Fantasy

Shadow & Claw

Shadow & Claw

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  • Create Date：2021-06-21 08:53:22
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Gene Wolfe
  • ISBN：1473216494
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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。

Severian， a torturer's apprentice， is exiled from his guild after falling in love with one of his prisoners。 Ordered to the distant city of Thrax， armed with his ancient executioner's sword， Terminus Est， Severian must make his way across the perilous， ruined landscape of this far-future Urth。 But is his finding of the mystical gem， the Claw of the Conciliator， merely an accident， or does Fate have a grander plans for Severian the torturer 。 。 。 ？

This edition contains the first two volumes of this four volume novel， The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator。

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Reviews

Dennis R Smith ，

I found this book difficult to begin。 I read the first chapter several times before getting on through the book。 I read this book on a suggestion from my older son。 He seemed eager to share his enthusiasm。 I promised to read at least the first book and continue on if the storyline held my interest。 The author uses archaic words during his narrative as well as writing tangentially。 I’m not sure if it his intention to obfuscate his tale intentionally or not。 The result， at least for me， made readi I found this book difficult to begin。 I read the first chapter several times before getting on through the book。 I read this book on a suggestion from my older son。 He seemed eager to share his enthusiasm。 I promised to read at least the first book and continue on if the storyline held my interest。 The author uses archaic words during his narrative as well as writing tangentially。 I’m not sure if it his intention to obfuscate his tale intentionally or not。 The result， at least for me， made reading the story a bit laborious。 。。。more

Meredith ，

DNF 25% of "Shadow of the Torturer"。 I am just finding this boring and not liking it。 DNF 25% of "Shadow of the Torturer"。 I am just finding this boring and not liking it。 。。。more

Jacob Tilmon ，

This book is two of the four books that make up the Book of the New Sun tetralogy。 It is an extremely rich and allegorical fantasy sci-fi series that I am enjoying a ton。 Buyer beware， this book is thick and often requires reading over passages multiple times to catch up on the hidden meanings in the text。 Truly a unique reading experience。

Ola G ，

8/10 starsMy full review is available on my blog。I don’t think I’ll be offering any new insight in this review – Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun has already been analyzed to death since its original publication date。 Hailed as a masterpiece and having won numerous awards， The Book of the New Sun remains one of the key SF works over 40 years after its conception。 I’m very content that I had finally gotten the chance to acquaint myself with this series。 Both The Shadow of the Torturer and The 8/10 starsMy full review is available on my blog。I don’t think I’ll be offering any new insight in this review – Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun has already been analyzed to death since its original publication date。 Hailed as a masterpiece and having won numerous awards， The Book of the New Sun remains one of the key SF works over 40 years after its conception。 I’m very content that I had finally gotten the chance to acquaint myself with this series。 Both The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator are indeed worth reading， and I hope to get my hands on the rest of the series sooner than later。 Was it however such profoundly intellectually challenging experience I dared to hope？ Alas， not entirely。 And the responsibility for this turn of events lies as much in me as in the books themselves。You see， had I read it a decade or two ago， it would’ve made a much greater impression。 It would undoubtedly form my mental image of the far-future decline-of-humanity narratives reminiscent of anthropological analyses of historical cycles， and I would’ve judged all other books by Shadow & Claw’s own measure。 I would revel in the intricate puzzles these books offer （though I did it anyway） and would discover many of Wolfe’s opus magnum’s secrets with a fresher eye and more inclination to unhedged awe than I possess today。 As it is， however， with these decades filled by a multitude of other books， be they fiction or not， and my own life experiences， I can’t help but be less than dazzled by Wolfe’s intellectual magic and because of this – to see more clearly the imperfections of his work。[。。。]For me by far the most interesting element of The Book of the New Sun was the weight of history， both the one forgotten and the one remembered in bits and pieces， often simply garbled beyond recognition of purposefully misremembered。 The world of Urth contains pockets of old technology which can be still used but not reproduced， and which is limited to the rich and powerful in a feudal world of strictly divided socio-economical classes， or strata， and nested among the prevalent， very much medieval technological and social level of awareness。 The world in general is strongly reminiscent of medieval Europe – on purpose， I feel， to showcase the darkness and unthinking brutality of the slow decline。 Two decades ago， I’d have devoured it all and asked for more; today， I have more doubts。 The first one is obviously concerned with Wolfe’s belief in cyclical nature of social change。 The spectres of the rise and fall of empires and history endlessly repeating itself until death and rebirth of a new society hang heavily over The Book of the New Sun。 To be honest， I don’t consider feudal order as more or less natural than any other， and the belief that humanity will sooner or later regress to it （I use the word “regress” on purpose， because this discussion is inherently rooted in the paradigm of progress） seems to me rather contrived and false。 Wolfe is certainly neither the first nor the last to adhere to this assumption， as the books on this list only in the SF genre range from Herbert’s Dune to Carey’s The Book of Koli and beyond。 The recurring nature of Urth’s development is also clearly visible in the figure of the main protagonist， Severian， who was designed to resemble Jesus and repeat at least some of Jesus’s steps。 Again， Christ-like Messianic figures crowd our cultural narratives and collective imagination from Matrix to Narnia， and the trope of the Chosen One must be the most overused tropes of all 😉。To be fair to Wolfe， though， Severian seems not as much a Chosen One as a Happened One， at least for now: he himself is more someone to whom things happen， than someone who acts purposefully。 Even the first fateful decision he makes is not thought-through， but rather a result of the spur of the moment – and from then on， the avalanche of events propels him on and he rides the slide， from one adventure to another， always rather clueless as to what he’s actually doing and saved from many a mishap by possessing way more luck than wisdom。 On the other hand， however， the most meaningful instances of Severian’s actions always contain compassion at its root – and if compassion is too big a word here， than let’s settle on empathy， or a need for human connection and at least a modicum of understanding for the Other。[。。。]Wolfe clearly let rip with his personal literary favourites here: we can find everything in The Book of the New Sun， from the myth of Theseus and Odysseus to Frankenstein and Robin Hood， by way of Time Machine and apocryphal biblical texts。 All those Easter Eggs are nice to find， but to me they also negatively affected the narrative as some of them seemed shoehorned and out of place – particularly Dr。 Talos’s play。Also， while I can appreciate the fact that Severian is a horny， good-looking young man freshly released from a monastery-like environment， I really don’t need to spend so much time on his sexual conquests。 I mean， seriously， I hope the next books have less descriptions of both the bodies of Severian’s partners， and Severian’s carnal pleasures。 I really don’t care if someone’s pubic hair resembles chicken or anything else。I could go on and on with this rambling review， but it’s high time to end it。 As most of it is highly positive and totally tangential to the books， you can see that the first two volumes of Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun made a certain impression on me。 It might not be the masterpiece I expected， but it is a very good book， worth reading – if not for the plot itself （some of the great twists are rather predictable in our day and age， so the suspense of these books is rather minimal， and Severian as the protagonist is also difficult to like sometimes） then at least for the intellectual inspiration。 I might not agree with Wolfe， but I sure enjoyed arguing with him。I have received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 My thanks。 。。。more

Ki ，

Slow， boring and weird in equal parts。 I could not finish it， which happens very very rarely。

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-reflections， 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。 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 do 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

Andreas ，

Dette Skal visstnok være noen av de beste SF bøkene skrevet i løpet av 1900-tallet， men personlig føltes de lange og ufokuserte og med plott som kryper seg framover i sneglefart skrevet i ett tungt og "gammelt" språk。 Det er endel kule ideer og scener， men de drukner i lange filosofiske tankebaner og beskrivelser av landskap。 Dette Skal visstnok være noen av de beste SF bøkene skrevet i løpet av 1900-tallet， men personlig føltes de lange og ufokuserte og med plott som kryper seg framover i sneglefart skrevet i ett tungt og "gammelt" språk。 Det er endel kule ideer og scener， men de drukner i lange filosofiske tankebaner og beskrivelser av landskap。 。。。more

Steven ，

Solid 3。5I read this on the recommendation of several people I respect: 'Too Like the Lightning' author Ada Palmer， SFF Redditors and the fine people of Goodreads。I'll start with what I enjoyed most: the aesthetics。 The world Wolfe imagines is dark， rich and unexpected。 I haven't read parts 3 & 4， where I guess the lore unfolds more fully， but the novel's mythology has a pleasing crunch。 I enjoyed joining Severian through stairways and corridors of the Citadel， botanical gardens and in his Odyss Solid 3。5I read this on the recommendation of several people I respect: 'Too Like the Lightning' author Ada Palmer， SFF Redditors and the fine people of Goodreads。I'll start with what I enjoyed most: the aesthetics。 The world Wolfe imagines is dark， rich and unexpected。 I haven't read parts 3 & 4， where I guess the lore unfolds more fully， but the novel's mythology has a pleasing crunch。 I enjoyed joining Severian through stairways and corridors of the Citadel， botanical gardens and in his Odyssean dreamscapes。 As promised， it's a picaresque novel exploring a fading Urth。 The characters who inhabit it are strange and deceptive。 Conversationally？ A little flat。 But I attribute that to the genre and the books of yore （Candide， Don Quixote， Jacques the Fatalist） that the book sits itself with。There were nice ideas about time， presence and identity， but overall the philosophizing is light。 The psychology was worse: Severian's main ethical dilemma is working out which woman he's more into， and why he's into all of them。 Is it d*ck lit？ Absolutely， and if I DNF the subsequent instalments it'll be because I don't want to hear any more about Severian oiling his big bloomin' sword。Readers have commented this book asks a lot of the reader。 Some patience for explanations is needed， some inference of Sci-Fi concepts， and the narrative has disjunct moments - but nothing compared to the stranger bits of Virginia Woolf， Henry James and - woss'is name？ James Joyce。 Mostly it's fast-moving: each chapter is about 8 pages long and gets its own title （+4hp）I was also inspired to try the book because so many recommend the experience of re-reading Wolfe。 I'd love for this to be a book I revisit with pleasure。 I'll think about that later。 。。。more

Chrissy ，

What a weird time this read was。 Not because it was especially unusual， difficult， or confusing， but rather because of the two very different paths it takes simultaneously in telling its story。On the one hand， these two books contain some of the most fascinating world-building I've come across in fantasy。 Introducing sci-fi concepts as a medieval-like populace would understand them millions of years in a dying earth future， long after the original knowledge of science had faded into oral history What a weird time this read was。 Not because it was especially unusual， difficult， or confusing， but rather because of the two very different paths it takes simultaneously in telling its story。On the one hand， these two books contain some of the most fascinating world-building I've come across in fantasy。 Introducing sci-fi concepts as a medieval-like populace would understand them millions of years in a dying earth future， long after the original knowledge of science had faded into oral history， made for a thrilling mental exercise。 The invented vocabulary， for me at least， added to the excitement of the puzzle。 Wolfe has clear skill in laying out breadcrumbs for a grand picture， and I am on board with following them。 To not mince words: this is an extraordinarily good sci-fi/fantasy blend。On the other hand， what the heck is this protagonist supposed to be？！ Severian （cool name， bro） spends the first half of Shadow as a weak and wimpy kid who is made uncomfortable by sexuality， and then at the turn of a dime he becomes the big， buff， sword-wielding object of desire for every female in the series， despite having exactly zero personality to endear him。 He is cold an uncaring toward every one of his many paramours， completely lacking in charm， and apparently fumbling his way unknowingly toward some grand destiny that he seems to have no interest in pursuing。 Around the middle of Claw， I began to suspect he might be intended as satire for dick-lit tropes。 As an example: he harps on repeatedly about his perfect memory， much stronger than a mere mortal's， oh you dear reader， you wouldn't understand how life-like and crisp his memories are。 But over the course of two books it becomes clear that he's extremely unobservant and probably full of shit。A satirical narrator who doesn't realize how unreliable he is definitely a choice an author can make， and maybe it's even a clever one。 But Poe's law is strong， and this asshole almost ruined the read for me。 Once I decided to press on treating him as a satirical joke， it became much easier。 So many of the characters who （for some reason choose to） surround him are extremely interesting where he is tired， base， and boring; learning about them through this idiot's eyes is some reward， perhaps made sweeter because of how slowly he notices， and thus relays to the reader， revelations that could have been obvious to a different narrator。 But though I might imagine Severian has invented or embellished all of his many romances， it is extremely hard to just ignore the rampant misogyny plaguing this series， and I'm honestly not sure I'll be able to make it through two more books if they follow the trend of increasing dick-lit tropes。I'm feeling optimistic today， so only 1 star docked。 But good god， it is a BIG one star。 。。。more

R。 A。 Smith ，

Great book！ Was truly surprised with this one。 So glad I gave this one a second chance。 Cant wait to read it again。 Great suggestion Jimmy， really knocked it out of the park with this one。

Bethany ，

For a more in depth discussion， check out the Blades & Bodice Rippers Book Club live show here: https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=pIZU9。。。Shadow & Claw is a modern classic of sci-fantasy and is the sort of book you will probably either love or hate。 I was really into it。 Set in a distant future where things have degraded to the point of reading like fantasy， this follows a young man who is a member of the torturers guild。 The writing is dense and requires close reading， though I found it to be qui For a more in depth discussion， check out the Blades & Bodice Rippers Book Club live show here: https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=pIZU9。。。Shadow & Claw is a modern classic of sci-fantasy and is the sort of book you will probably either love or hate。 I was really into it。 Set in a distant future where things have degraded to the point of reading like fantasy， this follows a young man who is a member of the torturers guild。 The writing is dense and requires close reading， though I found it to be quite rewarding。 It references mythology， religion， literature， philosophy and more。 It's a puzzle box that you can pull apart and untangle and it intentionally depicts a subversive or perverse version of Catholicism in the text。 The author was Catholic and that feels very clear。 （one example is ritualistic cannibalism as a sort of disturbing version of communion） If you're into that sort of book， I think it's a very good version of it。 But if you're not， maybe pass on it。 The main downside for me is there is a LOT of misogyny。 The main character essentially objectifies every woman he meets， has sex with many of them， and has really f*cked up ideas about consent。 Now， I think we are supposed to see this as a perverse and off-putting thing， but there is still a lot of it on page。 If there had been less of that， this would have been an easy 5 star for me。 For some people， that is just the final nail in the coffin to a book they already disliked。 And I get it。 This is not the kind of thing everyone will like。 But I really enjoyed unpacking the world-building， the clues to what's going on， the references etc。 ALL the content warnings。 。。。more

Matthew ，

I read this because Neil Gaiman and Ursula Le Guin said things like this was the best SF book of our time。 I would alter this by saying that it must be the best SF book of our time for smarty-pants authors who see things I do not， because this was a slog。 Even more problematic， I have not read such unapologetic female objectification in some time。

Mara ，

This is a prime example of a book that I should have DNFed at the 100 page mark。 Alas， it is for book club， so I did not have that option， and consequently， my impression of the book probably suffered for the resentment of having to continue to read something I wasn't in the mood for。 I can totally see that there would be folks who would enjoy this， but for me， the pacing was so all over the place that the book simultaneously felt like nothing was happening and everything was happening。 And the This is a prime example of a book that I should have DNFed at the 100 page mark。 Alas， it is for book club， so I did not have that option， and consequently， my impression of the book probably suffered for the resentment of having to continue to read something I wasn't in the mood for。 I can totally see that there would be folks who would enjoy this， but for me， the pacing was so all over the place that the book simultaneously felt like nothing was happening and everything was happening。 And the misogyny。。。 look， if I had been enjoying the rest of the book more， I probably could have rolled my eyes at it but mostly chalked it up to being "of its time。" But it ended up being an annoying cherry on a cruddy sundae。 Anyways- TLDR = this was probably a better book than I'm giving it credit for， but I did not care for this one。 。。。more

Snejana Simeonova ，

This is an extraordinary book， so unconventional and hard to follow but also filled with "jewels"， left only to the reader's interest and ability to discover。 It is the oposite of a fast or easy read by all means and the pace of the narrative constantly changes and leaves the reader often wondering what has actually happened。 Explanations are sparse and happen long after the events they explain in unexpected ways， as a reward for the ones who stuck for long enough with the meandring story。 The l This is an extraordinary book， so unconventional and hard to follow but also filled with "jewels"， left only to the reader's interest and ability to discover。 It is the oposite of a fast or easy read by all means and the pace of the narrative constantly changes and leaves the reader often wondering what has actually happened。 Explanations are sparse and happen long after the events they explain in unexpected ways， as a reward for the ones who stuck for long enough with the meandring story。 The layers of cognitive fog through which the story is relayed is due once to the fact， that the book claims to be a translation from a totally different time and culture， when things， realities and even physics that existed are not around by the time of the translation， and second to the chosen point of view of the narrator， transitioning from adolescence to adulthood and the changing perceptions of reality that come with it。 Nevertheless when the fog starts susiding at times， what is revealed （but never fully explained or for that matter understood） is a peculiar and fascinating world that draws you in and makes you want to roam around。 People say don't judge a book by its cover， but for this one it's safe to say， don't judge the book before having read it all， by the last word of the last sentence of the appendices。 。。。more

Whitney ，

*Hides*Three stars means I liked it！ Three stars is fine！ Gene Wolfe is an intimidating writer。 While he doesn't quite reach Erikson levels of scary， one has to work harder to read Wolfe， in the same way that one has to work harder at driving through Chicago than in Kansas。 You always have to be on the lookout， defensive driving， actually using brain power instead of just cruising。 This book is really the first two books in his Book of the New Sun series， and I feel pretty accomplished getting t *Hides*Three stars means I liked it！ Three stars is fine！ Gene Wolfe is an intimidating writer。 While he doesn't quite reach Erikson levels of scary， one has to work harder to read Wolfe， in the same way that one has to work harder at driving through Chicago than in Kansas。 You always have to be on the lookout， defensive driving， actually using brain power instead of just cruising。 This book is really the first two books in his Book of the New Sun series， and I feel pretty accomplished getting through it。 As I alluded to earlier， Gene Wolfe is a challenge; I've had an easier time with dense philosophy texts than I have with Wolfe。 Part of it was the pacing + the detached quality of the action。 I understand the style he chose was fairly common at the time this was written， but *wow* there were parts that dragged i。e。 most of the parts where he is being dragged around the city by you-know-who。 And I almost never say this， but a map would have helped a lot， and cut down on the confusion。 That said， the writing was freaking gorgeous。 The Library scene？ Perfection。 The world， the guild， the politics？ Spot on。 Some of the best that I've ever seen。 If I only judged books by how much their language， imagination， ideas， and subtle character tics formed a work of art， this book would be a masterpiece。 And I can understand why， for many people， it is。 But I just can't give it higher， because， as pretty as it was， it got to the point where it was an assignment more than an escape。 。。。more

Nat ☽ ，

Ugh。 I gather from reliable sources that there is a lot of subtext to this book， and that it actually subverts the tropes that it seems to champion。 Sure， if you say so。 Unfortunately I'm just not interested enough to do the work required to uncover all this cleverness， as the screen of unutterable dullness pasted over everything in this book does too good a job of obscuring almost anything that's of any interest。 There's some cool wordbuilding bits here and there but it's not enough to make me Ugh。 I gather from reliable sources that there is a lot of subtext to this book， and that it actually subverts the tropes that it seems to champion。 Sure， if you say so。 Unfortunately I'm just not interested enough to do the work required to uncover all this cleverness， as the screen of unutterable dullness pasted over everything in this book does too good a job of obscuring almost anything that's of any interest。 There's some cool wordbuilding bits here and there but it's not enough to make me willing to wade through the mire in search of underlying treasure。 。。。more

‎Seth ，

I read about The Book of the New Sun before I started Shadow & Claw。 I read about the difficult beauty of Gene Wolfe's prose。 I read that there were puzzles in the book， that the unreliable narrator made Shadow & Claw a kind of guessing game—what's real， what isn't？ I read comparisons to Joyce， Proust， and Melville。 I read Neil Gaiman and Ursula K。 Le Guin's glowing recommendations。 I was very excited to read the most acclaimed fantasy novel since Lord of the Rings。 I was excited to begin my for I read about The Book of the New Sun before I started Shadow & Claw。 I read about the difficult beauty of Gene Wolfe's prose。 I read that there were puzzles in the book， that the unreliable narrator made Shadow & Claw a kind of guessing game—what's real， what isn't？ I read comparisons to Joyce， Proust， and Melville。 I read Neil Gaiman and Ursula K。 Le Guin's glowing recommendations。 I was very excited to read the most acclaimed fantasy novel since Lord of the Rings。 I was excited to begin my foray into modern fantasy fiction with the author described by fans as the greatest writer alive。 I was extremely disappointed。Wolfe creates a mildly compelling world， but holy cow， this is a boring book。 No plot， undeveloped characters， bad writing。 Yeah， I said it， bad writing。 I liked the occasional flourishes about "the nature of reality" or whatever， but Wolfe's technical skills seem limited to dropping eighth-century nouns into middle-school-level prose。 The nouns are cool， but that's about it。If this is the best modern fantasy has to offer， then this probably isn't the genre for me。 。。。more

TJ Hooker ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Meh…it starts out with a very interesting premise and relatively quickly dissolves into the author’s wishful fantasy about women。 Also， half the time I didn’t know what the hell was going on。 I’ll probably finish the series， but it’s going to be tedious。 I don’t have high expectations。

Raja ，

This is a collection of the first two books of a four-part series that is very well written and has a super-compelling setting （a far future Earth civilization that is in a dark ages after an era of galactic exploration）， and yet: at the end of the first book （e。g。 halfway through）， the first-person narrator/epic Hero says， "Here I pause。 If you wish to walk no farther with me， reader， I cannot blame you。 It is no easy road。" I listened to the man and GTFO， and you probably will too。 Perhaps the This is a collection of the first two books of a four-part series that is very well written and has a super-compelling setting （a far future Earth civilization that is in a dark ages after an era of galactic exploration）， and yet: at the end of the first book （e。g。 halfway through）， the first-person narrator/epic Hero says， "Here I pause。 If you wish to walk no farther with me， reader， I cannot blame you。 It is no easy road。" I listened to the man and GTFO， and you probably will too。 Perhaps the recurring involvement of busty， partially-clothed， and sexually-subservient female characters would have been enough to hold the interest of my 12 year-old self， but at this point， I can just acknowledge he's a boob man （and something of a misogynist）， and move on。 。。。more

Patrick ，

yeuch！

William ，

Very horny but I loved it anyway

Dash ，

It had some brilliant passages and a neat world。

Ana Cretu ，

BotNS is science fantasy work， more fantasy than science。 And this works very well for me。 Had there been more science， I would have had difficulties in accepting some of the things than happen in the book。 As a fantasy work， I accept it as it is。Imagine a decaying world and a dying sun， same Urth but in a far， far future， in which the world was thrown back to an almost medieval state， with fantastic creatures， crosses between extra and terrestrial genetically modified beings， magic and sword fi BotNS is science fantasy work， more fantasy than science。 And this works very well for me。 Had there been more science， I would have had difficulties in accepting some of the things than happen in the book。 As a fantasy work， I accept it as it is。Imagine a decaying world and a dying sun， same Urth but in a far， far future， in which the world was thrown back to an almost medieval state， with fantastic creatures， crosses between extra and terrestrial genetically modified beings， magic and sword fighting。 Flight is possible， the Moon is irrigated， and the dying sun makes the starts visible during the day。 There are magical places and labyrinths full of symbolism， giants， witches， deities， some gruesome scenes of torture and necromancy， religious cults and weird rituals， sea creatures and super powerful magical gems。 Quite a nice fantastic set up。 The creative power is immense， the world building is rich and intricate。 It really did capture my imagination。 This is what made me enjoy the book and probably this is what gave this series its legendary status。There are lots of delightful little treats scattered throughout the book， that make you stop and reflect for a while， and lots of symbols and dreams that invite interpretation。 Example of a concept that stuck with me: the tokoloshe， which are bad spirits created by people’s negative thoughts or bad deeds。 Once they appear， these tokoloshe will remain until the end of the world， and will be passed on to future generations， who will be able to see all the that man thought and did。 They are the spirits of the future， made by people themselves。 This was just a simple concept in a paragraph and does not impact the story in any way， but I thought it was pretty powerful。 I had to stop here and actually imagine a world in which this could happen。 It’s little gems like this that made me enjoy the book even more。 Where the book falls a bit short for me is the male fantasy， the sexualisation of women， female characters are objects of desire or weak and helpless beings and do not contribute much to the plot。 I was often going from having a chuckle to feeling very awkward when reading some chapters。 Hence the 4 stars instead of 5。 I am definitely finishing the series。 Books 3 & 4 are next。 。。。more

Lisa ，

While this book was intriguing and its depth was vast， overall I wasn’t impressed。 The story was interesting but the use of complex words seemed like overkill at times and there was so much going on and things that were confusing， it just wasn’t that enjoyable to read。

Shaelee ，

I never want to read this again。

Stephen ，

So many conflicting thoughts on this book。 It's incredibly influential， whether directly or just indirectly reflecting modern storytelling。。。 I don't know。 Specifically， Shadow and Claw feels like the platonic ideal of what most （good） video game storytelling and a whole branch of TV plots are like now。 This book could be Dark Souls， the book。 It leans completely into world building as a form of storytelling， telling the reader very little and expecting the environment to communicate the unrelia So many conflicting thoughts on this book。 It's incredibly influential， whether directly or just indirectly reflecting modern storytelling。。。 I don't know。 Specifically， Shadow and Claw feels like the platonic ideal of what most （good） video game storytelling and a whole branch of TV plots are like now。 This book could be Dark Souls， the book。 It leans completely into world building as a form of storytelling， telling the reader very little and expecting the environment to communicate the unreliable narrator plot that exists。 It is wildly creative and delightfully unrelated to any other conception of fantasy or sci fi， and that is the reason to read it。 And that's not nothing， I'll probably read the next book。But I keep coming back to the fact I did not find reading this book either enjoyable or absorbing。 At its worst， it's a great example of the puzzle box storytelling that has dominated the last 20 years of TV and video games。 Horrible， boring， repetitive unreliable narrator character that is a drag to read and doesn't explain himself？ Ho， but you haven't done the proper puzzling at the seemingly irrelevant piece of information from three chapters ago and combined it with the info in this chapter！ Most of the time， my answer was no thanks。 It feels like the first Wikipedia book。 It almost feels adjacent to a narrative tabletop RPG sourcebook。Also， as I'm sure has been well covered so I don't have much to add to it， the women in this book （besides his companion in his own head） are weird， stunted， and barely recognizable as human。 I'm lead to believe there are good explanations for all of this， the puzzle box again， but it's quite off-putting。 You can only get me so far with the explanation that the POV is an evil scumbag misogynist。 I have to read the thing still in his head。 。。。more

Pat ，

I’m not a big fantasy guy， but I gave this one a try because I heard it had a vibe similar to my favorite video games series， Dark Souls。While I did like dark vibes of the environment and story， I found this book a bit frustrated。The main character stumbles around throughout the story with little apparent purpose。 Every time he sees a new woman， he falls for her。 Indeed， it seems as if this guy is just chasing tail the whole time！The chapters are short and uniform in length （~5 pages）。 They each I’m not a big fantasy guy， but I gave this one a try because I heard it had a vibe similar to my favorite video games series， Dark Souls。While I did like dark vibes of the environment and story， I found this book a bit frustrated。The main character stumbles around throughout the story with little apparent purpose。 Every time he sees a new woman， he falls for her。 Indeed， it seems as if this guy is just chasing tail the whole time！The chapters are short and uniform in length （~5 pages）。 They each cover the main character’s quests or mishaps and often feel only loosely connected to one another。 This makes for a frustrating read。 。。。more

Chris Flower ，

This book is on drugs and I loved it。 Paired with the second novel， it's easily become one of my favorite reads ever。 Ridiculously challenging and unique。 This book is on drugs and I loved it。 Paired with the second novel， it's easily become one of my favorite reads ever。 Ridiculously challenging and unique。 。。。more

Lewis ，

I first read this book as a young teen and had only very strange， fragmented memories of it。 I assumed that this was due to the dozen or so years that have passed since then， but upon the re-reading it has become clear that my memory served me better than I realised: this is a very strange and fragmented book。I am very fond of fantasies set in an incomprehensibly distant future， futures where science and magic have become interchangeable （Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories are all time favouri I first read this book as a young teen and had only very strange， fragmented memories of it。 I assumed that this was due to the dozen or so years that have passed since then， but upon the re-reading it has become clear that my memory served me better than I realised: this is a very strange and fragmented book。I am very fond of fantasies set in an incomprehensibly distant future， futures where science and magic have become interchangeable （Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories are all time favourites）。 This is another fantastic example of the genre。 The imagination of Wolfe's world is astonishing， with the layers of created history forming a thick and immersive crust of internal reality。 His "Notes on the Translation" device （that treats the novel as a found manuscript） feels almost believable in so rich a universe。 It is definitely the imagery and description that makes this book， not the plot - like Lovecraft， Wolfe is happy to show but not explain - so if you are looking for a classic high fantasy then I'd recommend looking elsewhere。 But if you want to read a beautifully written， remarkable flight of fancy， this could be the novel for you。 。。。more

Anton_Asher ，

Wolfe's prose is sublime。 I think the reason why Wolfe's work can be so challenging is that the reader can very easily be caught up in the relaxing flow of words across the page thus miss the layers of narrative construction underneath。 I won't rehash the story description above， but I can say that those who enjoy Gormenghast， House of Leaves， the Odyssey， Shakespeare， Rabelais， Tolkien， Herbert， the King James Version of the Bible， Alice In Wonderland， Borges， and reading in general will love t Wolfe's prose is sublime。 I think the reason why Wolfe's work can be so challenging is that the reader can very easily be caught up in the relaxing flow of words across the page thus miss the layers of narrative construction underneath。 I won't rehash the story description above， but I can say that those who enjoy Gormenghast， House of Leaves， the Odyssey， Shakespeare， Rabelais， Tolkien， Herbert， the King James Version of the Bible， Alice In Wonderland， Borges， and reading in general will love these first two installments of the series。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Shadow & Claw

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Shadow & Claw&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Shadow & Claw&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0