Books : Sword & Citadel: The Second Half of 'The Book of the New Sun'
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780312890186
ISBN: 0312890184
Label: Orb Books
Manufacturer: Orb Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: October 15, 1994
Publisher: Orb Books
Sales Rank: 25997
Studio: Orb Books
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Editorial Review:
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 Publishers 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
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The Book of the New Sun is an excellent, deep, complex, prose-infested novel that will leave you speachless. It's so deep, that truly, it's a story that is meant to be read many times. This book will leave you gathering your thoughts over and over again. A true treasure-trove. And as it has for me, writting this review, it will leave you at a loss for words. Get it. Get it now. This is the 2nd half of 4 part volume. Be sure to read the 1st half FIRST. Otherwise, you'll be lost.
Rating:  -
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 first half (this book) is the better of the two.
Rating: -
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.
Rating:  -
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.
Rating: -
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.
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