The Claw of the Conciliator

The Book of the New Sun, Book 2

By: Gene Wolfe

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Listen to more in the Book of the New Sun series.

©1982 Gene Wolfe (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 1982

Interesting...not as good as 1

Would you consider the audio edition of The Claw of the Conciliator to be better than the print version?

The character's are developed a bit more, but still seems to never have a clear climax or resolution.

Difficult but good read

I really enjoyed the twist and turns in this book. Many plot points kept me wanting to read more and I can't wait to start the next book in this series. The few downsides I would say to this one, is that it's a bit tough to read. There were many times where I had to reread sections to really understand what was going on. Also the romance in this one is quite odd. Never have understood the main character's romantic feelings and left confused. Overall though it is a great book and a good read.

good book, nice read, mid series book

If you could sum up The Claw of the Conciliator in three words, what would they be?

complex, layered, fascinating

What did you like best about this story?

nuanced and adult

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

mostly gives greater context - age, experience, personality

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

not possible nor desirable, its a book (series) to be soaked in slowly

Any additional comments?

looking forward to books 3 and 4!

The strange world deepens

If ever there was a "marmite" series in fantasy, it would be Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. To its admirers, it's one of the most brilliant, literary works in the genre; to its detractors, it's frustrating and overly cryptic.

Either way, Wolfe's creation is like nothing else in fantasy. Set eons in the future, when the planet is covered in the remnants of long-forgotten civilizations and the sun is beginning to go out from some mysterious ailment, the cycle follows the journeys of Severian, the torturer's apprentice cast out of his guild for showing mercy to a captive. Gifted (or cursed) with an exceptional memory, the older Severian recounts his experiences to readers with the assumption that we're from his own time.

The style takes some getting used to. Severian's recollections often have a dreamlike quality, with seemingly insignificant events described in detail, and important occurrences sometimes mentioned only in passing. Between that and the odd, archaic terminology, the reader has to pay close attention to keep up with what's going on. The little background details have a way of becoming important later, and not everyone is what they seem at first -- even the protagonist.

Yet, Wolfe's world-creation rivals Tolkien's in its richness and color. Everything Severian glimpses seems infused with the half-forgotten history of a very old planet, where some technology remains but seems on a level akin to magic. I loved the strange, wondrous background and trying to guess at the significance of semi-familiar legends and encounters with odd beings or characters. In my opinion, too many contemporary fantasy writers hold their readers’ hands and *explain* everything -- Wolfe keeps a lot tantalizingly mysterious, and leaves us to make small connections ourselves. More of that, please.

This is the second book in the series, continuing the picaresque travels of Severian and his companions, including a new one, north from the city of Nessus. While the first volume explored his childhood and turned him loose in a world he didn’t fully understand, this one thrusts him into different dangers and intrigues, including several romantic liaisons. We learn more about the strange Doctor Talos and his ad hoc performance troupe, about the titular gemstone’s powers, about the rebel Vodalus, and about the autarch and his underground citadel. Thecla, from book one, returns in a way that’s quite original. There's even a story-within-a-story, a play that reveals a little about the mythology around the idea of a New Sun (though it’s somewhat confusing). As before, Wolfe's grasp of language is amazing, switching between horror, subtle humor, profound observation, and recognition of small, meaningful moments.

There are clearly multiple layers to this story, so don't expect to have fewer questions when you get to the end than you did after the last book. Which is to say, Wolfe answers some questions, but throws new puzzle pieces onto the table. At this point, I'm definitely hooked on Severian's tale, but I'm not sure if I can properly "review" any of these until I've grasped the entirety of this whole ambitious cycle.

Audiobook narrator Jonathan Davis, whose cool, ironic voice I'm already a big fan of, is very well-suited to Severian's detached written voice. He might even humanize him a little more.

Much Better than the first book

This book moves at a much better pace and answers some questions that left you hanging in the first book. My only complaint about this one is that the author took to long going over the play in detail. I'm not sure if he meant this as a foreshadowing or if he meant it to have more significance than I personally felt it did (my opinion, yours may vary) I'm halfway through the 3rd book now, it's even better than this one.

Amazing!

What can you say? An amazing series and the narration is superb. A truly gripping story !

Great if you like all middle...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, I wouldn't, because it gives no sense of resolution. This is the second of the series and like the first the book begins in the middle and ends in the middle. I picked it up because the world the author is painting is an interesting one, so I figured I'd give the series a second chance. However as a story the book doesn't hold up well. The language is imaginative, descriptive and enjoyable to read/listen to. You feel immersed as you're traveling along with the character, Severian, through his journey. In fact it picks up right where the last one left off. Quite exactly so and because the last book had no ending, this is more like a continuation of the first than a second book. Unfortunately, like the first, it can not stand on its own. With no ending, there's no emotional payoff. For me, I need that piece of closure. This book essentially just runs out of pages, as if there's more to be read, but someone has stolen those chapters (or opted to sell them to you in guise of another novel). To me, that "style" is disingenuous and feels like a cheat. So no matter the raves this series has gotten, I think I'm going to take a pass on the rest of it.

What could Gene Wolfe have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Opt for a more conventional story form with a hook, middle, ending. Trite I know, restrictive I know, but the forms exist because they supply a need. I don't mind some ambiguity and I understand the need to keep a series going. However, to get me to follow along and need an occasional piece of cake and not just a trail of crumbs.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis – was your favorite?

The entire story is basically told from the point of view of Severian. Some small characterizations are done, but they are thin, basically Serverian's characterizations of them, not Jonathan Davis's. Evoking Severian, Davis does an adequate job of and he's a good narrator. I just think the story limits him.

Was The Claw of the Conciliator worth the listening time?

No. On it's own, this book does not stand. The series, taken as a whole may, but a book needs to stand on its own merits for it to be worth my time. This one does not.

Any additional comments?

I'm really torn on this series. I get the stylistic choices that have been made here and I respect that, but I have to be honest. I simply didn't enjoy it.

Bazaar and pointless

The story is bazaar and hard to follow and doesn’t have any point to it, it all so does not flow well, starts and stops differently stories with out concluding any.

Keep reading, for the prose style

This book (The Claw of the Conciliator) and the next (The Sword of the Lictor) have more of a standard fantasy plot than the first book (The Shadow of the Torturer): a singularly talented guy on a quest carrying some powerful artifacts. These two books also begin to feel claustrophobic, as the same handful of characters keep showing up.

But after reading the first book, one should realize that one doesn't read these books for their plot or characters, but for Wolfe's amazing style and Severian's reflections. An example is probably more illuminating than my description:

"...Now it struck me that the will itself was governed, and if not by reason, then by things below or above it. Yet it was very difficult to say on what side of reason these things lay. Instinct, surely, lay below it; but might it not be above it as well?...
But is instinct truly that "attachment to the person of the monarch" which Master Malrubius implied was at once the highest and the lowest form of governance? For clearly, instinct itself cannot have arisen out of nothing--the hawks that soared over our heads built their nests, doubtless, by instinct; yet there must have been a time in which nests were not built, and the first hawk to build one cannot inherited its instinct to build from its parents, since they did not possess it... Perhaps that which came before instinct was the highest as well as the lowest principle of the governance of the will. Perhaps not. The wheeling birds traced their hieroglyphics in the air, but they were not for me to read."

Severian is taking his time showing up for work

The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe, is the 2nd installment in the Book of the New Sun series. The tale picks up immediately where book 1 ended. Severian and his new friend Jonas are traveling and encounter a number of adventures. In the next town, Severian gets to practice his occupation again. A letter sends him into a horde of ape-men, but the claw (obtained in the last book) is able to exert some strange reactions. Agia attempts to steal back the claw, but he spares her life. He is captured by Vodalus' men, but manages to kill them. Vodalus remembers him and then sends him on a mission House Absolute, but not before a meal where they feast on Thecla's flesh mixed with a substance that imparts her memories into Sevarian. At House Absolute, he is imprisoned, but without any specific cause and manages to escape due to Thecla's memories of the layout. He learns that his traveling companion is actually a robot from beyond Earth. He finds his fomrer traveling companions and then participates in the play again. Baldanders goes crazy during the performance and many in the audience appear to be alien creatures. Reunited with Dorcas, he departs with her and Jolenta. They approach a stone city where they encounter witches and Hildgrin. Upon awakening, they find themselves alone.

Wolfe continues to expand and enlarge Severian's world with increasing suggestions that this world is our earth, but far, far into the future. At the same time, there appears to be some continuing function of advanced technology as well as some interactions with extraterrestrials. The claw seems to be some of that technology as it can heal. As with the first book, there is little resolution throughout. This is more about story telling, then simply telling a story.

The narration is superb with excellent character distinction. Pacing is brisk.