Pages : 615
Overall Mark : 8/10
Exiled from his guild, the former torturer’s
apprentice, Severian, is now the Lictor of Thrax, a city far distant from his
home. But it is not long before he must flee this city, too, and journey again
into the world. Embattled by friend and enemies alike, pursued by monstrous
creatures, Severian must overcome hitherto unimagined perils, as he moves
closer to fulfilling his ultimate destiny. This edition contains The Sword of the Lictor and The Citadel of the Autarch.
GENE WOLFE (1931-)
Gene Wolfe is one of modern fantasy’s most important
writers. His best-known work, the four volume far-future Book of the New Sun, won the World Fantasy, BSFA, Nebula, British
Fantasy and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards. He has won the World Fantasy
Award four times for his novels and collections and the World Fantasy Life
Achievement Award for his extraordinary body of work.
VERDICT
THE SWORD OF THE LICTOR - This had a lot more of a
sci-fi feel to it than the first two books, with him fighting various monsters
such as the Alzabo, and although that did in part take us away from the idea of
this being a perfectly relatable story told in a different time, it did add to
the story and make it all the more intriguing.
THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH - This had much more of a
fable feel to it than the previous book, with its focus at times on
storytelling as well as introducing the ideas of time travel and aliens, and it
is this volume that finally reveals the big secret readers waited four years to
find out.
