One thing I failed to mention is that Wolfe absolutely feels rewarding when you are able to figure thing out. It's like he's saying "Good job, you're so clever!" rather than making you feel dumb and raising himself up
Very good book. Definitely lots to talk about. A lot of understated themes (like religion, meaning, sanity). Very Wolfean to leave it to the reader to piece together.
Yeahc honestly I feel like I was everywhere just trying to piece together this review. I like thinking about it though! I’ll have to read more Wolfe after I finish Book of the New Sun.
i just finished Shadow and Claw and have been interested to hear opinions and reviews of it. i really liked the prose style and liken the book to Gulliver's Travels in the far future amongst ultra technology. it's written as a first person account and memoir or history. he let's us know where he's penning it from early on and the story is very linear. when he comes upon strange occurrences and artifacts, he explains them as best he can from an unwitting viewpoint. he's intelligent and wary and cottons on quick but we have to unravel mysteries along with him. it's clear that there has been a previous diaspora to the stars and artifacts, technology and knowledge has been returned but not necessarily understood and fallen to myth. society has solidified to a very strict hierarchy with an Autarch at the pinnacle. the years of man are no longer counted but ages past that recede into mist. there are accounts of past golden ages hoped for return. there are aliens that walk among men disguised. so this book has everything. what it doesn't have is explanations which is what makes it so great, along with the magnificent prose that constantly surprises. now i have to seek out Sword and Citadel and continue on the hard road that i don't want to end. this one also has weather, food, political intrigue and witches. gads, it's good.
This has been on my list for a while and I decided to put it toward the top of my 2022 list. But the more I hear the more I think it’s not gonna be for me but I’ll still challenge myself. I don’t like super heavy prose and books that lean philosophical. Unreliable narrators can be hit and miss for me as well but depends how it’s executed… thanks for the review.
See I’m not sure if I’d describe it as heavy. It’s very stylized, and certainly there is some thickness to it but I think you’ll just have to read it to see what I mean. Good luck with it, I do hope you get some enjoyment out of it!
I mean it's kinda clear it is a dying sun/earth no? Or at least that's what's implied. The light is dimmer in the day the sun is red etc etc. But that said I don't think the sun is actually dying I think whatever is happening has been done artificially. But I'm not sure I've only read the first two books. I got this feeling from hints in the first book but in the second book my suspicions grew with the green guy. Spoilers for second book I kinda disliked the idea of the green man just because I don't want to imagine a distant future in which people live off photosynthesis over food and also time travel generally is a bad idea in books. So there is time tourism lol? Anyway the guy says their sun is a lot brighter. And when severian happily says "oh so the new sun does rise" the guy laughs at him mockingly and says something like "I guess it does in a way" (paraphrasing) And there are other hints esp in book 2 when the extend of alien involvement or integration into human society and the Autarch's court becomes obvious. Would it be so strange that an alien species is tapping the energy of our sun or the light for their space travel mirrors? Pretty sure the Autarch opens the gate to Eden / Garden of heaven when severian asks for the directions to the garden misunderstanding him when he means the garden they call the "green room". (Also fun fact in book one Severian notes that the coin vodalue has given him has a profile on it that looks androgynous. Which is a very early hint.) What if Urth had become a alien colony or is some vassal of some sort. Humanity dorado throughout the stars and there are human races on other planets. Maybe on of them got the upper hand or maybe it's one of those freaky alien exultants wearing human faces in the green room
![The 15 Best Sci-Fi Books I've Ever Read [Updated]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pP0XnfC1jVM/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome. Almost no UA-cam content for this series. Or the realms. Happy to have found your channel.
Glad I can help!
Great video. I'm still unsure what to make of it, but I'm excited to read it now.
One thing I failed to mention is that Wolfe absolutely feels rewarding when you are able to figure thing out. It's like he's saying "Good job, you're so clever!" rather than making you feel dumb and raising himself up
Thank you for such a great review, I've never heard of this book and found it by accident. Sounds really interesting and will give it a go someday.
It’s one of my all-time favorites 🤩
You moved this up the TBR. Great review!
I think you’ll love it!
Epic review! It's on my TBR schedule for 2022!
Thanks! I look forward to your thoughts!
Great Review! I just finished reading this series (minus Earth of the New Sun) and loved it.
I’ve been meaning to continue it this month but I’ve gotten awfully busy. Thanks for watching!
I absolutely love this book.
Very good book. Definitely lots to talk about. A lot of understated themes (like religion, meaning, sanity). Very Wolfean to leave it to the reader to piece together.
Yeahc honestly I feel like I was everywhere just trying to piece together this review. I like thinking about it though! I’ll have to read more Wolfe after I finish Book of the New Sun.
Hemvar you man!!!
Nice thoughts and take on this great book, but i am unsure whether it's "review" tight there.
i just finished Shadow and Claw and have been interested to hear opinions and reviews of it.
i really liked the prose style and liken the book to Gulliver's Travels in the far future amongst
ultra technology. it's written as a first person account and memoir or history. he let's us know where he's penning it from early on and the story is very linear. when he comes upon strange occurrences and artifacts, he explains them as best he can from an unwitting viewpoint. he's intelligent and wary and cottons on quick but we have to unravel mysteries along with him. it's clear that there has been a previous diaspora to the stars and artifacts, technology and knowledge has been returned but not necessarily understood and fallen to myth. society has solidified to a very strict hierarchy with an Autarch at the pinnacle.
the years of man are no longer counted but ages past that recede into mist. there are accounts of past golden ages hoped for return. there are aliens that walk among men disguised. so this book has everything. what it doesn't have is explanations which is what makes it so great, along with the magnificent prose that constantly surprises.
now i have to seek out Sword and Citadel and continue on the hard road that i don't want to end. this one also has weather, food, political intrigue and witches. gads, it's good.
This has been on my list for a while and I decided to put it toward the top of my 2022 list. But the more I hear the more I think it’s not gonna be for me but I’ll still challenge myself. I don’t like super heavy prose and books that lean philosophical. Unreliable narrators can be hit and miss for me as well but depends how it’s executed… thanks for the review.
See I’m not sure if I’d describe it as heavy. It’s very stylized, and certainly there is some thickness to it but I think you’ll just have to read it to see what I mean. Good luck with it, I do hope you get some enjoyment out of it!
I mean it's kinda clear it is a dying sun/earth no? Or at least that's what's implied. The light is dimmer in the day the sun is red etc etc. But that said I don't think the sun is actually dying I think whatever is happening has been done artificially. But I'm not sure I've only read the first two books. I got this feeling from hints in the first book but in the second book my suspicions grew with the green guy.
Spoilers for second book
I kinda disliked the idea of the green man just because I don't want to imagine a distant future in which people live off photosynthesis over food and also time travel generally is a bad idea in books. So there is time tourism lol? Anyway the guy says their sun is a lot brighter. And when severian happily says "oh so the new sun does rise" the guy laughs at him mockingly and says something like "I guess it does in a way" (paraphrasing)
And there are other hints esp in book 2 when the extend of alien involvement or integration into human society and the Autarch's court becomes obvious.
Would it be so strange that an alien species is tapping the energy of our sun or the light for their space travel mirrors?
Pretty sure the Autarch opens the gate to Eden / Garden of heaven when severian asks for the directions to the garden misunderstanding him when he means the garden they call the "green room". (Also fun fact in book one Severian notes that the coin vodalue has given him has a profile on it that looks androgynous. Which is a very early hint.)
What if Urth had become a alien colony or is some vassal of some sort. Humanity dorado throughout the stars and there are human races on other planets. Maybe on of them got the upper hand or maybe it's one of those freaky alien exultants wearing human faces in the green room
This sounds cool. I’ll add it to the list.
-T
Glad I could help add on to the never ending, ever growing list.
You can give spoilers. No one really understand it and it’s amazing.
Fair point, I was mostly trying to avoid plot spoilers.
what's that artwork you opened with?
One from the Centipede Press version of Shadow of the Torturer