The Shadow of the Torturer

The Shadow of the Torturer is the first quarter of the Book of the New Sun, and it definitely feels like a piece of a larger work. Very little is resolved by the time one reaches the abrupt end of the novel, and I'm sure many of the subplots will play a larger role in the future novels. The story seemed to wander from scene to scene in a dreamlike fashion, which was intensified by the detached, musing style of the narrator and protagonist, Severian of the guild of torturers. The individual scenes were often delightfully strange, leaving me more interested in the world than in the story's amoral main character. I'm curious to see how this series will turn out, and how my opinion of it might change as I learn more about the world and larger story!

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