Rating: 
Summary: The best science fiction novel there is.
Review: I recently read for the third time The Book of the New Sun (four volumes, now available in these two fine trade paperbacks.) A novel of this complexity deserves more criticism than you'd want to read here, and I won't describe it much. What struck me, though, was how ingeniously Wolfe solved the problem of first person narration in a far-future and very alien Earth (Urth.) In sf, there's always a disconnect between the contemporary earthbound reader and the alien world described. Here there are no linguistic gymnastics as in Hoban's Riddley Walker or Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. Wolfe frankly translates his protagonist's, Severian's, narration -- into a rich vocabulary of arcane and archaic words. But the world of Urth is as alien to Severian as it is to us; he is isolated in an obscure Torturer's Guild in a decaying society, and his adventure is our adventure as we read of it. As puzzling to him as us. As usual, Wolfe leaves a great deal unexplained. And that contributes as much to the charm and wholeness of this far-future Urth as all the fascinating flights of fancy, which are many and memorable. There is much to savor and much to reflect upon in this long novel, which is surely the best treatment of twilight human civilization that I have ever read
Rating:
Summary: The Conclusion to one of the finest
Review: I'll write this review for those who have read the first half of this series. Wolfe has a way ending the impossible and making it believable and engaging. I find time and again novels that write themselves into a story that is impossible to conclude in a reasonable fashion. So it seems with the magnitude of this epic. Yet with elegance Wolfe writes it to a successful close. The novel begins as we find Severian in Thrax serving as Lictor, as with Shadow and Claw, his mercy sets him forth on a journey that truly tests his strength. While in the previous novel Severian wanders in almost a childish fashion, this time around Wolfe is brutal on Severian, which evolves his character in new ways and opens new doors. The novel does not answer all the questions and is a lead way into Urth of the New. If you loved Shadow and Claw, you will love Sword and Citadel as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique narration is the saving grace of this fantasy classic
Review: I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi in general, and multi-volume "sagas" (re:$$$) in specific. Wolfe was recommended by a friend as a great, overlooked writer of first person narration, and after reading all 4 volumes I'd agree. Severian is a sci-fi cousin to postmodern heroes like Humbert Humbert and Holden Caulfield. He only tells you what he wants you to know at that particular moment, revealing more about himself and his world in what he doesn't say than what he does. Understandably, this makes for frustrating reading at times, so I can understand why some readers feel that the plot doesn't really deliver the payoff. Instead, the payoff is in the language, the phrasing, the way Wolfe lets readers paint a fragmented picture of this far-future world through the eyes of a youthful, but far from innocent, narrator. One more note: no transgression goes unmentioned in Wolfe's world. Torture, rape, incest, cannibalism - they're all touched on during the story. If you're easily offended, Severian's matter-of-fact detailing of such events may put you off. However, they're part of a larger picture that deals with the balance between justice and forgiveness (no wonder readers compare it to stories from the Bible). I thought it worked; you might not.
Rating:
Summary: Justifies the Existence of Science-Fiction
Review: If Gene Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN stood alone, towering over a vast field of L. Ron Hubbard "blockbusters" and the latter works of Piers Anthony, surrounded by the worst of the Star Trek and Star Wars novels, the existence of science-ficton would be justified, and its glory established forever. Wolfe's four-volume work is, of course, one novel. It is also one of the finest works of 20th century literature. As usual, Wolfe brings the powers of a Dickens, a Proust, a Kafka, (in other words, a unique genius like and yet unlike every other unique genius) to bear on his subject matter, and here the subject matter is memory, space, time, sin and redemption, God and Man. This is the Book of Gold, and its beauty and strength is great. It is worthwhile to note the high praise given to Wolfe's work even (perhaps especially?) by critics who profoundly disagree with his moral and metaphysical aims--Ian Watson, roughly, said that Wolfe has re-written the New Testament, only with better prose and a nicer sense of structure. I disagree--but imagine the kind of book that can bring forth such claims when ideological sympathy is not a contributing factor. Read Wolfe!
Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction's Greatest Contribution to Literature
Review: If science fiction will ever gain any sort of critical respect from the literary canon, this is the type of book that would do it. Although many have compared this book to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, I think it's a poor comparison. Sure, it can be compared to Tolkien on the shallowest level, but it is much more akin to Dickens, Joyce, Proust, Chesterton, and (especially) Borges. Not that I dislike Tolkien, but he is overused as a comparison to provide any meaningful context in which to judge a book. This book could be read for countless lifetimes without exhausting its wealth. On the surface its another stable boy becomes emporer sort of story (although a neat twist is that the "stable boy" is actually--by profession--a torturer), but wow...if any story can validate an entire genre, here it is. The imagery is also decidedly beautiful. The story is set in an unspecified, but EXTREMELY distant future...the moon has been made verdant and now shines green in the sky...the Sun is dying due to "a worm" at its center...the sands on the beach are full of colors because the sand is not really sand, but the glass and stone from our buildings of today ground into a fine powder...all the mountains have been carved to the shape of former "autarchs"...the city in which the action starts is actually a former spaceport and the towers of the city are spaceships.... I could go on and on. Most of these things are not explained directly in the book. They are hinted at and must be pieced together from the clues strewn about, and this makes the imagery that much more powerful. I cannot say enough about this book. If you aren't convinced, read what John Clute has to say about Wolfe, both in his books of essays, and in "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction", which rightly calls Wolfe the most important writer of science fiction in the world today.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Overrated Series
Review: In the Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe touches on many allusions and themes, thoroughly exploring none. Time and again he raised my hopes by initiating an intriguing line of thought just to wear my patience thin by flitting from thing to thing and never satisfactorily following through. Certain details, like the concept of a torturer's apprentice, are what sold me on trying these books in the first place. Other compelling ideas are buried deep within the book. The alzebo is horrifying and fascinating. It's even touching, in a macabre way, when Severian becomes closer to Thecla through its use. The waiting room that has transformed over time into a de facto prison, where people wait generations for an audience with the Autarch, is darkly humorous. But these fascinating details are not enough to sustain a coherent storyline. While reading one tale from the book Severian carries around with him, I was trying to figure out if it was a corruption of the Romulus and Remus story, Moses' early life, or some conflation of the two (or more). And I realized I was paying more attention to the artifice Wolfe constructed than to Severian's own story. The use of literary allusions should aid in fleshing out a story, to say something about a character or his situation. It should not be an end in itself. In New Sun, Wolfe piles allusion upon allusion, overburdening a flimsy story structure, which simply collapses under the weight. There are other problems that contribute to this state of affairs: a mostly pointless addition of archaic vocabulary, meandering and awkward sentence structure and intentionally vague pronouns. All, apparently, to the purpose of constantly reminding the reader how clever and erudite the author is -- a process devoid of storytelling. In the end, the plot becomes a slave to this hodgepodge of techniques, jerking Severian through a gauntlet of unbelievable or unexplained twists, making for a disappointing reading experience. I enjoyed Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus: Three Novellas much more.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Overrated Series
Review: In the Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe touches on many allusions and themes, thoroughly exploring none. Time and again he raised my hopes by initiating an intriguing line of thought just to wear my patience thin by flitting from thing to thing and never satisfactorily following through. Certain details, like the concept of a torturer's apprentice, are what sold me on trying these books in the first place. Other compelling ideas are buried deep within the book. The alzebo is horrifying and fascinating. It's even touching, in a macabre way, when Severian becomes closer to Thecla through its use. The waiting room that has transformed over time into a de facto prison, where people wait generations for an audience with the Autarch, is darkly humorous. But these fascinating details are not enough to sustain a coherent storyline. While reading one tale from the book Severian carries around with him, I was trying to figure out if it was a corruption of the Romulus and Remus story, Moses' early life, or some conflation of the two (or more). And I realized I was paying more attention to the artifice Wolfe constructed than to Severian's own story. The use of literary allusions should aid in fleshing out a story, to say something about a character or his situation. It should not be an end in itself. In New Sun, Wolfe piles allusion upon allusion, overburdening a flimsy story structure, which simply collapses under the weight. There are other problems that contribute to this state of affairs: a mostly pointless addition of archaic vocabulary, meandering and awkward sentence structure and intentionally vague pronouns. All, apparently, to the purpose of constantly reminding the reader how clever and erudite the author is -- a process devoid of storytelling. In the end, the plot becomes a slave to this hodgepodge of techniques, jerking Severian through a gauntlet of unbelievable or unexplained twists, making for a disappointing reading experience. I enjoyed Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus: Three Novellas much more.
Rating:
Summary: The Language of Fantasy.
Review: Never short on vocabulary. The most enriching books I have read in the genre. Between the start of the first book and the end of the fourth their are half a dozen completely distinct short stories and a play.
Rating:
Summary: The second half of what is surely the Book of Gold
Review: SWORD AND CITADEL is an omnibus containing the second half of Gene Wolfe's four-volume work The Book of the New Sun, the novels THE SWORD OF THE LICTOR and THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH. The Book of the New Sun, a work in which science and myth, mystery and enlightment mix, is one of the finest works of speculative fiction in the English language. Anyone who is not familiar with The Book of the New Sun is encouraged to read my review for SHADOW AND CLAW, the first half. THE SWORD OF THE LICTOR marks an key point in the wanderings of the exile Severian. The volume begins a few weeks after he has arrived in the provincial town of Thrax, where he performs the duties of a lictor, a sort of double-duty jailer and executioner. Like his exile from the Guild which began the saga, here Severian is soon forced to flee Thrax because he has again shown mercy to a woman set for execution. Over the course of this book, he slowly loses all material comfort as he goes north through the wild and is eventually tempted by a diabolical figure from Urth's past. Obviously meant to symbolize Christ's fasting in the wilderness, SWORD provides through Severian a showing of imitation of Christ. The end of the novel shows Severian as a man who has cast off the role of torturer. THE SWORD OF THE LICTOR contains, as a reading from Severian's brown book, a curious story called "The Tale of the Boy Called Frog," in which the myth of the founding of Rome, the Jungle Book, and the Thanksgiving story have all been combined over the eons into a single tale. Lovers of digging up Wolfe's buried allusions will find a feast in this and other parts of SWORD. THE CITADEL OF THE AUTARCH is the fourth and final volume of The Book of the New Sun. Severian arrives in the north country of Orythia, where the Commonwealth is waging its endless war against Ascia. Severian joins a group of irregulars who pitch in to the battle and eventually he encounters the Autarch, whose successor he becomes. Thus, Severian's claim that the Book of the New Sun is the long story of how he has "backed into the throne" is unfolded. The last portion of CITADEL tells of Severian's return to Nessus to claim the throne, and includes of four beautiful chapters. "The Corridors of Time" tells of Severian's annointing by the Hierodules that he may bring a New Sun to Urth. In "The Sand Garden" Severian experiences an epiphany besides Ocean that ranks among the most beautiful religious writing in history. In "The Key to the Universe," Severian recounts the secret history of Time given to him by the Hierodules where Wolfe has wonderfully meshed science and religion. Finally, the last chapter "Resurrection" is penned by Severians moments before he is to board the ship of the Hierodules in order to stand trial for Urth. It contains some suprising conclusions about his role in Time and ends with his returning to the first girl whom he loved. The Book of the New Sun is a masterpiece, a poetic tale in which the reader is dazzled by Wolfe's style and entertained by his literary allusions. Once one has read SHADOW AND CLAW, the ombibus of the first two volumes, the second half SWORD AND CITADEL will continue to delight until the last word of Severian's saga and the "translator's" appendix.
Rating:
Summary: The Conclusion to one of the finest
Review: Sword and Citadel is the combination of Sword of the Lictor and Citadel of the Autarch, the final two volumes in Gene Wolfe's tetralogy, The Book of the New Sun. In it, we follow exiled torturer Severian on a series of adventures that (as the reader knows early on) will lead him to the position of Autarch, the king of his land. As with the first half of this story, Wolfe is aiming for something more than a routine science fantasy novel, with general but not complete success. The flaw is that in aiming for something more literary, Wolfe is also detaching himself from a lot of his potential audience. The prose is sometimes a bit densely written and the action often seems to meander from the main story. For example, it is not uncommon for there to be a break in the story by having some character tell a tale that is more or less unrelated to the main plot. A good piece of literature often offers more upon multiple reads, and that is what this tetralogy aspires to be. Is it successful? Maybe, although after only one read, I was not completely satisfied. As with the first volume, Shadow and Claw, this book is good to great, but not perfect. While many will enjoy reading this book, they should be aware going in that this is not your typical fantasy novel.
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