I am happily chugging along in the Book of the New Sun series, and have just finished The Claw of the Conciliator. I find not much to add at this point--the book obviously does not stand alone. As an interim piece it has the handicaps other middle novels in series do--it's hard to make them really stand out. This one won a Nebula Award, but I note that the next two did not--perhaps they had a higher bar to clear after this one.
But it is very enjoyable as second novels go. The prose is as delectable as ever, and the surreal stories and plays within the story that Wolfe introduces here add to the to the interest. Severian is narrating this story from his current position as Autarch. It's really interesting to see the dazed, how-did-I-get-here quality of the story expressed so well.
I will be taking a break from the series to peruse some assigned reading (which I will comment on here), but will be happy to come back to it. Hang in with this one--three stars from me.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The Mercy of Gods, by James S. A. Corey
I enjoyed this book from start to finish, mostly because I think the craftsmanship of the authors shines through. It is not part of or relat...
-
The introduction to Slow Tuesday Night is by Gardner Dozios, the great editor, and he tells us that "only those stories that were the ...
-
Shadow Christ is an awfully tough story to explain. It's sort of about playing with time, and religion, and deeper cultural commentary...
-
A short story this time-- Younger Women , a World Fantasy 2011 nominee in the short story category. Short stories really have to bowl me ov...
No comments:
Post a Comment