The Shadow of the Torturer
by Gene Wolfe · first published 1980
67% recommend22% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dense, immersive science fiction where the world's lore is revealed slowly, rewarding close rereading; suits readers who enjoy puzzling out an unfamiliar setting and an unreliable narrator.
Common criticism: Hard to get into at first; the vocabulary and slow opening put some readers off.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in the four-volume series, The Book of the New Sun. It is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim -- and follows subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus.
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The one book is probably actually three books that were read more or less at the same time: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick, Little, Big by John Crowley, and Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe. These books led to a change of reading habits in way that led eventually to working in publishing.
on “Ask HN: What's one book that changed your life?” ↗…admit I was a bit confused after the first section in which they interview Flec. I read that section again, and then everything made sense. It may have helped that I have read (numerous times) Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer, of which the initial chapters of "mathic" life in Anathem are a sort of pastiche. Stephenson gets plenty less approachable. I have tried multiple times to read at least two of the three books in The…
on “Supersonic Trebuchet” ↗I’ve come to recommend Gene Wolfe’s series, starting with Shadow of the Torturer. Can’t explain this one, just read it. Wolfe was an engineer, he helped to create the machine for manufacturing pringles. Bonus: Rudy Rucker’s Ware Tetralogy. A hilarious and thought-provoking cyberpunk…
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗A few I really enjoyed in the last few months: - The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells) - Dune (Frank Herbert) - The Shadow of the Torturer (Gene Wolfe) - Old Man's War series (John Scalzi) - Bobiverse Series (Dennis E. Taylor)
on “Ask HN: Sci-Fi Book Recommendations” ↗“Book of the New Sun”, beginning with Shadow of the Torturer, is his major work but can be unapproachable at first. The narrator/protagonist is a terrific character, but a IMO difficult one to spend time with. The Fifth Head of Cerberus is also a great entry point.…
on “"A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" Simulated by GPT-4” ↗You might like "The shadow of the torturer" by Gene Wolfe. Definitely had a few "whoa" moments in it for me.
on “Interviewing Tim Sweeney and Neal Stephenson” ↗…list. Some of the books are hard to find though. Like I’ve been searching for years for the peoples republic of Antarctica. I would suggest the following novels if you haven’t read them yet Gene wolfe shadow of the torturer series aka book of the new sun A scanner darkly by pkd, this, imo, is his best book even though all his books are compelling. But I think also, yes we can build him, its amazing because it really shows…
on “Sci-fi books that you may never have heard of, but definitely should read” ↗Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, especially The Shadow of the Torturer.
on “Ask HN: Which SciFi novel(s) would you want made into a TV series?” ↗Shadow of the Torturer is one of my all time favorite books. I confess I was less impressed with the rest of the Book of the New Sun as the world seemed to constrict as it went on, rather than expand. In spite of that, I think…
on “Gene Wolfe Turned Science Fiction into High Art (2019)” ↗The urth books (Shadow of the Torturer and following) take a lot of time to really get into. It's only by the time you get to the last book that you start to understand much of what happened in the first. I, as you might be able to tell from…
on “Entitlement issues (2009)” ↗Despite what the parent comment said I'd still recommend Shadow of The Torturer, the first book in the Book of The New Sun series. If you like the idea of being immersed in a world that you don't fully understand, but gives you the impression that there is a richness of lore behind…
on “"A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" Simulated by GPT-4” ↗Shadow of the Torturer is wonderful.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2024?” ↗…Wolfe. "I put on the cloak... the hue fuligin, which is darker than black, admirably erases all folds, bunchings and gatherings so far as the eye is concerned, showing only a featureless dark." From The Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolfe. Published by Simon & Schuster in 1980 http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1495
on “Researchers Create 'Super Black' Material (2014)” ↗Having caught up with Glynn Stewart releases after finishing Wildbow’s Ward, I decided to go for some famous books I never read. First was Gene Wolfe’s The Shadow of the Torturer. After about 1/4th of the book, I didn’t care about anything. Neither the world nor the main character. Decided to stop there, it seems it’s not for me. Next up, Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea…
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗1. "Shadow of the torturer" + "Claw of the Conciliator" -- The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe 2. "Chronicle of a Death foretold" , Gabriel Garcia Marzquez 3. "Piranesi" , Susanna Clarke 4. "Ananda Math" , Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗