Shadow and Claw

Nebula Award.
Locus Award.
World Fantasy Award.
British Science Fiction Association Award.

"Shadow and Claw" — the first two books of the acclaimed magical tetralogy "The Books of the New Sun".

"The Shadow of the Torturer"
Severian — an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers and a student of the Order of Seekers of Truth and Repentance in the strange decadent world of Urth. He is exiled for the most terrible sin in his profession — compassion for the victim.

"The Claw of the Conciliator"
Severian continues to seek his destiny. Is it connected to an ancient relic said to possess mythical power? Is Severian to play a role in the political intrigues of the ruler of Urth? Or is another fate awaiting the torturer's apprentice?


"A magical thing… A work of art… The best science fiction I've read in years." — Ursula K. Le Guin

"'The Book of the New Sun' is almost heart-wrenchingly good, rich, and full of nuances that reveal themselves with each rereading. It is a masterpiece by Gene Wolfe." — David Langford, critic, ten-time Hugo Award winner

"One of the most ambitious works in science fiction of the twentieth century." — Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine

"A masterpiece of science fiction, comparable in significance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis." — Publishers Weekly

"The book contains elements of Spencer's allegory, Swift's satire, Dickens's social consciousness, and Wagner's mythology. Wolfe creates a truly alien society that the reader begins to feel from within... Once inside, it is impossible to stop." — The New York Book Reviews