The Claw of the Conciliator

OK, it is clear now that this “tetralogy” is going nowhere. As I have said in the previous book review, I only gave it two stars because of the beautiful prose and assuming it was split in four parts for an apparent unknown reason. But it was not a fluke, these series of books were intentionally written as they were in order to make a tetralogy. And so, I can say the previous book was awful, and this one does not seem to be doing any better.

The story starts ignoring the previous book. That's right, it begins nearly as a standalone reading. I was desperately hoping that the first chapter would redeem the non-ending of Shadow of the Torturer, but it quickly dismisses previous events as “So they got separated, and now Severian is alone again and continues on his journey.”. This is all it says about the previous book. The story does use one other character from the previous book, but as long as you know that someone has a reason for wanting Severian dead, you don't need any more context.

So, Severian now is hailed as some kind of hero, because wherever he goes his skills are needed. He is staying on an inn with his good friend Jonas (it doesn't matter who he is) and finds out that the man he is charged to execute is a friend of Vodalus, the leader of the rebels.

Severian had previously met Vodalus when he as a young teenager, and have since fantasied about joining him in order to take down the Autarch. Vodalus is also accompanied by his lover Thea, Thecla's sister, whom Severian had also met when he first saw Vodalus.

There have been some good amount of build up for those two characters. Severian is not exactly portrayed as the hero that will save the world the “evil” Autarch. Rather Vodalus is, and Thea is the first woman Severian had actually fallen in love with, and he also have spent a lot of time with her sister.

So you would expect something interesting to happen when they finally met. Maybe a psychological unraveling from one of the characters, a soul pouring dialog, a clever laid out plan to take over the Autarch, an explanation of why they want to take down him in the first place. But no, those characters are pretty much insignificant to the plot, and their encounter was very uneventful, plain and and boring.

The other subplot of notice was a re-encounter with Agia, which I did not care about appearing again. She coordinates an ambush in order to kill Sevarian but fails. When defeated, Severian motions his sword to execute her, but does not. Because he is in love with her. And Dorcas. And Thea. And Tecla. It is indicated that Agia would try that again, but he does not care. What could maybe be perceived as an attempt to make the character seem “psychologically interesting” just made for bad plotting in my opinion.

Also, no explication for how does she managed to pull that off. You could expect an account further on the book, but the author has proven that explaining things is not on his agenda. And also, WTF IS HER MOTIVATION? I hated the first time Agius said to Severian he was to blame for his death, since it was his fault to have money when he did not. And so he was justified to kill him. An now Agia carries off with this absurd vengeance. Severian is not that interesting to deserve such attention, nor is Agia deserving of an reappearance. This subplot should have died in the first book.


Read 3:46 of 11:27 33%

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

The Claw of the Conciliator is the second book in Gene Wolfe???s The Book of the New Sun quartet. If you read The Shadow of the Torturer and felt like you were lost (or drunk), and weren???t sure whether things would get clearer in the second book, I have to tell you that no, they don???t. But if you, like me, enjoy that dreamy I???m-not-sure-where-I-am-or-how-I-got-here-or-where-I???m-going-but-everything-sure-feels-fine literary experience, then read on, because Severian???s head is a strange and fascinating place to be.

The Book of the New Sun is one of those works that some people think is ingenious and others suspect is just drivel. This is not the series for a reader who wants a quick-paced action-filled story with a concrete beginning, middle and end. This is for someone who???s in the mood to be open-minded and has the time and patience for some experimentation with character, setting, and theme. (And, perhaps, some mind-altering drugs might help.)

You don???t need to worry about all of the religious imagery to enjoy these novels, but it???s there if you want to look for it. Most obvious are the themes of healing and resurrection and the allusions to the Second Coming, and it???s clear that Severian has some sort of role in that (though he may be completely oblivious). There is also the fascinating issue of Severian being an unreliable narrator. I???m not prepared to call him a ???liar??? (as some readers have done) because I can???t find much evidence that he purposely lies to us. I think, rather, that his perceptions and memory are faulty. His claim that his memory is perfect may not be a lie, but rather his own misperception.

Gene Wolfe doesn???t much care for a traditional fantasy setting and he also doesn???t respect the traditional mechanics of storytelling. Tight plot? Why bother? This story wanders ??? seemingly aimlessly ??? all across the country (or maybe not, because we may have ended up where we started, but who knows?). Characters, conversations, and events that appear to be significant may mean nothing. There are hints of lost races, species, technologies, knowledge, and allegorical meaning that may never be explained and connected for us at the end. There is plenty of bizarreness (even an Ames Room!), which is what I enjoy most.

Wolfe???s world is rich, most of what happens is unexpected, and the reader feels completely helpless to predict anything or even to be assured that things that will work out as they???re ???supposed to??? in a fantasy novel. Imagine that you???re reading one of those epics where you???ve cleverly figured out that the orphan boy hero is really the long-lost son of the king, but??? the author won???t acknowledge this. That would be weird and somewhat disconcerting. That???s how it feels to read The Book of the New Sun. How strange and refreshing!

At the end of The Claw of the Conciliator, Severian says (just as he did at the end of The Shadow of the Torturer) that he doesn???t blame us if we don???t want to continue walking with him (???it is no easy road???). But we???re in Gene Wolfe???s creative hands, so it???s not the destination; it???s the journey that???s paramount. If you???re ready to embark on this strange trip, I recommend Audible Frontiers??? audio version. Jonathan Davis is a favorite of mine and he does an amazing job with this difficult piece.

Severian's travels continue with plenty more surreal WTF episodes. What's going on? I'm not quite sure, but I'm enjoying it.