Sword & Citadel
- Downloads：9046
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-21 08:53:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Gene Wolfe
- ISBN：1473212006
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
An extraordinary epic， set a million years in the future， in the time of a dying sun， when our present culture is no longer even a memory。
The torturer's apprentice， Severian， exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners， is now the Lictor of Thrax， a city far distant from his home。 But it is not long before Severian must flee this city， too， and journey again into the world。 Embattled by friends and enemies alike， pursued by monstrous creatures， the one-time torturer's apprentice must overcome hitherto unimagined perils， as he moves closer to fulfilling his ultimate destiny。
This edition contains the concluding two volumes of this four-volume novel， The Sword of the Lictor and The Citadel of the Autarch。
The torturer's apprentice， Severian， exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners， is now the Lictor of Thrax， a city far distant from his home。 But it is not long before Severian must flee this city， too， and journey again into the world。 Embattled by friends and enemies alike， pursued by monstrous creatures， the one-time torturer's apprentice must overcome hitherto unimagined perils， as he moves closer to fulfilling his ultimate destiny。
This edition contains the concluding two volumes of this four-volume novel， The Sword of the Lictor and The Citadel of the Autarch。
Reviews
Dennis R Smith
，
The saga continues。
Edgar
，
“You’re a materialist， like all ignorant people。 But your materialism doesn’t make materialism true。 Don’t you know that？”（Review of all four volumes）Severian’s story wants to be 4 stars， but I fear it’s symbolism gets stuck。 Fine as it’s metaphysical motifs may be， they refer to “higher realities” within the text。 The reflections on time， being， the Increate make you think hard about Urth， but do they make you look up at the real world？ A distinct but equally important concern: does Wolfe’s spe “You’re a materialist， like all ignorant people。 But your materialism doesn’t make materialism true。 Don’t you know that？”（Review of all four volumes）Severian’s story wants to be 4 stars， but I fear it’s symbolism gets stuck。 Fine as it’s metaphysical motifs may be， they refer to “higher realities” within the text。 The reflections on time， being， the Increate make you think hard about Urth， but do they make you look up at the real world？ A distinct but equally important concern: does Wolfe’s speculation-inspiring hints at theodicy and eschatology create a false sense of familiarity with/comprehension of actual， transparent， practicable doctrine？ If BoNS makes you Wikipedia-rabbit-hole Zoroastrian demiurges， momentarily ponder on potential philosophies， and excavate a few cocktail Zarathustra-quips， it may be doing active harm。“People talk about being fair to this one and that one， but nobody I ever heard talks about doing right by them （the dead）。 We take everything they had， which is all right。 And spit， most often， on their opinions， which I suppose is all right too。 （It’s not。 – E） But we ought to remember now and then how much of what we have we got from them。 I figure while I’m still here I ought to put a world in for them。” <- Sooo close， but still playing into popular progress narratives。Perhaps， that The Book of the New Sun picks up more-than-political issues—that it is literary—is unfortunate， because as an adventure story， it does everything right。 The world building is everything you’ve heard it is。 It may take Severian forty pages to cover each hillock and hummock， but gosh do you want him to summit more。 Every new scene makes the old scenes bigger。 The narration is subtle。 The word choice is literal bouillabaisse。 （Side note， like 60 percent of the spelling words in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee come from the series。） And， every now and then， the images gleam。“I drew off my boots， that had traveled with me so far， and threw them into the waves that I might not walk shod on holy ground。”I can’t recommend it， but I’ll read a bit more Wolfe。 。。。more
Ana Cretu
，
To my delight， books 3&4 brought more sci-fi elements， in the same now familiar far-future fantastic setting: alien weapons， mad scientists and experimentation， time and space travel portals， out-of-worldly experiences caused by interaction with alien beings that can read minds through machinery， ancients monarchs awoken from stasis， masters of mind control， underwater giant aliens that control continents and civilisations through a totalitarian regime， that crushes the soul of individuals’， tur To my delight， books 3&4 brought more sci-fi elements， in the same now familiar far-future fantastic setting: alien weapons， mad scientists and experimentation， time and space travel portals， out-of-worldly experiences caused by interaction with alien beings that can read minds through machinery， ancients monarchs awoken from stasis， masters of mind control， underwater giant aliens that control continents and civilisations through a totalitarian regime， that crushes the soul of individuals’， turning them into shadowless creatures， androids and former crew of spacecrafts and incredible creatures brought to Urth from other worlds。 One such fascinating creature is the Alzabo， a terrifying predator which is able to absorb the memories and speech of the people it kills and then speak with their voice and think as a human to a certain extent。 This is a creature that almost becomes sentient by feeding on people。 This is the creature whose blood is used by the flesh eating， who then are able to experience the lives of the people they themselves eat。 I found this creature fascinating。 Just as fascinating were the zoanthrops， who are humans who have a part of their brain removed， and renounce their humanity to become animals。 There are very interesting reflections on zoanthrops and alzabo， on the burden of thought， instincts， higher and lower instincts that “join hands at the back of reason”。 This was one of my favourite parts of book。 Severian becomes more introspective and reflexive， he grows throughout each book and he betters himself。 These 4 books are a true quest and they really are worth the journey。 The full circle ending was very satisfying， many loose threads are tied， a few still lingered。 At the end， I felt very pleased to have taken the journey。 GW wrote a 5th book as a coda to the tetralogy。 I can’t wait to start it。 。。。more
William
，
Cute book but a bit too sex obsessed
R。 A。 Smith
，
Great second half The Book of the New Sun story。 Sword was so weird and wild and Citadel gave great closure yet still left you wanting more， have to get my hands on The Urth of the New Sun。
Umar Hashmi
，
One of the most mystical experiences I've had with a book。 Incredible。 One of the most mystical experiences I've had with a book。 Incredible。 。。。more
Curtis Wilson
，
The series， as a whole， is incredible。 The breadth of Wolfe's imagination comes to full form with the last two books and I'm excited to dive into the next。 The series， as a whole， is incredible。 The breadth of Wolfe's imagination comes to full form with the last two books and I'm excited to dive into the next。 。。。more
Seamus
，
An incredible journey， that makes you feel like you are a part of it the entire way。 At times I felt like I understood better than Severian what was going on around him。 At other times I felt the opposite。 The Book of the New Sun is truly a one of a kind experience。
Mimi
，
Again， a great intelligent book。 The culmination of the Book of the New Sun was a very good read and the ending satisfying。
Nathan Hester
，
What just happened？ I love it。
Wendy Hu-Au
，
The last few chapters of this book bring the rest of the tetralogy into focus， making me appreciate the series more as a whole。
Chris Flower
，
Better than the first and I think necessary to read to enjoy the first more fully。。。 such a challenge but when this book pays off it really pays off。 Dreamlike and confusing but so different and fascinating。 Will definitely reread。
Shane Duquette
，
I'm realizing that the plot of this book isn't like most other fantasy books。 It's not one cohesive story， it's many different fairy tales strung together， almost like a series of short stories all told through the eyes of the same protagonist。 Apparently， this is called a picaresque， and I'm realizing that I don't very much like it。With that said， most of the stories tie together thematically， most of them give us hints， most of them are interesting， and all of them are beautifully and evocativ I'm realizing that the plot of this book isn't like most other fantasy books。 It's not one cohesive story， it's many different fairy tales strung together， almost like a series of short stories all told through the eyes of the same protagonist。 Apparently， this is called a picaresque， and I'm realizing that I don't very much like it。With that said， most of the stories tie together thematically， most of them give us hints， most of them are interesting， and all of them are beautifully and evocatively written。 So even if I don't like the structure， I do like the story。 "Look！" He thrust his hand into the beam of sunshine that was then issuing from my high， circular window。 "Here is light。 You will say that it is not a living entity， but you miss the point that it is more， not less。 Without occupying space， it fills the universe。 It nourishes everything， yet itself feeds upon destruction。 We claim to control it， but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food？ May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze， and that men and women are born to kindle fires？ Is it not possible that our claim to master light is as absurd as wheat's claiming to master us because we prepare the soil for it and attend its intercourse with Urth？""Until the New Sun comes， we have but a choice of evils。 All have been tried， and all have failed。"“Is the world a war of good and bad？ Have you not thought it might be something more？” Some of the prose is beautiful and deep and poetic， and I just can't get enough of it。 Gene Wolfe may be the best writer I've ever read。 Even more so because there's a deeper meaning behind almost everything in the story。 It's a world where horrifying implications lurk between the lines on the page。I didn't love everything about this series， but I did truly love it overall。 It is certainly one of my favourites。 It's a picaresque masterpiece， but still a masterpiece。After finishing The Book of the New Sun， I immediately ordered another five or so Gene Wolfe books。 I'm hooked。 。。。more
Dalton
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Having now spent the last roughly three weeks on Urth with Severian， Thecla， and Terminus Est， I can with confidence say this is a series I will return to in the future。 As mentioned in some other reviews， the series does not end with a battle or typical climax， but petters out with conversation， world-building， and journeying。 Then again， what is to be expected from a series built almost entirely around conversation， world-building， and journeying？ There is little in the way of plot and the epi Having now spent the last roughly three weeks on Urth with Severian， Thecla， and Terminus Est， I can with confidence say this is a series I will return to in the future。 As mentioned in some other reviews， the series does not end with a battle or typical climax， but petters out with conversation， world-building， and journeying。 Then again， what is to be expected from a series built almost entirely around conversation， world-building， and journeying？ There is little in the way of plot and the episodic nature continues through The Sword of the Lictor and the Citadel of the Autarch， to a better and more enjoyable extent I would argue in Sword。 My qualms with Citadel have more to do with the journeying aspect。 I had wished to discover far more and experience more of Urth or within the stars than what was displayed here。 Some of my favorite moments in the whole series， though， occurred in Sword; from the salamander in Thrax to the alzabo in the woods to the relationship between older and younger Severian。 Gene Wolfe managed to create a world both grounded and fantastical， with different fantasy and science fiction elements being blended together seamlessly （for the record， if I had to categorize this as one genre， it would be fantasy）。 Overall， the whole of The Book of the New Sun has been a thought-provoking， imaginative， fantastical， and nuanced story of persistence， justice， knowledge， and fate。 In order， I would rank the books from best to worst （worst being a relative term）—The Shadow of the Torturer （4。5 stars）， The Sword of the Lictor （4。5 stars）， The Claw of the Conciliator （4 stars）， and The Citadel of the Autarch （3。5 stars）。 A common critique of mine through each has been the portrayal of women in the stories。 As I said in my last review of Shadow and Claw， this reads very much as a book written by a man when it comes to women。 。。。more
Dylan
，
I have written 2 Reviews for the 2 novels in this collection 。。。 which I will link here if you are curious about my in-depth thoughts。 my Sword of the Lictor Review my Citadel of the Autarch Review Both of them are masterpieces， which enhanced my perception of the first half of this series。 All parts tone-wise are radically different but all really cohesive。 Anyways Book of the New Sun is worth the read。 I have written 2 Reviews for the 2 novels in this collection 。。。 which I will link here if you are curious about my in-depth thoughts。 my Sword of the Lictor Review my Citadel of the Autarch Review Both of them are masterpieces， which enhanced my perception of the first half of this series。 All parts tone-wise are radically different but all really cohesive。 Anyways Book of the New Sun is worth the read。 。。。more
Shadowdenizen
，
4。5 stars。Re-read。Ah， Gene Wolfe！ The undisputed master of the "Unreliable Narrator"。 It's been many years since I first visited this series， and one that I enjoy returning to periodically。There's not much I can add to this seminal series that hasn't been already been written about and analyzed many time over the years， other than to urge people to check this saga out！ 4。5 stars。Re-read。Ah， Gene Wolfe！ The undisputed master of the "Unreliable Narrator"。 It's been many years since I first visited this series， and one that I enjoy returning to periodically。There's not much I can add to this seminal series that hasn't been already been written about and analyzed many time over the years， other than to urge people to check this saga out！ 。。。more
Tom Ewing
，
I have quite clear memories of reading these for the first time， age 13 or so。 I thought The Sword Of The Lictor was awesome， with twists， revelations and mind-blowing dangers at every turn。 And I thought The Citadel Of The Autarch was something of a weird let-down， with a glacial first section succeeded by a torrent of scene-shifts and last-minute story reframings and resolutions which - to a youthful sci-fi reader - were oblique and disappointing。Re-reading as an adult I got the basic characte I have quite clear memories of reading these for the first time， age 13 or so。 I thought The Sword Of The Lictor was awesome， with twists， revelations and mind-blowing dangers at every turn。 And I thought The Citadel Of The Autarch was something of a weird let-down， with a glacial first section succeeded by a torrent of scene-shifts and last-minute story reframings and resolutions which - to a youthful sci-fi reader - were oblique and disappointing。Re-reading as an adult I got the basic character of the two books right， while almost entirely failing to grasp what was actually going on in Citadel， in a plot， a structural and a thematic sense。 （Well， I was 13！）Sword really is the most exciting book in the New Sun series， though。 It's the one where our narrator， former torturer and future monarch Severian， is at his most autonomous。 He rejects the role the previous volumes set him up for and - in a series of thrilling encounters - confronts and escapes a succession of enemies。 The final conflict of the book - a desperate battle in a giant's castle - is the physical climax of the entire series， the point at which it acts most like a fantasy novel。But these conflicts do not leave our anti-hero victorious in any conventional sense - by the end of Sword he's lost his job， his partner， his sword， and his surrogate son。 All he has left is his health and strength， his already-shaky sense of identity - oh， and a miracle-working relic。 But by the climax of Citadel， he'll lose all of those too。The Citadel Of The Autarch is a very odd book。 Where most fantasy epics - and BOTNS is one， whatever else it is - involve their protagonists realising and working to achieve their destiny， in Citadel Severian is almost entirely passive， both before and after the transformation promised from Book 1， Chapter 1。 He spends the first third of the book in a field hospital listening to other peoples' stories， then enlists in order to get food， gets involved in a battle in which his contribution is entirely meaningless， then undergoes a series of rescues and captures which he has no chance to influence， and finally is told - and accepts - his ultimate task。。。 which happens after the book ends。 This acceptance is the one key moment in the book in which it seems Severian makes a true choice， and even that is somewhat undermined by Wolfe's final-chapter bombshell。So was 13-year-old me right about the final book being a disappointment？ No。 On this reading， the passivity makes sense - the Book Of The New Sun is a redemption story。 Part of what requires redemption is hubris （of Severian， and humanity in general， which he is representative of）， and part of that hubris is a belief in one's own ability to be master of one's situation。 Gene Wolfe is a Catholic， and writes as one: Severian's journey is a journey to his acceptance of a higher power， while also being the story （hidden within the main story， like the Autarch's secret palace is hidden in the walls of his visible one） of that power's failure， then success， to help him。 In some ways it's a good thing my aggressively atheistic teen self didn't get it。 。。。more
Michaellee
，
Not as good as the previous book。 The story is so far stretched and bizarre that it give me headaches。 The story’s ending is tide up with developments that has happened in the first book。 Seriously the quality of the four books just gets worse as it progress。 The first book Shadow is amazing read。 The second one is overall decent that leads me to read the last two。 I’m just baffled。
Evan Moore
，
Thumbing the pages of Gene Wolfe's books sidles to the realm of the sacrosanct。 He is the only writer I know of that makes me question my ability to understand his work as opposed to questioning his skill as a storyteller。 If it isn't apparent yet， you should know that I adore these books， by the by。 The Book of the New Sun is a legend unto itself; like a tale told so many times that truth and meaning blur into a curious smear。 It's precisely this type of story weaving that I value the most， and Thumbing the pages of Gene Wolfe's books sidles to the realm of the sacrosanct。 He is the only writer I know of that makes me question my ability to understand his work as opposed to questioning his skill as a storyteller。 If it isn't apparent yet， you should know that I adore these books， by the by。 The Book of the New Sun is a legend unto itself; like a tale told so many times that truth and meaning blur into a curious smear。 It's precisely this type of story weaving that I value the most， and as such， cannot be described but hinted at。 Furthermore， completion of the series is just the first step--and this being my second step--I am just as excited as you may be to sift through this incredible landmark series again and again。Recommended for those who question the questions ad infinitum。 。。。more
Sam
，
I thought it best to share part of the foreword by Alastair Reynolds， as he summarised the series better than I ever could。Wolfe， to put it plainly， is difficult。 Not in a bad way， mind。 Difficult because he's good and clever and he's worked hard to make sure you， the reader， get ample reward for your efforts。 But those efforts are necessary。 You can't skim through Wolfe， or read him with one eye on something else。 You have to focus， bring all your readerly faculties to bear。 The language takes I thought it best to share part of the foreword by Alastair Reynolds， as he summarised the series better than I ever could。Wolfe， to put it plainly， is difficult。 Not in a bad way， mind。 Difficult because he's good and clever and he's worked hard to make sure you， the reader， get ample reward for your efforts。 But those efforts are necessary。 You can't skim through Wolfe， or read him with one eye on something else。 You have to focus， bring all your readerly faculties to bear。 The language takes no prisoners。 The story appears simple on the surface， but slyly evasive the closer one looks。 Straightforward scenes turn out to have killer subtleties。 Nothing is explained if the reader is presumed capable of making the same deductions for themselves。 Things that appear of minor consequence turn out to have significant implications a book or two down the line。 Lapses in the telling， seeming mistakes in the narrative （forgivable slips committed by Wolfe， one might imagine） turn out to be nothing of the sort。 It's all deliberate， and it all matters。-- Alastair Reynolds 。。。more
Jackie Peoples
，
This book， combined with books 1&2 is an everything and the kitchen sink kind of read。 It's dystopian， it has space ships and aliens， it has time travel， it is a hero's journey， it has an unreliable narrator（possibly）， stories within stories。 I'm exhausted by it。 Many loved these books， as you can see by their glowing reviews， but I think many more were just confused by it， thinking that surely there was some depth here， some hidden meaning and so they re read it。 I am a huge fan of the re read。 This book， combined with books 1&2 is an everything and the kitchen sink kind of read。 It's dystopian， it has space ships and aliens， it has time travel， it is a hero's journey， it has an unreliable narrator（possibly）， stories within stories。 I'm exhausted by it。 Many loved these books， as you can see by their glowing reviews， but I think many more were just confused by it， thinking that surely there was some depth here， some hidden meaning and so they re read it。 I am a huge fan of the re read。 I re read because I loved a story， because I recall an idea expressed in a book that I would like to revisit at a different age， because the characters were so different from myself， because the characters were so similar to me（will they still be？）， but re-reading to make sense of a book， to "get" a deeper meaning that surely such a great author had and I was just too slow to catch？ Nope。 You should not have to re- read a book， you should feel compelled to re read a book and not just compelled by time/money spent on the initial read。I do feel that the author was trying to say something profound about our world， a cautionary tale for us perhaps， but it was too convoluted， too contrived to be enjoyable for this reader。 。。。more
Ross Kitson
，
A complex yet ultimately satisfying second half to the series。 There were times when I lost motivation， yet conversely times when I couldn't put it down。 Certainly some of the deep， strange， and intense plot wouldn't be for everyone， but I can see why it earned its place as a classic of sci-fi/ fantasy。 A complex yet ultimately satisfying second half to the series。 There were times when I lost motivation， yet conversely times when I couldn't put it down。 Certainly some of the deep， strange， and intense plot wouldn't be for everyone， but I can see why it earned its place as a classic of sci-fi/ fantasy。 。。。more
Carlos Freitas
，
o mais interessante aqui， mais do que o arco do personagem principal， é o mundo em que se passa a história。 diferentes civilizações se sobrepõem， mas os personagens não entendem muito bem de onde elas surgiram ou porque desapareceram。 Eventos históricos são distantes no tempo e espaço， e não fica claro o que é mito e o que a realidade。 Tecnologias que ninguém sabe ao certo como funcionam ou como vieram parar ali。 e a narrativa não faz a mínima questão de se explicar， o que contribui ainda mais p o mais interessante aqui， mais do que o arco do personagem principal， é o mundo em que se passa a história。 diferentes civilizações se sobrepõem， mas os personagens não entendem muito bem de onde elas surgiram ou porque desapareceram。 Eventos históricos são distantes no tempo e espaço， e não fica claro o que é mito e o que a realidade。 Tecnologias que ninguém sabe ao certo como funcionam ou como vieram parar ali。 e a narrativa não faz a mínima questão de se explicar， o que contribui ainda mais para a sensação de mistério e estranhamento。 。。。more
Andrew
，
Retains the episodic structure of the first two volumes， while also relinquishing enough information for readers to unlock most of its puzzles。 Throughout， Wolfe offers twists on familiar sci-fi and fantasy tropes that aren't subversive so much as they are blissfully weird。 The final chapters present some very big questions regarding the nature of time and the design of the universe， but commendably， Wolfe leaves the answers up to the reader。 Retains the episodic structure of the first two volumes， while also relinquishing enough information for readers to unlock most of its puzzles。 Throughout， Wolfe offers twists on familiar sci-fi and fantasy tropes that aren't subversive so much as they are blissfully weird。 The final chapters present some very big questions regarding the nature of time and the design of the universe， but commendably， Wolfe leaves the answers up to the reader。 。。。more
Mark Redman
，
Gene Wolf Book of the New Sun 2: The Sword of the Lictor & The Citadel of the Autarch。This final companion volume follows the trials and tribulations of Severian from the torturer's guild。 Severian， exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners， is now the Lictor of Thrax， a city far distant from his home。 But it is not long before he must flee this city， too， and journey again into the world。 Embattled by friends and enemies alike， pursued by monstrous creatures， the on Gene Wolf Book of the New Sun 2: The Sword of the Lictor & The Citadel of the Autarch。This final companion volume follows the trials and tribulations of Severian from the torturer's guild。 Severian， exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners， is now the Lictor of Thrax， a city far distant from his home。 But it is not long before he must flee this city， too， and journey again into the world。 Embattled by friends and enemies alike， pursued by monstrous creatures， the one-time torturer's apprentice must overcome unimagined perils， as he moves closer to fulfilling his ultimate destiny。Severian， the main character and narrator， tells his story in the first person， which makes him very unreliable protagonist， and an arch manipulator。 Despite Severian’s eidetic memory， which may not always be relied upon， Severian tells us as much as he leaves out。 "Have I told you all I promised？ I am aware that at various places in my narrative I have pledged that this or that should be made clear in the knitting up of the story。 I remember them all， I am sure， but then I remember so much else。 Before you assume that I have cheated you， read again。" Severian's story is not all what it seems; and Wolfe expects the reader to make the effort to puzzle through his mysteries and render his veils。Gene Wolfe， is very clever， on the surface， you can read these books straight through and find an extremely good plot， story and lush narrative。 Severian is a unique character this alone makes it worth the read。 However， if you read the text carefully enough， this multi-layered novel reveals little tiny plot points and nuggets about Thrax that relate to our world。 You have to know how to look for them。 If you have lots of reading patience， you will be rewarded by a stunning read and one that has to be savoured rather than read too quickly。In terms of narrative and story， you can’t help but be pulled along by the prose， plot and become totally immersed 。 Despite this， Wolfe uses a variety of archaic and obscure terms throughout the series， giving the world a uniqueness。 It does allow Wolfe to press the limits of the prose。 However， when Wolfe does this it forces the reader to visualise and interpret the story in a certain way。 Again， as above it does require the reader to work hard。 I felt the story was confusing at times and this made the reading experience a little jarring， as I had to reach for the dictionary a number of times， no bad thing really！ The world is rich as well as unique and this rewards the patient reader in the end。The themes explored throughout is the idea of our retained memories， what and how we choose to remember and how this shapes our future and past。 Wolfe's series also takes place on a radically altered Earth in the far， far future when our Sun's fuel is running dangerously low。 Amidst the wreckage of past civilizations lies the sprawling， endless city of Wolfe's protagonist。 Wolfe created Severian as a Christ figure and he can definitely be interpreted this way。 His life has many parallels to the life of Jesus， and Gene Wolfe， a Catholic， has explained that he deliberately mirrored Jesus in Severian。 Although the parallels are very subtle and can very easily be missed if you are not aware of them。Overall， I found the entire series of four books to be one of the best I’ve read， as whole series， rather than individual books。 These books， much like ‘Malazan Books of the Fallen，’ require multiple reads to truly appreciate what Gene Wolfe created。 This is a literary fantasy series that for me， sits above everything else in the fantasy genre。 There is a further book which features Severian， called ‘The Urth of the New Sun。’ For anyone who reads the Book of the New Sun， Wolfe created a sub series which further explores the world outside of Thrax， these are: ‘Book of the Long Sun’ – four books， and ‘Book of the Short Sun’ – three books， but they do not feature Severian。 。。。more
Kyle Burley
，
Finally， on the third try， I completed Gene Wolfe's masterpiece。 A challenging read， but， ranks among the great， foundational， works of speculative fiction。 Finally， on the third try， I completed Gene Wolfe's masterpiece。 A challenging read， but， ranks among the great， foundational， works of speculative fiction。 。。。more
hawkie_the_plushie
，
I wasn't in love with the first book but I read this book anyways just so I could say I finished the Book of the New Sun。 It's more interesting than the first book， but still the dense writing isn't my cup of tea。 I wasn't in love with the first book but I read this book anyways just so I could say I finished the Book of the New Sun。 It's more interesting than the first book， but still the dense writing isn't my cup of tea。 。。。more
Thomas Fackler
，
Similar to reading those novels written by Borges。
Nicholas Vessel
，
"Book of the New Sun" （whether it's four books， two books， one book， or somehow five books） is my absolute favorite sci-fi fiction。 Wolfe's prose and his refusal to give easy answers is testament to his serious respect for his readers。 The darkness reflects a cynical worldview without breaking into the grim shock-value fair of modern television。 It's not an exaggeration to say that this book redeemed a formerly-hated genre for me。 "Book of the New Sun" （whether it's four books， two books， one book， or somehow five books） is my absolute favorite sci-fi fiction。 Wolfe's prose and his refusal to give easy answers is testament to his serious respect for his readers。 The darkness reflects a cynical worldview without breaking into the grim shock-value fair of modern television。 It's not an exaggeration to say that this book redeemed a formerly-hated genre for me。 。。。more
Chuck Kreuser
，
A lot to get through， but great dense fantasy。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Sword & Citadel
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Sword & Citadel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Sword & Citadel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0