What do You think about The Claw Of The Conciliator (1982)?
I finished this book and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series. I will add a more comprehensive review later. It's tough to figure out how I feel about this series. I like it. I might love it.Words I had to look up online:indanthrene - a shade of blue.cacogen - an antisocial person.hexaemeron - the first six days of creation.meretrices - plural of meretrix, a prostitute.baluchither - a now-extinct mammal that was 18 feet tall, 30 feet long, and weighed 20 tonnes. Also called Paraceratherium.Theologoumenon - a theological interpretation that is suggested as possibility, not a decisive call to beliefphororhacos - a large now-extinct flightless predatory bird, like an ostrich that eats meat. 8 feet tall and 280 poundsanaleptic alzabo - analeptic means "having to do with the central nervous system" and alzabo is a fictional alien species like a carniverous bear covered in red fur.alouattes - plural of alouatte, a species of howler monkey.berdiches - an axe-like polearm.spadroon - a light sword with a straight blade of the cut and thrust type.tribade - a lesbian.extrasolarians - aliens from a different star system than Sol, our sun.Heirodules - plural of Heriodule, a temple prostitute.thiasus - a group of singers and dancers assembled to celebrate a festival of one of the gods.quercine penetralia - quercine means having the characteristics of an oak and penetralia is the innermost sanctuary of a temple.upanga - a type of bagpipe played in southern India.achico - a weapon that looks like and is used like a bola, but has three weighted balls instead of two.philomath - a lover of learning or one who loves to learn.Hastarii - one of the groups in a Roman Legion, comprised of lower/middle class people and using bronze weapons and armor. They fought with short sword and javelin.ossifrage - a bird of prey.lammergeir - a type of vulture.alfange - a type of wide, short and curved sword that has a cutting edge only on one side.calotte - a skullcap or an architectural feature shaped like a skullcap.gramary - black magic.pommander ball - a ball made of perfumes.spadone - a type of sword.ilanero - a spanish word for plainsman.khaibit - a shadow. In the book it is a prostitute that looks exactly like someone famous.algedonic - pertaining to pain, especially in association with pleasure.haematidrosis - sweating blood.megathere - a large extinct ground sloth.algophilist - someone who enjoys pain, like a sadomasochist.piquenaires - a soldier whose main weapon is a type of spear.merychip - a type of horse.odalisque - a female slave or concubine in a harem.oread - a type of nymph that lives in mountains, valleys, or ravines.Septentrion - a word to describe northern regions or the north.epopt - one who has been instructed in the mysteries of a secret system.
—Mark
It's hard to know what to say about this book. Which is probably a bad thing. I like the idea of it, but can't say that I particularly enjoyed reading it. Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" series have been quite a frustrating read thus far. It's like you just know there's a really cool story and characters in there somewhere, but the author is keeping it all a secret from the reader, for some reason. I'm now two novels into the series and all I can say for sure is that a bunch of random weird events have happened to the main character that involved a bunch of random weird people. He's on a mission that you can just tell isn't really the impetus of the story, but you can't say what actually IS.Basically, I like the setting, I like the potential, but by this time I should have SOME clue as to what is going on and where all this is leading. In a word, it's VAGUE.Yet, in spite of this, I do still intend to read the next book. However, I'm going to take a break first and try some other stories before venturing back into this odd realm of randomness and confusion.
—Jeremy Kohlman
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.The Claw of the Conciliator is the second book in Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun quartet. If you read The Shadow of the Torturer and felt like you were lost (or drunk), and weren’t sure whether things would get clearer in the second book, I have to tell you that no, they don’t. But if you, like me, enjoy that dreamy I’m-not-sure-where-I-am-or-how-I-got-here-or-where-I’m-going-but-everything-sure-feels-fine literary experience, then read on, because Severian’s head is a strange and fascinating place to be.The Book of the New Sun is one of those works that some people think is ingenious and others suspect is just drivel. This is not the series for a reader who wants a quick-paced action-filled story with a concrete beginning, middle and end. This is for someone who’s in the mood to be open-minded and has the time and patience for some experimentation with character, setting, and theme. (And, perhaps, some mind-altering drugs might help.)You don’t need to worry about all of the religious imagery to enjoy these novels, but it’s there if you want to look for it. Most obvious are the themes of healing and resurrection and the allusions to the Second Coming, and it’s clear that Severian has some sort of role in that (though he may be completely oblivious). There is also the fascinating issue of Severian being an unreliable narrator. I’m not prepared to call him a “liar” (as some readers have done) because I can’t find much evidence that he purposely lies to us. I think, rather, that his perceptions and memory are faulty. His claim that his memory is perfect may not be a lie, but rather his own misperception.Gene Wolfe doesn’t much care for a traditional fantasy setting and he also doesn’t respect the traditional mechanics of storytelling. Tight plot? Why bother? This story wanders — seemingly aimlessly — all across the country (or maybe not, because we may have ended up where we started, but who knows?). Characters, conversations, and events that appear to be significant may mean nothing. There are hints of lost races, species, technologies, knowledge, and allegorical meaning that may never be explained and connected for us at the end. There is plenty of bizarreness (even an Ames Room!), which is what I enjoy most.Wolfe’s world is rich, most of what happens is unexpected, and the reader feels completely helpless to predict anything or even to be assured that things that will work out as they’re “supposed to” in a fantasy novel. Imagine that you’re reading one of those epics where you’ve cleverly figured out that the orphan boy hero is really the long-lost son of the king, but… the author won’t acknowledge this. That would be weird and somewhat disconcerting. That’s how it feels to read The Book of the New Sun. How strange and refreshing!At the end of The Claw of the Conciliator, Severian says (just as he did at the end of The Shadow of the Torturer) that he doesn’t blame us if we don’t want to continue walking with him (“it is no easy road”). But we’re in Gene Wolfe’s creative hands, so it’s not the destination; it’s the journey that’s paramount. If you’re ready to embark on this strange trip, I recommend Audible Frontiers’ audio version. Jonathan Davis is a favorite of mine and he does an amazing job with this difficult piece.
—Kat Hooper
