The Claw of the Conciliator

Book cover of The Claw of the Conciliator.

Review

The Claw of the Conciliator is the second book in Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun tetralogy. It picks up right where The Shadow of the Torturer leaves off, following Severian as he makes his way towards Thrax.

The book is very similar to The Shadow of the Torturer: Florid writing, slow pace, lots of themes and allegories, and mysteries that are exposed only to be replaced by new ones.

There are many scenes that I loved:

But the book begins to drag in the second half and the story seems to wander. Knowing there are three more installments ahead of me in the series, I’m worried it will grind to a halt. I hope that The Sword of the Lictor will pick up the pace.