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The Shadow of the Torturer

Urth: Book of the New Sun, Book 1

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The Shadow of the Torturer

By: Gene Wolfe
Narrated by: James Lailey
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About this listen

So begins one of the most celebrated stories in fantasy literature . . . packed full of mystery, deep themes and incredible prose, meet Severian the Torturer and follow him on his journey across the great world of Urth

Severian is a torturer, born to the guild and with an exceptionally promising career ahead of him...until he falls in love with one of his victims, a beautiful young noblewoman.

Her excruciations are delayed for some months and, out of love, Severian helps her commit suicide and escape her fate. For a torturer, there is no more unforgivable act. In punishment he is exiled from the guild and his home city to the distant metropolis of Thrax with little more than Terminus Est, a fabled sword, to his name.

Along the way he has to learn to survive in a wider world without the guild—a world in which he has already made both allies and enemies. And a strange gem is about to fall into his possession, which will only make his enemies pursue him with ever-more determination....

1981, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Short-listed

1981, World Fantasy Award, Winner

1982, BSFA Award, Winner

©1980 Gene Wolfe (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Hard Science Fiction Literary Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction

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The Urth of the New Sun cover art
The Urth of the New Sun By: Gene Wolfe
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The narrator is the only thing that kept me listening until the end. World and story have potential in beginning, ends up being a story of how a weak boy turns macho, cannot explain feelings and spends much more time describing women's physical properties rather than their character.

Expected better story, great narrator

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you cant leave just a star review anymore, which is just annoying. sort yourself out audible.

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Not many books are as engaging, or more so even, by the third read/listen but this is one of them. It is frustrating that Gene Wolfe, and this series in particular, is not better known, as in my view this is a masterpiece in any genre, and on the same level as Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy in terms of the unique writing style and incredible world-building, although both are very different.

Anyone expecting a simple action-packed space opera may be disappointed but this book still feels gripping and includes incredible almost hallucinatory scenes and images that stay with you, from Severian being saved by a giant woman underwater to a dual in which the combatants use the deadly leaves of an alien tree as weapons.

The use of obscure words, without clear descriptions about what a particular thing is, actually works incredibly well to conjure up a world so far in the future that it feels ancient and advanced all at once. This, when coupled with Severian’s not entirely trustworthy account of his life, in which nothing is quite what it seems and you question his repeated boast/complaint that he forgets nothing, means that you notice new details and perspectives on each read.

If you typically like fantasy but not sci-fi books, or visa versa, this book will still appeal to you. The narration is very engaging, enhancing the detached and otherworldly style of Severian’s account and giving each character a distinctive voice. Each instalment of the series is excellent and it is one of those series that you wish could be adapted as films or tv but you know that it would be extremely difficult to pull off. The closet comparison may be the classic computer game Planescape: Torment, if for no other reason than they both feel so distinctive and feature a group of amoral protagonists in worlds where science and magic are indistinguishable.

Hopefully they will produce more Gene Wolfe audiobooks, including his Soldier of the Mist series, which is a brilliant take on the world of ancient Greece and Egypt through the eyes of an amnesiac soldier who can see and talk to gods and other mythical creatures.

Anyway, give it a go!

A classic in any genre

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I really enjoyed this book, it's a bit tough to get to grips with the language at first. but once you get into the rhythm of it it's fine. One more thing; I'm not sure if it supposed to be the way the character is or if Gene Wolfe is a bit sexually repressed but he can't write women. all we know is their physical looks and their voluptuousness. some of their personality would be nice.

A romping space opera

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Wonderful rendition of one of the greatest books written. Difficult to put down once you get into it.

Wonderful rendition of one of the greatest books

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