Shadow & Claw: The First Half of The Book of the New Sun

Gene Wolfe

$19.99

Publication Date: June 8th, 2021

Publisher:

Tor Books

ISBN:

9781250781253

Pages:

528

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Staff Reviews

The first half of The Book of the New Sun, a sci-fi puzzle box of a series that is as bewildering as it is fascinating. The story is proffered from the inside out, not so much taking the reader on a ride as much as dropping them in the middle of an unfamiliar landscape, surrounded by strange landmarks and unfamiliar constellations. The joy in this series is in its beautiful prose, its vivid and strange descriptions of events that seem unconnected at first glance, and its richness of detail that leaves a whole history to be discovered without the crutches of maps, glossaries or lists of characters.

— Finn

Description

“A major work of twentieth-century American literature...Wolfe creates a truly alien social order that the reader comes to experience from within...once into it, there is no stopping.” —The New York Times on The Book of the New Sun

Gene Wolfe has been called "the finest writer the science fiction world has yet produced" by the Washington Post.

THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN is unanimously acclaimed as Wolfe’s most remarkable work, hailed as “a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis” by Publishers Weekly and “one of the most ambitious works of speculative fiction in the twentieth century” by the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in this four-volume epic, the tale of young Severian, an apprentice to the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession- showing mercy toward his victim.

The Claw of the Conciliator continues the saga of Severian, banished from his home, as he undertakes a mythic quest to discover the awesome power of an ancient relic and learn the truth about his hidden destiny.

“A masterpiece...the best science fiction I've read in years!” --Ursula K. Le Guin

This new Tor Essentials edition of Shadow & Claw contains a new introduction by historian and novelist Ada Palmer, author of the award-winning Too Like the Lightning.

About the Author

Gene Wolfe (1931-2019) was the Nebula Award-winning author of The Book of the New Sun tetralogy in the Solar Cycle, as well as the World Fantasy Award winners The Shadow of the Torturer and Soldier of Sidon. He was also a prolific writer of distinguished short fiction, which has been collected in such award-winning volumes as Storeys from the Old Hotel and The Best of Gene Wolfe.

A recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, and six Locus Awards, among many other honors, Wolfe was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, and named Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2012.