The Claw of the Conciliator (The Book of the New Sun #2)

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The Claw of the Conciliator (The Book of the New Sun #2)

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 3,282 ratings · 97 reviews

Severian is in possession of a gem considered to be "The Claw of the Conciliator", a powerful relic of the Master of Power, a legendary figure of mythic proportions. Armed with his sword, Terminus Est, and the Claw, Severian continues his journey to Thrax, the city of his exile. Bizarre apes, strange cannibalistic rituals, and the foreigner named Jonas all lie in his futur...more

Paperback, 303 pages

Published February 1st 1982 by Pocket (first published 1981)

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Feb 19, 2011 Traveller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-dark-fantasy, reviewed

The Book of The New Sun is one of Wolfe's more contraversial post-modernist experimentations in narrative structure, in which it is hard to judge each volume on its own; -to be fair, I feel one should read the cycle as a whole and judge it as a whole.

...and as to the accusations of misogynism, I don't really see much misogynism in Severian's sexual escapades as much as in his continual judgement of women as being "weak" and his continuous harping on this theme, which does come across as pretty m...more The Book of The New Sun is one of Wolfe's more contraversial post-modernist experimentations in narrative structure, in which it is hard to judge each volume on its own; -to be fair, I feel one should read the cycle as a whole and judge it as a whole.

...and as to the accusations of misogynism, I don't really see much misogynism in Severian's sexual escapades as much as in his continual judgement of women as being "weak" and his continuous harping on this theme, which does come across as pretty much a machismo attitude, and which I think might be Wolfe's own attitude rather than just that of Severian's - I'd have to re-read other works by the author to be sure of this, though.

As for the 'machismo torturer' image, (Severian leaping bare-chested and cloaked onto the execution stage under much applause, for instance) I do think some of that is a tongue-in-cheek jab at stereotypes as well as a bitter look at the fascination many humans seem to feel with gore, horror and death - therefore the sick adulation that Severian gleans from the populace who love to watch him kill.

Let's face it, all of us have some kind of emotional reaction towards death, and death is indeed a topical subject for us all, as we all have to face it sometime or another.

It's also a subject which has fascinated the creators of literature since the beginnings of literature itself.

Wolfe does an interesting "take" on death, memories and immortality in the idea of continued consciousness through other humans via the rather repellent and unsavory ritual with the Alzabo gland.

Talking of stereotypes, I had consistently thought of Jolenta as the typical sexually charismatic narcissistic movie-star type (male or female) who believe they are God's gift to the opposite sex. This image was confirmed for me, and expanded to the cosmetic surgery and botox enhanced crowd that one finds in celebrity circles these days, at the end of the book when a bit of a 'reveal' on Jolenta is done. It seemed to me as if Wolfe is expressing an opinion of initial disgust which is later tempered with pity when he shows the emotional and psychological vulnerability that this type of person often carries with them behind their public masks.

I'll reserve final judgement of the series until I've re-read the last volume, which I'd read long ago as a teenager, and on which I'm pretty sure my opinion might have changed in the meantime.(less)

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Sep 14, 2010 Kat Hooper rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook

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 S...more 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.(less)

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Jun 27, 2007 Korynn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fifantasy

Well, this volume starts out by abandoning all the characters introduced to spend time with the last character introduced at the very end of the first volume. If this doesn't catch you off guard, you're a Gene Wolfe fan in the making. Again the environment seems as much a character as the protangonist, the stalwart Severian. Half the time while I'm reading I feel I'm way over my head wading through the middle of some allegory of prophetic literature and every sci-fi/fantasy literary allusion tha...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Keely rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, reviewed, american

Wolfe has an almost legendary status amongst fellow authors; Gaiman called him 'a ferocious intellect', Swanwick said he's "the greatest writer in the English language alive today", and Disch called this series "a tetralogy of couth, intelligence, and suavity".

You can rarely trust the popular market to single out good authors, but it's usually safe to listen to the opinions of other writers (especially an assemblage of Nebula and Hugo winners in their own right). I will give his fans one concess...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Jefferson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

If Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) is Severian's bildingsroman, depicting his growth from a boy apprentice to a young journeyman of the guild of torturers and his exile into the world outside it, The Claw of the Conciliator (1981), the second novel in Wolfe's four-book science fiction classic The Urth of the New Sun, is his romance, relating his experiences--many involving women he loves--outside Nessus, the City Imperishable, as he attempts to travel north to become the lictor of...more If Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer (1980) is Severian's bildingsroman, depicting his growth from a boy apprentice to a young journeyman of the guild of torturers and his exile into the world outside it, The Claw of the Conciliator (1981), the second novel in Wolfe's four-book science fiction classic The Urth of the New Sun, is his romance, relating his experiences--many involving women he loves--outside Nessus, the City Imperishable, as he attempts to travel north to become the lictor of Thrax. The novel also traces his growing awareness of the powers of the awesome jewel hidden in his sabertache, the Claw of the Conciliator.

The second novel is more difficult than the first, having less humor and more disturbing things, including a woman's graphic execution, excessive "cooing," narcotic cannibalism, algophiliac sex, an awful fate for an artificially beautiful woman, and a confusing climax (that isn't explained till the third book). The darker mood of the novel is reflected by a line Severian sees in the Book of Wonders of Urth and Sky: "Hell has no limits, nor is circumscribed, for where we are is Hell, and where Hell is, there we must be."

Moreover, the two longest chapters of the novel consist of a story that Severian reads aloud and of a transcription of play that Dr. Talos' company performs, and although the story and especially the play (a series of funny lines and outrageous scenes satirizing religion, politics, and humanity and reflecting a culture longing for a new sun) are interesting, they both seem to last too long.

All that said, there are many poignant and sublime points in the novel, which thrums with Wolfe's perfect prose, exotic vocabulary, philosophical asides, and vivid, dream-like descriptions. And there are many powerful moments, as when Severian hears an apocalyptic step in a deep mine, raises his "iron phallus" over Agia, enters Vodalus' forest headquarters atop an elephantine baluchither, looks in a man-sized mirror-paged book in the House Absolute, tosses a coin into the Vatic Fountain there, talks with Dorcas about the Conciliator, and sees and is seen by the mythic Apu-Punchau.

And another line in the novel beatifies the Hell vision: "In the final reckoning there is only love, only that divinity." Indeed, this novel is largely about love in many of its forms, among them Severian's sad and abiding first love for Thecla, his protective and companionable love for Dorcas, his self-destructive love for Agia, his resentful lust for Jolenta, his awed attraction for a gargantuan undine, his lost love for his mother, his warm friendship for Jonas, and his fly-captured-in-amber admiration for Vodalus. At one point Severian senses Thecla's mind inside his: "We were one, naked and happy and clean, and we knew that she was no more and that I still lived, and we struggled against neither of those things, but with woven hair read from a single book and talked and sang of other matters."
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Jul 24, 2009 Jeff James rated it 4 of 5 stars

This volume of the Book of the New Sun was a bit slow-going for me. It's a relatively short book - 250 pages - but the storyline is complex, the cast of characters is large and confusing, and the narrator is possibly unreliable even though he claims to remember everything that happens to him. This part of the story definitely amped up the surrealism, too, which didn't help as far as keeping things straight. I'm really enjoying this series so far, however, and I look forward to eventually reading...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Geoff Sebesta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm going to stick with this, but he's really losing me. It took forever to make it through this volume and I never really figured out what was going on (though there were many, many things that I liked about it, especially the Green Man, the cave with the subhumans, the weird heatsucking beast, the prison and the House Absolute, the final discovery of who Jolesta was, and many other surprising and memorable moments), and towards the end I was so lost that I was getting annoyed. Nothing ties tog...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Eric Kibler rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the second volume in Wolfe's tetralogy "Book of the New Sun". In the first volume, lead character Severian starts out as an apprentice torturer and it's not a spoiler to say he ends up as the ruler of a continent (the Autarch) in the final volume. These books are his memoirs, written from the seat of power.

The setting is our world of perhaps thousands of years hence. Space travel had once been common, as had contact with extraterrestrial races. Now there is no more space travel, and we'r...more

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Oct 16, 2010 D-day rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-scifi-list

'Claw of the Conciliator' is the second book in Gene Wolfe's 'Book of the New Sun'. This book, somewhat confusingly, does not pick up where 'The Shadow of the Torturer' leaves off, which is somewhat surprising since the end of the first book was kind of a cliffhanger. We never do find out (at least in this book) what happened at the end of first book.
This illustrates the nature of Wolfe's writing, it is somewhat cryptic as we always see Urth through Severian's eyes and he assumes the reader has...more

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Apr 02, 2013 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: do-not-know-if-i-like-it-or-hate-it, fantasy, metafiction, literary

I think the author got caught up in showing off and forgot he was writing a novel. While brilliant, I can't imagine anyone saying at this point, "wow, exciting series, can't wait for the next one!" And mean it, unless you are a student of mythology, experimental literature and want to do some showing off yourself in reading almost incomprehensible books. Probably readers who have completed Infinite Jest and Ulysses are bragging about having 'enjoyed this brilliant literary tour-de-force!' Which...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Onefinemess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, sci-fi

by: Gene Wolfe

This series continues to be bizarre and disjointed, most definitely by intention.

In addition to the incredibly bizarre beginning - well, OK not actually weird just bizarre in that it skips ahead a random bit past the previous book without telling you - until the last chapter or two - what happened to move the character forward. And even then it's foggy at best, like the rest of these books...

Oh, totally random interjection (BUT RELATED): There just happens to be a weapon in the gam...more by: Gene Wolfe

This series continues to be bizarre and disjointed, most definitely by intention.

In addition to the incredibly bizarre beginning - well, OK not actually weird just bizarre in that it skips ahead a random bit past the previous book without telling you - until the last chapter or two - what happened to move the character forward. And even then it's foggy at best, like the rest of these books...

Oh, totally random interjection (BUT RELATED): There just happens to be a weapon in the game I'm currently playing (Path of Exile - maybe more on that at some point) with a name lifted from this book (Terminus Est - hit this link and scroll to the bottom). Not surprising at all for it to happen, but more so that I just noticed today, after I finished this book.

There's lots of stuff in here. Bits of an experimental play (within an experimental book!) an adapted version of an ancient myth (I think, I need to look it up). Hell, there's even some weird homage to Planet of the Apes. Perhaps unintentional. Also one of those weird rooms that make people look taller than others... (ahh, an "Ames Room").

Random: The Autarch reminds me a little of the Emperor from Fred Saberhagen's Ardneh/Swords world.

There's some crazy shit going on here that's probably too deep for me unless it was some kind of class assignment. Allegories, I'm sure. I mean, there's always allegories in deep shit, right?

It seems that the whole of the thing is wrapped up in the whole of the thing itself... so I'll keep going and finish and come back around and see how it feels. Don't get me wrong - it's an interesting read, but less of a story than one might expect. More of a construct.

Something to do with the water and giants, definitely. Time travelers going both ways. A cyborg. Some weird flying handkerchiefs that crawl down your throat. AND dude loses his sword more times than I would think humanly possible. The author must be saying something with it. OH AND THEN. Bizarre out of context sex scene. I mean, the act wasn't really depicted or anything, but there was a sexing, and it was in a scene and... fucking artists man.

THREE AND A QUARTER STARS

Because half a what the fuck and three quarters of show me.
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May 28, 2012 I love books rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In apertura di questo volume ritroviamo Severian, il giovane torturatore esiliato dalla Cittadella, che prosegue il suo viaggio in compagnia di Jonas. Dopo essere stati separati dalla compagnia del Dr. Talos e dall’amata Dorcas alla Porta della Misericordia, Severian ha fatto di Jonas il suo assistente e insieme viaggiano diretti verso Thrax, destinazione finale del giovane artigiano. Le giornate si susseguono senza accadimenti particolari, fino alla notte in cui i due vengono rapiti da una band...more In apertura di questo volume ritroviamo Severian, il giovane torturatore esiliato dalla Cittadella, che prosegue il suo viaggio in compagnia di Jonas. Dopo essere stati separati dalla compagnia del Dr. Talos e dall’amata Dorcas alla Porta della Misericordia, Severian ha fatto di Jonas il suo assistente e insieme viaggiano diretti verso Thrax, destinazione finale del giovane artigiano. Le giornate si susseguono senza accadimenti particolari, fino alla notte in cui i due vengono rapiti da una banda misteriosa e condotti al cospetto di una persona che Severian pensava non avrebbe mai più rivisto. L’incontro però instilla nella mente del povero torturatore ancora più dubbi di quanti non ne avesse in partenza; tra macabri banchetti e fughe rocambolesche, tra allucinazioni ed entità misteriose, Severian avrà finalmente la possibilità di varcare i cancelli della Casa Assoluta..

Ritrovare Severian e la bizzarra moltitudine di personaggi nata dalla mente di Wolfe è stato piacevole, anche se un po’ meno del previsto. Non è che il libro non mi sia piaciuto, diciamo che speravo venissero chiarite alcune questioni lasciate in sospeso nel primo libro, mentre invece se ne sono aggiunte altre; probabilmente dovrò aspettare e leggere tutti i libri per poter avere una visione globale e ben chiara.
Come dicevo, ritroviamo Severian e alcuni dei personaggi che avevamo imparato a conoscere grazie al primo libro: mano a mano che le pagine scorrono scopriamo qualcosa in più su Jonas, personaggio davvero misterioso e di cui spero troveremo narrato il passato nei prossimi capitoli del ciclo; si fanno inquietanti scoperte su Vodalus, le cui abitudini alimentari lasciano davvero a desiderare.. Insomma, qualche dettaglio viene aggiunto; purtroppo però non si scopre nulla sul passato di Dorcas (ci speravo, ho i miei sospetti ma..).
Molto carina la breve storia che viene riportata e che è tratta dal libro che Severian porta sempre con sé, Le meraviglie di Urth e del cielo, che chiaramente riprende il mito di Teseo; invece non mi è piaciuto il copione della tragedia messa in atto dalla compagnia del Dr. Talos, non l’ho molto capito..

Insomma, a questo punto spero di poter leggere presto il terzo volume! :)(less)

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May 04, 2012 Alazzar rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not since Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s The Fall have I read a book in a series that was so much worse than its predecessor.

The Shadow of the Torturer, the first book in Gene Wolfe's most famous series, was amazing. I loved the world, the writing, the protagonist. The only thing I didn’t like was that there was no discernible plot—but I didn’t really worry about that, because as I was reading I kept telling myself that the writing was so good that I didn’t mind waiting for something to h...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction

I finished this book and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series. I will add a more comprehensive review later. It's tough to figure out how I feel about this series. I like it. I might love it.

Words I had to look up online:
indanthrene - a shade of blue.
cacogen - an antisocial person.
hexaemeron - the first six days of creation.
meretrices - plural of meretrix, a prostitute.
baluchither - a now-extinct mammal that was 18 feet tall, 30 feet long, and weighed 20 tonnes. Also called Paracera...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Nick Tramdack rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book began with some really gothic shit about women locked in rooms. Naturally, I was hooked. Then it got better, chronicling wandering badass Severian's epic pilgrimage.

I note some classic Gene Wolfe lines below:

"Some will say they were at one time troubled in sleeping but have "recovered" from it, as though awareness were a disease, as perhaps it is."

"This world that you and we treasure has now been driven round the sun so often that the warp and woof of its space grow threadbare and fa...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Jose Vera rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Seguimos con las aventuras de Severian hacia la ciudad de Thrax, su reencuentro con viejos conocidos. Nuevos amigos, viejos idolos y nuevas aventuras.

Lo interesante de esta serie de libros es la complejidad del mundo, un mundo muy nuevo que tiene un regusto antiguo en cada esquina y en cada río.

Seguimos conociendo el mundo a traves de los ojos de Severian, el torturador de memoria perfecta, acompañado por la garra del conciliador (esa fabulosa y casi mágica gema) junto con Terminus Est, una espa...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

two down, two more to go...

it feels kind of silly to write about these "new sun" books on a one-by-one basis. i'm at the halfway point, and i think i'm enjoying what a lot of others tend to hate about it - i can't relate to any of the characters (or gene wolfe, presumably), i'm not entirely sure what's going on, i'm not exactly sure how much of severian's narrative should/should not be taken at face value (or how much of the he-man-fantasy-dude-isms are meant to be admired) and, truth be told, i...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Shimon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Hmm. I read the previous book in the series about a month back, and I was rather startled to start the second book feeling like I had no idea whatsoever how the main character had ended up where he was, and who his companion was. Turns out I don't have a bad memory; the book just skips a seemingly crucial bit of narrative entirely.

So far, my experience with both Wolfe novels has been similar - the narrative structure is increasingly obscure, and I am now convinced this is intentional. Wolfe clea...more Hmm. I read the previous book in the series about a month back, and I was rather startled to start the second book feeling like I had no idea whatsoever how the main character had ended up where he was, and who his companion was. Turns out I don't have a bad memory; the book just skips a seemingly crucial bit of narrative entirely.

So far, my experience with both Wolfe novels has been similar - the narrative structure is increasingly obscure, and I am now convinced this is intentional. Wolfe clearly is using these books to experiment with language, weird narration, and pseudo postmodern approaches to storytelling. It is certainly interesting and speaks to a fairly high level of literary sophistication, but I'm not sure I really enjoyed it.

There are seemingly crucial bits of information that either I missed because they were mentioned in at most an offhand manner, or were never shared with the readers. The climactic scenes of the book seem intentionally vague - despite the narrator's self-proclaimed perfect memory - and leave me utterly confused as to what is going on. The plot has way too much meanderings and 'just so' coincidences to be credible. I was particularly frustrated by a few digressions that seemed to serve no real purpose (notably, an encounter with heat-sucking creatures which seems shoehorned into the plot with no thought). Then there's the oddly flat characters, especially the annoying passivity of the two women who reprise their roles from the first book.

Perhaps I am being too harsh; I suspect that some of my questions and complaints may be resolved in later novels, and I really did enjoy some of the way the author played with language. I am also a bit of a sucker for the dying Earth genre, and this definitely fits in that category. Even so, the book left me feeling oddly frustrated and confused. I don't need answers handed to me on a silver platter; in fact, I enjoy a bit of a puzzle. But this novel didn't even give us all of the pieces.

I'd say it's probably worth a read since it's relatively short and it comprises one of the best reviewed sets of fantasy/SF novels of all time. Fellow authors LOVE Wolfe's work, so perhaps I should withhold judgment until I read the next two novels.(less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-series, science-fiction-series

This book is written by someone clearly smarter than everyone else in the room for an audience of people who are smarter than everyone else in the room. It's challenging and I'm told it's very rewarding to continue through the end of the series, but the esoteric language and possible confabulation on the part of the first-person narrator make this a really slow, difficult read for someone like me who tries to absorb every word and keep track of every character in a sprawling narrative. I imagine...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Ed Holden rated it 2 of 5 stars

Where to begin? I like some things about this series a great deal: it manages to feel like a quasi-medieval fantasy novel while openly acknowledging that it's set in the distant future, where aliens and high technology abound. The prose is often a joy to read. Many of the mysteries are intriguing and will keep me reading to the end.

But Gene Wolfe drives me a little nuts. To sum up most of my gripes in one sweeping generalization, he handles transitions poorly: as a prominent example, the opening...more

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Sep 01, 2012 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Second book in the New Sun series. This is where it all starts to take off, as the protagonist, Severian, meets several of the intriguing characters that shape his perceptions of the world. A lover resurrected from the dead, an android with a penchant for amusing quips, a Frankenstein & his monster duo that perform bizarre Genesis plays; these are just a few of the strange beings that populate this volume as Severian wanders farther from his home and continues an almost hallucinogenic journe...more

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Apr 06, 2010 Sandra aka Sleo rated it 1 of 5 stars

I can see now that I started with book two of the series, but from the reviews of book one, I doubt that reading the first one would lay my complaints to rest. I doubt I would have made it through #1 any more than I'm going to torture myself by reading through this one. I'm not finishing this. I can't tell what's happening but worse than that, I'm revolted by what little I can tell. The main character is an executioner in a revolting and backward society who commits savage actions on others and...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Derek rated it 2 of 5 stars

oops he did it again... Although in some masochistic way I would look forward to the other books I think I am done with this series at Part 2. It isn't a horrible series but I just don't think it is going to get any better.

Book 2 suffers from the same issues as Book 1 - is it really necessary to use indanthrene to describe a shade of blue? Although kudos to Wolfe for using tribadist and algophilist in the same paragraph during an incredible awkward sexual escapade Charlaine Harris does paranorm...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Jon Forisha rated it 5 of 5 stars

The second book in the series continues the epic story as if it's no big deal. What I particularly love about this series is how nonchalant Wolfe writes things, all of it appearing to be just another epic fantasy series (albeit a staggeringly beautifully written one) until you actually start to think about the way things are interacting. Through the whole four book series he manages to keep those parts interacting beneath the surface wonderfully, his unreliable narrator Severian forcing you to q...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Jennifer Wilson-niskanen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-jen-books

I'm not sure what is going on in this series now. I don't know if I should read on or start over. I never seem to really know who people are or what their aims are. It's certainly unpredictable. I barely know what is going on never mind what will happen next, which is quite the thing considering the author told us the end very near the beginning. Very dream like and surreal. Not an easy read but very interesting and original. Lots of layers in the plot and characters. Best SF I've read in a whil...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: michael

http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-claw...

The Claw of the Conciliator is the second entry in Gene Wolfe’s masterpiece series, The Book of the New Sun. Like the preceding volume, The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator was critically acclaimed, receiving the Nebula Award for best novel in 1981 and the Locus Award in 1982.

Narrator and protagonist Severian continues his meandering journey towards Thrax. Time skips ahead from the conclusion of The Shadow of the Torturer and Severian fi...more

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Sep 01, 2010 Jeremy Kohlman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: easton-press-owned, own, fantasy

It's hard to know what to say about this book. Which is probably a bad thing. I like the idea of it, but can't say that I particularly enjoyed reading it. Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" series have been quite a frustrating read thus far. It's like you just know there's a really cool story and characters in there somewhere, but the author is keeping it all a secret from the reader, for some reason. I'm now two novels into the series and all I can say for sure is that a bunch of random weird events...more

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Dec 11, 2008 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Part two of Gene Wolfe's five part trilogy of the New Sun. Severian the Torturer is my new favorite character, narrowly beating out Nately's Whore. These books remind me of "Faerie Queen" in that it's marvel upon marvel-- just one damn thing after another--and Wolfe, like Spenser, packs his story with allusions to things I'm not well enough educated to understand fully.

Also Legend has it that Gene Wolfe helped design the machinery that makes Pringles potato chips. What more do you need to know?

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Sep 14, 2007 Tracey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: open-minded fantasy readers

Shelves: no-longer-owned

The Claw of the Conciliator is the second part of The Book of the New Sun - a fantasy series I started reading along with AuntiePam at the Unaboard.

Th main character, Severian, is still travelling to Thrax, the city to which he has been exiled after committing a crime against his guild. He and Jonas (who is not what he seems) are captured and given a message to carry to an agent in The House Absolute - the castle of the Autarch and its environs.
He gets captured again and manages to escape agai...more

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May 09, 2013 Dev rated it 3 of 5 stars

It weaves a spell perhaps not as powerful as the first, but surreal fantasy is such a hard line to follow. Balancing the character and the events enough to make them connect with the reader and at the same time give the impression of the phantasmagoric can easily become too unmoored and unengaging. Wolfe succeeds and I will read the 3rd installment. Just not real soon. There's only so much odalisquing eidolons with teratoid eremites that apotropaic heliotropes can counter with cacogens.

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About the two "side"-tales told in this book. (SPOILERS)	4	21	Jan 22, 2013 09:48am

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About Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the field.

The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is given by SFWA for ‘lifetime achievement in science fict...more

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Books by Gene Wolfe

Shadow and Claw (The Book of the New Sun, #1-2)

The Shadow of the Torturer (The Book of the New Sun #1)

Sword and Citadel (The Book of the New Sun, #3-4)

The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun #3)

The Citadel of the Autarch (The Book of the New Sun #4)

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“That we are capable only of being what we are remains our unforgivable sin.” — 12 people liked it

“Time itself is a thing, so it seems to me, that stands solidly like a fence of iron palings with its endless row of years; and we flow past like Gyoll, on our way to a sea from which we shall return only as rain.” — 2 people liked it

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The Claw of the Conciliator (The Book of the New Sun #2)

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