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)

Simply incredible writing

If you are used to how science-fiction and fantasy are written today, then you are definitely in for a treat. Because this book is nothing like that. I am a writer for a living, and I can tell you that Gene Wolfe is a master of his craft. DO NOT MISS.

Super surreal

I’ve reread this several times, and each time I spend more time thinking about the implications of this book that actually reading it. Also, super entertaining.

Incredible narration for an incredible story

I'm not going to review BotNS, which has a strong (if somewhat obscure) case for being the best American novel since Moby-Dick.

Jonathan Davis' narration is perfect. It's well-known that Wolfe scatters obscure language throughout the text in order to bring an alien quality to the story. Because of this reason, and because so much of the story vacillates between absurd, fantastical images and deep spirituality, it's incredibly difficult to emote Severian's inner monologue as he goes on his journey.

Yet, with Davis reading, the text is alive. His cadence is excellent, not fearing a long pause where it's needed. Davis makes the — at times — unwieldy language sound conversational and effortlessly human. His voices for other characters are not affects, being (at best) spot-on and (at worst) inspired. [One of his most interesting tricks is how he blends certain voices together: a major plot point later in the story. IYKYK.]

Most importantly, Davis narrates like a storyteller for a book that has stories within stories within stories. I've read BotNS more times than I can count and I've now listened to Davis' narration in equal measure. As someone who generally dislikes audiobooks and would have a great deal of prejudice for any narrator attempting BotNS, this feat is no small thing.

Is there a point?

_The Shadow of the Torturer_ by Gene Wolfe receives three stars from me. While I enjoyed the reader of this audiobook, at one point I found myself asking--what's point of this book?

First the reader. Jonathan Davis read this novel. His voice is beautiful, deep, resonate. He reads well, has a good interpretation of the characters, and can do women's voices well. They are not too far from his normal voice, but distinguished enough for the listener to recognize it's a woman. I recommend him as a reader.

The Book.

What is done well; what I enjoyed. The world building. Wolfe creates a good clear world with this novel. The descriptions are over done, and the fantasy elements clearly stated. The main character Severian is interesting as he changes some (not a lot) but some. I enjoyed the moral delimma that Severian underwent in one small section of the novel, and I felt he made the right choice for himself.

What I didn't enjoy. For me the book has no central question that it is seeking to resolve. I think it wants to have a couple. However, since the character isn't seeking to resolve any dilemmas, or problems, the reader is left with what amounts to a meandering plot. Oh the plot has direction of a kind, but no driving force that pulls it all together. At one point, I thought--its possible that this is a fantasy modern version of the Odyssey. But it isn't. At the beginning a character is introduce. This character, I believe holds the central problem of the series (not this text).

Recommended: look, it has gotten good reviews, won awards, so I think people who love fantasy will enjoy it.

Aside: I enjoy fantasy. I do. I enjoyed this book. At the same time, I was also disappointed.

Very… odd.

This whole audiobook was just odd. The whole story only describes a few days in detail, with a one long time gap in the middle. There is extensive detail, but the majority of the time, it’s a challenge to keep track of what’s actually going on in the plot, and why.

Great World Creation…Otherwise, difficult.

I like Gene Wolfe’s short stories and really wanted to like this, but it was a difficult slog.
The story starts out great and Wolfe creates a vivid and interesting world.
About halfway through, however, he loses his way and gets bogged down in terrible minutiae.
I struggled continuing with it, but forced myself to the end.

Being poetic is not enough for a good story

prose 8/10
atmosphere/world building 9/10
characters 4/10
dialogue 7/10
plot 6/10

** adding to this. The book's perspective on women worsened the further I listened. This guy has some warped views, even for his time. Hell I just finished reading a book that was 200 years older and the author is more respectful then wolfs. Some of the passages made me feely uncomfortable and queasy. I might supplement this review later with the passage to illustrate what I mean. I guess I'm also tired of every female characters breast being described along with some more disturbing passages.


I agree with a lot of what the reviewers say. The writing is haunting and there is a certain beauty to this novel.

however I don't agree with people calling this book a masterpiece. Perhaps my expectations were too high but I felt let down a little by the hype.

There is something reminiscent of Charles Dickens in the writing but unlike Dickens the characters fall flat. Many of the characters seem two dimensional, especially the female ones. The author falls in the same trap of many sci-fi and fantasy authors where the women are more a thing to be idolized than actually seen as complex humans. i forgive the book for this though, because many books of this time were similar.

the main character is a little flat too, I understand that his detached persona is likely due to being a torturer, but it would be nice to see a more of a peak into how he came to be the way he is. It needed to be expanded on a little. the protagonist seems severely emotionally stunted and I wish that was explored more, because he is too unrelatable.

The plot is a little plodding. Nothing compels me to keep reading.

I could see someone who really loves the setting and atmosphere this book creates. I see why some people enjoy this book, but I also wonder do we have an emperor has no clothes situation? Are people just saying they like it to go with the herd?

Jonathan Davis: God-tier narration

Dune heads and Kim Stanley Robinson fans get in. Thoroughly enjoyed Wolfe’s unique fantasy/sci-fi world building.

Enthralling and Engaging

The story was enthralling and entertaining throughout. it kept me pulled in and engaged through the next few books. Every moment felt like a piece of a larger puzzle, leaving me to wonder if it was a part of the world building (like the witches, the marriage practices of the beast masters, etc) or the narrative (the cart race, the clothes merchant, etc). it's difficult to tell which it will be at the moment, until you take a step back to see the big picture.

Worthy

I am so glad I have found another author that I can trust to deliver a worthwhile experience. It is really a bad deal to take a gamble on a new writer and feel you 'wasted' your credits.

When the reviews are skimpy, I run to other review sites to see what others say. It appears that the titles have been changed a bit from the original works. At first, I thought the book left off in a ridiculous place until I realized that I only d/l'ed the first of 2 parts. I have already d/l'ed the 2nd book so there will be no waiting.

I rarely write reviews but since there are so few, I thought I would say a word or two to others who spend their credits cautiously. This writer is sophisticated and dark. I think of Robin Hobb's strong character development mixed with Robert Jordan's poetic skill. Any would be writers would do well to humble yourself observing this writers mastery.

If you are looking for something after this, I strongly recommend R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" series. Pretty much, most works pale in comparison to R.R. Martin's.

I hope this is helpful.