The Citadel of the Autarch

The Book of the New Sun, Book 4

De: Gene Wolfe

Narrado por: Jonathan Davis

The Citadel of the Autarch brings The Book of the New Sun to its harrowing conclusion, as Severian clashes in a final reckoning with the dread Autarch, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that will alter forever the realm known as Urth.Listen to more in the Book of the New Sun series.©1982 Gene Wolfe (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

• John W. Campbell Award, Best Novel, 1984

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

4th time reading this series

One of my favourite titles and my first audiobook. the narrator did an amazing job across all 4 books. Can't wait to hear more of his stuff, fantastic job.

I would recommend this to anyone with a love of sc-fi and fantasy.

Great writing

Good voice performance, different tones made it feel performative. I
Imagine the narrators voice as Severian.

A Treasured Relic of Memory

This series has been my favorite, which has no equal or competitor in any every aspect. Gene Wolfe crafted a story that is somehow more unique, more honest, and most reflective of the human experience in my estimation.

That being said, it is not an easy read; Reddit was my best friend with recommendations in understanding some of the references and words these book invoke, therefore I urge whomever who reads this to take all support necessary.

Much can be said about the story but it enough to say that it was worth every hour I spent reading it. And I will continue the story to its zenith.

The End of the Tetralogy

So with this book, I have finally finished Gene Wolfe's tetralogy 'The Book of the New Sun'. While I don't think it quite measures up to Tolkien's 'the Lord of the Rings' or Dan Simmons 'Hyperion Cantos', and while I'm not a big fan of science fantasy (mainly due to my huge bias against fantasy), I was still kinda amazed at the sheer amount of what Wolfe pulled off with this novel. He played with the form, with the genre, with almost everything he began with. He explored time, love, relationships, pain and power. For me, 'the Sword of the Lictor' (book 3) almost discouraged me from continuing, but 'the Citadel of the Autarch' (book 4) pulled it all together.