The Sword of the Lictor

The Book of the New Sun, Book 3

By: Gene Wolfe

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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

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

The boy can't help himself and so on the run again

Gene Wolfe's The Sword and the Lictor is the third installment in the Book of the New Sun. Severian has finally made it to Thrax and settles in only to encounter another woman that he takes pity upon and shirks his duty. This action forces him on the run where he encounters several interesting characters including Agia who keeps turning up like the bad penny she is. He also transiently adopts a young boy and reminisces about his youth. He meets a strange two headed individual and experiences a bit of the alien technology that Earth has lost. Finally, he reconnects with with Dr Talos and meets some aliens just as other events seem to be overtaking him.

Wolfe provides a few more clues about the alien relationship with a suggestion that Earth leadership is strictly under control. Severian remains an aimless wanderer without any clear direction or purpose as he interacts with a wide variety of people that reflect a disjointed human population that is largely uncontrolled where quite a bit have gone feral. Technology is firmly in the realm of magic with the aliens without clear objectives or purpose.

Davis continues his easy going rendition with excellent character distinction.

Amazing!

Not a book that is easy to get a grip on. It is instead a book that will grip you in its immense layers and depths.

Love the Performance.

After having failed to continue reading this series many times but still having the curiosity, I decided to try the audiobook version.

What a great choice that was. Thanks for the great narrator with his pleasant voice and performance, I listened to the end of the series and now finished the third book for the second time.

I usually cannot stand excessive voice acting - you know, like when the narrator makes hideous voice for villains, monsters, mean elderly people, obnoxious little children, hysteric housewives, pompous gentlemen and such. Some male narrators who try to do female voices for female characters make me dearly wish that they rather had not tried that, vice versa for female narrators with male characters.

But with Jonathan Davis, everything is near perfect. He does the voices but never make it weird or cranky. He never overdoes it to make the listeners cringe. Even for the female characters!

In the chapter 33, six characters have conversations. I was taken aback only afterwards, how smooth and natural the scene sounds, with the narrator giving each character distinctive voices that really fit for each of them.

In short, Jonathan Davis rocks!
I thank for his performance. He made the series far richer.

One of the best Series of Books

Severian’s dark journey is endlessly fascinating and profound… and disturbing. Johnathan Davis is the perfect voice for Severian. He sounds exactly like what you’d imagine the voice in Severian’s head, recounting all he remembers, sounds like.

Absolutely insane ride!

This book is much better than the previous two. So many amazing revelations, world building, and terrifying encounters. The characters are all super interesting as well.

Great creepy sci fantasy book

Fills in all the hole's from the first 2 in the series . starts out slow but ends up great.

Become a Seeker for Truth and Penitence

This is a review of the four volume THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN (TBNS) by Gene Wolfe; which traces the coming of age of Severian, once a member of The Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence.

In printed form the earlier works of Gene Wolfe can be quite challenging and this is the quintessential Wolfe novel. The esoteric language employed forces your eyes to slow down and read with great care. So many of the words, while supposedly all authentic English words, are unfamiliar that looking up at least a handful of them is necessary to understand the text. As a result, the reader’s mind has time to explore Severian’s world as the protagonist himself is doing. The printed books are heavy in the hand and the weight of the pages fore and aft serve as constant reminders of what has come before, and what is yet to be.

The most telling observation I can give about the audio book is that it transforms a massive tome into a much more personal narrative. As an audio book TBNS takes on a less intimidating, much more intimate and even more friendly character. The inexorable pacing of the narrator, Jonathan Davis, does not permit pauses for reflection, or speculation, the story plows on, without pausing to try to pronounce a word, without going back to regain the flow of the plot after a difficult flashback. And it is just fine.

Jonathan Davis is a most excellent narrator for TBNS. His voice has a deep calming quality that is well suited to recounting Severian’s story. He gives each character their own individual voice. He gives a fine performance ranking this among my favorite audio books. I can recommend all four of the volumes of TBNS here on Audible without reservation.

Note: The short afterwards that are part of each of the four volumes are not included in the audio versions. They should be read to get the full effect intended by the author Gene Wolfe.

If you've made it this far, keep reading

What did you love best about The Sword of the Lictor?

Wolfe's use of symbolism and language are among the best I have ever read. His books are not for the faint of heart. Although his main character is a headsman, the content is not why I caution casual readers to think twice. Wolfe is a master, and he doesn't slow down to let you in on any of his secrets. You HAVE to pay attention to each word.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Severian is a richly-penned antagonist. His idetic memory makes for some fun times and deeply philosophical rants. I think he would be a difficult character to put on the big screen because of it, but he shines in book form because we get to hear every word of his (and others') thoughts.

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

The easy answer here is that he gives life to the words that the author has chosen. That could be meaningless drivel, except that Wolfe provides eloquent use of vocabulary that few others would dare to use. Each sentence is a finely crafted work of art. Davis has a mild, calm delivery which fits well with Severian's demeanor. I have always considered myself an "audio learner" and this is the first book which I absolutely had to hear to absorb.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was too busy thinking to have much of an emotional reaction. His strength is in building a world and making the reader question his or her concept of memory, religion, violence, honor, etc., rather than invoking an emotional response.

Any additional comments?

Again--do not tread lightly. If you choose to read this book, you must listen closely to every word. I expect to re-read the whole series just to re-build the timeline in my head.

obviously amazing

If you loved the first two books (and lets face it, why would you pick this one up if the first two weren't your cup of tea), then you'll not be disappointed by this installment of the series. Once again we rejoin Severian quite a bit further along in his journey then when we left him at the end of the last book, but I found this transition easier to follow than the last, maybe just because I was expecting it more.

We follow Severian through the book as usual, with some familiar characters coming and going, and some new ones too. If it's been a while since you finished the last book, probably wouldn't hurt to refresh your memory before you start this one. This book probably has as many random tangents as the last but I found them more enjoyable or easier to follow or more relevant than the side stories in the last book.

I realized while listening to this book that part of what I love about Gene Wolfe's writing is that so much happens in the book, but every scene or incident is so well described and fleshed out. It's never rushed. But nor is it weighed down with unnecessary description. A lot of writers could learn from Wolfe. The world he creates is so realistic and easy to immerse yourself in, but so lacking in detailed descriptions (ie. what does the alzabo actually look like?).

Johnathan Davis's voice and narration style couldn't be more perfect for these books. I've been listening to some of the other things he's done, and he's an excellent narrator, but nowhere is he as good as he is here.

Can't wait to download the last book!!

Best plotless book ever.

Gene Wolfe???s The Sword of the Lictor essentially contains no plot, but it???s the best plotless book I???ve ever read. It???s one of the best books I???ve ever read, period. I loved every moment of it! This third installment of The Book of the New Sun continues Severian???s journey from apprentice in the torturers??? guild to Autarch. He doesn???t seem to be getting any closer to his exalted position (if anything, I???d say farther) and we???re no closer to understanding how he???s going to get there. But that???s totally fine. Unburdened by a need to be anywhere or to achieve any goals or deadlines, Severian wanders the earth almost aimlessly, and it???s this wandering that???s so fascinating. For a reader who???s only anxious for action and story progression, The Sword of the Lictor is not likely to work and, indeed, I usually get annoyed with authors who take too long to tell their stories. However, when I???m reading Gene Wolfe, it not only works ??? it is pure delight. For Wolfe???s old earth, set in a far future when the sun is dying (similar to Jack Vance???s Dying Earth), is full of wonder and amazement and he tells us all about it in his simple but elegant style... I wish I could be there with Severian as he climbs down the steep cliff overhung with a waterfall and embedded with the fossils of earth???s lost architecture, and explores the round metal building that we recognize (but he doesn???t) as a spaceship??? I???d love to tell you more and to discuss what it all means (there???s so much symbolism here), but then you???d miss the jaw-dropping, eye-widening, brain-expanding experience for yourself. I???ll just say that what Severian experiences on his journey perfectly captures the essence of excellent speculative fiction ??? it???s the reason I love SFF.
Nobody creates such a sense of wonder and amazement, such truly unique and bizarre ideas, and relates them in such a beautiful way as Gene Wolfe does. I want to spend a lot more time exploring his world.