• The Shadow of the Torturer

  • The Book of the New Sun, Book 1
  • By: Gene Wolfe
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
  • Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (3,015 ratings)

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The Shadow of the Torturer  By  cover art

The Shadow of the Torturer

By: Gene Wolfe
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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Publisher's summary

The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in the four-volume epic, the tale of a young Severian, an apprentice to the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession - showing mercy towards his victim.
Listen to more in the Book of the New Sun series.
©1980 Gene Wolfe (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The best science fiction novel of the last century." (Neil Gaiman)
  • World Fantasy Award, Best Novel, 1981
  • Favorite Audiobooks of 2010 (Fantasy Literature)

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What listeners say about The Shadow of the Torturer

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,399
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

It is not a good audiobook

Some books lend themselves to audio recordings, some take a while to get into and some like this book are just not a good listen. I don’t remember how many times I went back to catch something, my mind wandered, missed it again and did the whole thing over just to find out what I thought would be a climatic scene just died a boring death. The writing is just convoluted, ponderous and protracted. One afternoon in the book can literally last hours of audio. I caught myself wondering if I should look for CliffNotes and then realized I didn’t care enough about the characters or storyline to fully understand it. The narration was just as ponderous and lacking emotion which may have been intended since the main character had his emotions and empathy stamped out at a young age. Normally listening to the process of turning a child into a psychopath would be disturbing and his process of coming back from that but once again I couldn’t bring myself to care. That is how lackluster and emotionless this book is. I do not recommend it and I am sorry I wasted a credit to buy it and hours of my time to listen to it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Revisiting an Old Favorite

One of my favorite books. It was nice to hear it narated for once, which was a nice expiriment for my dyslexic brain.There was a little confusion where the narrator would use a voice for a character, and carry it on for the dialogue of another character which made it a touch difficult to differentiate between characters.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not too fast, not too slow, just right

Would you listen to The Shadow of the Torturer again? Why?

Only to bits of it to review before the next book, but that said, I always want a new book as there are so many waiting to be read/listened to.

Would you be willing to try another book from Gene Wolfe? Why or why not?

Yes. Am already into book 2. There are some signalling of what is about to happen but there are enough surprises to keep interest and he draws sympathetic characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

That would be a spoiler alert.

Any additional comments?

Nicely paced reading.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A true classic

This is one of the best stories, I have ever read. And the narration is perfect. There really is no reason to write a long review. Your time would be better spent engaged in this wonderful story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

First audiobook I'd recommend on narrator alone.

Great story, but the narrator absolutely MAKES this one. Perfect voice talent decision here.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

An engaging world, eloquence in the detail and description of characters, plot and setting. Truly a joy to listen! Only wish I had a dictionary with me at times, such great diction!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

monotone narration

I think I might have really enjoyed this had the narration held some hint of emotion. It was like listening to someone read a grocery list.

I will try reading the next book instead

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I don’t find it complex. Just boring in the last half

I kept reading these reviews by people saying how complicated this book is. I don’t find it complicated. In the beginning I actually really liked it. Gene Wolfe was certainly a talented writer. However the long interlude starting in the garden, in the middle. Then through the rest of the book. My God it was ponderous. About a quarter of the book takes place in one day, and it is one heck of a boring day. At one point I felt Mr. Wolf just got his jollies from playing with words. Compared to other fantasy epics this is short, but I still came away thinking it was way too long for what it tells you in the story. It should’ve been done in 200 pages. But I will say this, the audio presentation was outstanding. He truly made this book bearable through the rest of it to the end. Very very good reading

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing

Though barely sci-fi/fantasy, this first installment in the New Sun series is nothing short of hypnotizing. Gene Wolfe’s magical prose and imagination are a gift to the genre.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

nothing happens

manages to cram 20 minutes of material into 20 hours of stunningly beautiful narrative.

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