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

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)

Original, Difficult and Well-Crafted.

I am almost anti-fantasy. I find most derivative at best and banal to the extreme. Wolfe's first book in his famous The Book of the New Sun tetralogy, however, is genre fiction at its finest. Original, difficult and well-crafted, it is easy to see how Wolfe is regarded as a writer's writer.

Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

This is maybe one of the saddest books I've read. An overwhelming sense of isolation and loneliness pours out of each line. It is deeply emotional book, and I don't think such a book is for everyone.

If you need constant action, hope, a quest, a hero with a purpose, and so on, this is not the book for you. There isn't even the hope of redemption for the protagonist and he really could use it. The story really is something quite dark and often times aimless.

Now, I completely enjoyed the book and found myself easily lost in the story. I don't doubt it is due a good deal to the excellent narration. The random wandering, discoveries, and encounters keep the story moving along and interesting. It is a very dream-like tale.

The only issue I had was that the author does ramble more than once, even to the point of being annoying in a few instances. Once during the book, I did sigh and think, "Can we get on with it?" However, this did not spoil my overall enjoyment.

In short, it's a great story if you can appreciate a great setting where hope isn't offered as the protagonist wanders aimlessly into exile.

Interesting but not captivating

First of all let me preface this with I haven't listened to the whole series yet. I do plan on going through the whole series. I'm currently about 2.5 hours from finishing the second book, which I like better than the this one. So I'm going to base my review upon each book and sum it up when I finish the 4th one. If I like the 4th one I'll go to the 5th.

As other readers have stated, you really have to pay attention to this book. There's so much in the story that it's easy to miss something. For me there isn't much action to it, I personally like action. There is a small twist in it that you can figure out. IMHO, the story moves slow and it feels like it's going to be a long story.

There's a conclusion to the first part of the journey (as I'm calling it) but it left me feeling unsatisfied. I'm almost thinking the first and second book should have been put together (based on what I've listened to thus far). The writing style is good and I am curious about how Severian "completes" his journey which is why I'm continuing the series.

The narrator does a good job and based on what I'm hearing the narration seems to fit Severian's personality.

In summary, this book by itself moves very slow and save for one "duel", is not very action orientated. If your personal taste is detail and some mystery then this may very well suit your style. Don't get me wrong I'm not against detail but I need something more with it. If they had half ratings, I would probably give this a 3.5.

Classic SF literature; excellent reading

"The Book of the New Sun" is one of science fiction's greatest works of literature--dense, elliptical, allusive and elusive--and Jonathan Davis reads the challenging text (which uses many archaic words to create the feeling of a time removed from the present that's still linked to the past) with superb sensitivity. Gene Wolfe's narrator Severian is a careful, methodical person, which helps modulate the book's bizarre and confusing world (which looks and feels like fantasy but is actually SF), and Davis strikes just the right tone of hushed deliberation to anchor the listener without overplaying the parts and turning it into a more dramatic or mannered "performance."

A must for anyone interested in classic SF or simply good writing. Audible Frontiers, more Gene Wolfe, please!

Give It a Second Try with Podcast

I revisited this series based on recommendation. At first I bounced off a few times and was very confused by the writing, etc.

What really helped was listening to a podcast discussing both the book/series and Gene Wolfe's work. Alzabo Soup was the podcast with Phil and Metz. They go chapter by chapter is breaking down and discussing what is happening. It's incredible. I have a huge appreciation for their work and Gene Wolfe after taking this approach.

One of best sci fi/fantasy of all time

One of the best books I've ever read. I'd recommend reading, or at least having a copy, as well as listening, because Wolfe's plots are always so complex you need to be able to go back and check things in order to follow. But the recording is high quality, narrator is growing on me, and if you've already read the book then the recording is a great way to experience it again. Just be wary of listening for the first time--at least have a copy of the book to check back on plot points. May seem like a of effort, but it's worth it.

Brilliant but difficult

Like all of Gene Wolfes work I've read this book is very good but also difficult. It's difficult to keep track of what's happening in his stories and when reading them I've found I've had to reread portions to comprehend events. Unfortunately this is more difficult with an audiobook. I really wish wolfe had included more exposition and description in his stories as I feel they would be more enjoyable and less difficult to digest.

A Great Read For Those Ready For Fantasy

I fell in love with the story almost as soon as I had begun my listen, but continually fell upon the same issue. The speed with which the book progresses along it's narrative arc varies from slow, deliberate descriptive prose to what feels to be huge jumps in the story's arc. This same issue has plagued me through many books, however, and may simply be a side effect of the written word translated as a spoken narrative.

All that being said, this is an excellent and genre defining piece of fantasy that will not disappoint, and an excellent place to start your journey into the world laid out before you by Wolfe.

Interesting story, bad audio quality.

I thought the story was interesting when I could hear it, however the narration tended to be very quiet.

Great prose

Feels a little dated now but a super original story with nods to all sorts of authors and mythos. Great pacing and many odd characters and situations
Completely unique