Every time I thought I was getting into it, I came again to a shuddering halt. The language, while flavourful, does not flow for me the way it clearly does for so many others. It’s brilliantly written, I recognise that, but it is difficult to read. He has a prose so purple it rivals Lovecraft in its obscurity of terms and overuse of poetic turns of phrase. Unfortunately, I find Wolfe’s style of writing utterly impenetrable. The way it uses an unreliable narrator to create multiple layers to the narrative is something I’ve seen championed again and again. Going into the book, I knew of its reputation. The main reason for this is the writing itself. What I can say, regrettably, is that I did not enjoy it. There is absolutely no way in which I can genuinely call this a bad book.
In a way, it’s almost a how-to when it comes to writing the archetypal coming-of-age, while still being innovative and stylistically unique. It takes the classic idea of the Hero’s Journey and mine sit for all it is worth. Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, and the following series are undeniably important works of science fiction, and indeed literature as a whole. Exiled from his guild, he finds himself cast out into the strange landscape beyond the city he once called home. Severian is a torturer by trade, but that is not his nature.
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