the story as fascinating, challenging, and wonderful. Readers also describe the fantasy genre as a hallmark of science fiction and fantasy. They appreciate the unique style and original aspects. However, some customers find the language strange, unfamiliar, and archaic.

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ReadabilityStory qualityFantasy genreUniquenessLanguage
14 customers mention "Readability"10 positive4 negative

Customers find the book extraordinary, inimitable, and fantastic. They appreciate the great writing and the story.

"...However, any criticism is vastly overshadowed by this fantastic, wonderous journey. Just fantastic." Read more

"Fantastic and classic.g Needs to be read by all. Wonderful and a truly unique and fun time to be had. Read now and get enrichedJ" Read more

"...about a character that appeared 500 pages ago but the writing is great and the story, which so far has been vignette after vignette, keeps your..." Read more

"This is a weird weird book. Classic one, though not for everybody" Read more

9 customers mention "Story quality"8 positive1 negative

Customers find the story fascinating, epic, and challenging. They say the book is worth the challenge, complex, and makes them think.

"...This is a fascinating work. It is long and complex and made me think. And I'm already considering how long to wait before rereading it...." Read more

"Worthwhile yet convoluted, if you enjoy this style of storytelling!..." Read more

"...Wonderful and a truly unique and fun time to be had. Read now and get enrichedJ" Read more

"It is very engrossing. I am only about half through it after a month...." Read more

3 customers mention "Fantasy genre"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the fantasy genre of the book to be a hallmark of science fiction and fantasy.

"As is well known, these books are a hallmark of science fiction and fantasy that are without peer...." Read more

"...This is quite simply the best sci-fi fantasy of all time, and those reviewers suggesting otherwise are probably lacking the intelligence or taste to..." Read more

"The Book of the New Sun is not only a great and original work of science fiction, it has been the genesis of some of the great sci fi stories of the..." Read more

3 customers mention "Uniqueness"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book unique with its style and original aspects.

"Fantastic and classic.g Needs to be read by all. Wonderful and a truly unique and fun time to be had. Read now and get enrichedJ" Read more

"...With unique style and original aspects, the author has accomplished a new take on the classic hero-savior plot...." Read more

"...Truly stunning." Read more

3 customers mention "Language"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the language strange, unfamiliar, and archaic. They also say the author speaks too much.

"...First, yes, there are lots of archaic words, but these are mainly referencing the social classes, animals and weapons...." Read more

"...Yes, there are strange, unfamiliar words. And yes, not everything is spelled out for you perfectly...." Read more

"Much spoken to little effect. This author likes to hear himself speak, I think...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

AF
5.0 out of 5 stars Unlike anything else I've read
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
Just finished the Kindle version - yes, some typos, but mostly these were apostrophes instead of periods. Nothing major.

This is a fascinating work. It is long and complex and made me think. And I'm already considering how long to wait before rereading it. The only other book that's had this effect on me was Blood Meridian.

It's difficult to summarize why I enjoyed this book so much. First, yes, there are lots of archaic words, but these are mainly referencing the social classes, animals and weapons. So it's easy enough to move past "I saw a X armed with a Y" and just get past it with "I saw a guard armed with a weapon".

Beyond that there are dream sequences, time travel, philosophical discussions and inscrutable (at times) explanations of what's happening, or what happened.

But none of that is overbearing at all. I really enjoyed these books. One thing I liked is that it's not based on the tired old trope of The Chosen One need to go on a dangerous quest. Severian, our protagonist, just lives his life until further things are revealed to him, which I won't spoil, and there are too many of them to reveal in any coherent way, anyway.

Also, the story is told in the first person, so we only get Severian's inner thoughts, and he goes through these adventures with a sort of thoughtful detachment that is interesting. He is not a hero or a benevolent protagonist, but we still root for him.

This gets labeled as a "difficult" book, and that scared me off for a long time. But it's similar to Dune in that you start to get used to some of the terminology and it starts to flow - though Wolfe's sentences sometimes are so crammed with unknown terms that it borders on parody. But those are few and far between. There are never passages that linger too long in one place, though the performance of the play gets a little tiresome. And the ending is fine, no matter what anyone says.

However, any criticism is vastly overshadowed by this fantastic, wonderous journey. Just fantastic.
22 people found this helpful
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Italian Queen
4.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a unique read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2022
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Worthwhile yet convoluted, if you enjoy this style of storytelling! Make sure to read all four books lest you miss out on the most mind bending chapters.
One person found this helpful
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George C. Kerr
5.0 out of 5 stars Need to read this
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2023
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Fantastic and classic.g Needs to be read by all. Wonderful and a truly unique and fun time to be had. Read now and get enriched
J
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Joshua ÓFloínn
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting but difficult read
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2018
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An epic hero sci-fi/fantasy story set primarily in Earth's far distant future, The Complete Book of the New Sun is the tale of Severian, a Torturer who journies through space and time to bring about the rebirth of the dying sun and the renewal of a decaying and dilapidated humanity. With unique style and original aspects, the author has accomplished a new take on the classic hero-savior plot. But that said, the interesting plot of this story proceeds very slowly, frequently inturrupted and segued by the philosophical meanderings of the protagonist, and by dense abstractions that, in my opinion, makes reading this book feel less like entertainment, and more like homework.
12 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Complex and fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2020
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As is well known, these books are a hallmark of science fiction and fantasy that are without peer. I don't know what took me so long to get around to reading them but I finally have and now I mourn for the wasted years without these books. Truly stunning.
6 people found this helpful
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Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest works of literature of all time
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2019
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I have read the Book of the New Sun in hardcopy several times. I have not yet read all of it in the Kindle edition, so I can say I've only seen minor typos.
But the work itself has observations equal to some of the greatest works of literature - that we are all torturers is but one of them. Another is how empty life can see looking back on it, as the Chief Librarian observes.
Yes, the work can be disturbing - the main character is a torturer, after all. But so is life.
The stories draw you in. It can be hard to put down sometimes, and hard to continue, others. Take the time to enjoy, and dwell on the nuggets you find.

And certainly, read it more than once. Some parts make far more sense when you know what is to come.
13 people found this helpful
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Neal Presant
4.0 out of 5 stars It is very long
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2019
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It is very engrossing. I am only about half through it after a month. It is sometimes hard to remember about a character that appeared 500 pages ago but the writing is great and the story, which so far has been vignette after vignette, keeps your attention.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic & challenging tale
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023
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This book series is best read with a guide - I was lost many times but trusted that I would understand eventually. It's worth the challenge.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A text based altered state of concious
Reviewed in Canada on March 12, 2023
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What a strange trip this book is with it's fractured realities/perceptions, internal dialogues it is a very psychedelic experience. There is so many excellent things done with language and great little snippets sprinkled throughout. Wow!
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jorge
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it
Reviewed in Mexico on January 7, 2021
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10/10 book
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Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars O novo sol
Reviewed in Brazil on February 7, 2020
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Tenho várias versões desses livros, impressas e digitais. Comprei essa também para ler novamente no Kindle com um bom dicionário. É difícil tratar desta obra sem usar hipérboles portanto assuma-as todas possíveis aqui. Depois, vamos aos poucos delinear as razões de sua grandeza literária e seu absurdo poder imaginativo.

Dizem que um livro quando é bom faz nos imergir nele, dizem também ( a bem da verdade Tad Williams disse isso ) que Gene Wolfe era um sujeito que não parecia ter inventado uma história mas tê-la visto com os próprios olhos.
Trata da jornada de redenção de um torturador, treinado para trazer dor e punição aos culpados, mas que acaba por fim sendo uma espécie de redentor e salvador.

Gene Wolfe dizia que Severian não é uma alusão 'a figura do Cristo e sim um personagem em um livro com referências Cristãs. Ao mesmo tempo é um tratado sobre o modo de contar fatos subvertidos pelo sensorial, o imaginário, o metafísico. Também é uma obra de ficção científica no sentido extremo em que se pauta por imaginar um futuro distante mas que também busca descrever a natureza humana atemporal mas que em nenhum momento se mostra envergonhada para qual gênero pertence.
3 people found this helpful
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Fans of Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Reviewed in Canada on February 27, 2022
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A journey through a dying world presented through some of the most beautiful prose ever put to paper. Though the characters can often come across as rather one-note, and the plot can be confusing at times, the setting, philosophical musings and sheer beauty of the language more that make up for any fault.

In all, these books are classics, and I can't recommend them enough.
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Antonio
5.0 out of 5 stars Viagem pelas palavras e por um mundo agonizante
Reviewed in Brazil on June 18, 2018
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Dadas as devidas limitações, Book of the New Sun é quase que um romance de formação onde acompanhamos o amadurecimento de Severian. Suas viagens pelo mundo de Urth passam por diversos lugares pitorescos, nos quais fantasia e ficção científica combinam-se para formar um todo coeso e, apesar disso, bastante confuso, tanto pelas escolhas de palavras do autor quanto pela estranheza que esse mundo passa.

Começa um pouco devagar, mas logo pega um bom ritmo. E então somos verdadeiramente apresentados ao mundo de Urth, com todas as suas particularidades/esquisitices.

Caso esteja atrás de uma jornada estranha, rica em palavras, com personagens cativantes, muita aventura, questionamentos filosóficos, Book of the New Sun é a série ideal. É só vestir o manto negro e embarcar na história.
7 people found this helpful
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