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Gene Wolfe
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The Sword of the Lictor (The Book of the New Sun, vol 3) Paperback – December 1, 1982

by Gene Wolfe (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 287 ratings
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  1. Locus AwardWinner, 1983
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Beneath the dying sun the disgraced torturer, Severian, at last comes to his place of exile - Thrax, the City of Windowless Rooms. But Severian's journeying is not ended, and high in the Earth's ancient mountains he draws closer to his destiny.

Cover Illustration: Bruce Pennington
Previous page
  1. Book 3 of 4
    Urth: Book of the New Sun
  2. Print length
    257 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Pocket
  5. Publication date
    December 1, 1982
  6. ISBN-10
    0671454501
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0671454500
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket (December 1, 1982)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671454501
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671454500
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 287 ratings

About the author

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Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe

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Gene Wolfe is winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and many other awards. In 2007, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He lives in Barrington, Illinois.

Photo by Cory Doctorow licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
287 global ratings
Book club edition. Stickers from seller hard to remove!
2 Stars
Book club edition. Stickers from seller hard to remove!
BEWARE!! Description said not a book club edition but that was untrue. Also also seller put a hard to remove sticker on that leaves a sticky residue. Very annoying damages the dust cover.
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Top reviews from the United States

MB
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2014
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Second time I read these books. I enjoyed them again and appreciated the fantastic world, their characteres, and the plot. A classic that you need to read if you like fantasy.
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John Brathwaite
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2016
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A new literary genius!
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Phillip Reiman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great performance continues
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2019
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Great book. Excellent reader.
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The Cool Guy
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Continuation of the Saga
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2019
Very imaginative story. My second time reading, and a lot of it stands out in my memory, such as the two-headed man Typhon and Piaton, and Baldanders the giant.

The only thing I don’t like about the book (and the reason for 4 stars) is the overuse of made-up archaic words and the long wordy tangents that Gene Wolfe occasionally makes. Both of these get really tiresome at times. And the tangents in particular always bring the narrative to a full stop.

It is a good book though. Very memorable, and enjoyable.
One person found this helpful
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easingpaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2016
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Great Story. Best to read the first two books before this.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2007
The title delineates a role that Severian, whose memoirs these books
purport to be, must play. It is an office of duty. Being a torturer and
executioner, he is called upon to kill yet another woman, He refuses
one of these due to emotion, and has to leave.
One person found this helpful
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Kat Hooper
5.0 out of 5 stars Best plotless book ever.
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2010
Gene Wolfe's The Sword of the Lictor essentially contains no plot, but it's the best plotless book I've ever read. It's one of the best books I've ever read, period. I loved every moment of it! (I read this on audio; Audible Frontiers' audio version, read by Jonathan Davis, is exceptional.)

This third installment of The Book of the New Sun continues Severian's journey from apprentice in the torturers' guild to Autarch. He doesn't seem to be getting any closer to his exalted position (if anything, I'd say farther) and we're no closer to understanding how he's going to get there. But that's totally fine. Unburdened by a need to be anywhere or to achieve any goals or deadlines, Severian wanders the earth almost aimlessly, and it's this wandering that's so fascinating.

For a reader who's only anxious for action and story progression, The Sword of the Lictor is not likely to work and, indeed, I usually get annoyed with authors who take too long to tell their stories. However, when I'm reading Gene Wolfe, it not only works -- it is pure delight. For Wolfe's old earth, set in a far future when the sun is dying (similar to Jack Vance's Dying Earth), is full of wonder and amazement and he tells us all about it in his simple but elegant style:

"... authors are so anxious to move their stories forward (however wooden they may be, advancing like market carts with squeaking wheels that are never still, though they go only to dusty villages where the charm of the country is lost and the pleasures of the city will never be found)... The assassin who holds a dagger to his victim's neck is eager to discuss the whole matter, and at any length the victim or the author may wish. The passionate pair in love's embrace are at least equally willing to postpone the stabbing, if not more so... In life it is not the same..."

I wish I could be there with Severian as he climbs down the steep cliff overhung with a waterfall and embedded with the fossils of earth's lost architecture, and explores the round metal building that we recognize (but he doesn't) as a spaceship... I'd love to tell you more and to discuss what it all means (there's so much symbolism here), but then you'd miss the jaw-dropping, eye-widening, brain-expanding experience for yourself. I'll just say that what Severian experiences on his journey perfectly captures the essence of excellent speculative fiction -- it's the reason I love SFF.

Nobody creates such a sense of wonder and amazement, such truly unique and bizarre ideas, and relates them in such a beautiful way as Gene Wolfe does. I want to spend a lot more time exploring his world.
9 people found this helpful
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Katie Burton
4.0 out of 5 stars Gene Wolfe managed to keep the reader engaged with a ...
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2014
Gene Wolfe managed to keep the reader engaged with a writing style that is truly compelling. He has a deft hand with characters, story, plot, and world building that sets him apart from most authors.

The Book of the New Sun has been an incredible read thus far, though one that does require some patience and the commitment to see the story through.
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Top reviews from other countries

Daniel Binda
5.0 out of 5 stars Gene Wolfe book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2023
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A good kindle book.
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McC1
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2013
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Written as a biography of the main character as he reflects on his past the language is archaic and meant to reflect the different times far in the future. The story is an interesting science fantasy following the life of an apprentice torturer as he becomes a journeyman of his trade and then follows his travels through the three volumes of the Book of the New Sun, and eventually becomes the Autarch or leader of the Urth (the far future Earth) I do not want to put spoilers here so I will not say more than that, but I have read all three volumes and will read the follow up series in the next few weeks as I have enjoyed these.
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Trisha
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2016
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Wonderful story- written in the First Person. Would thoroughly recommend this series
One person found this helpful
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Mark Gibson
4.0 out of 5 stars great SF
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2016
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Over all the story continues to be well developed. Some bits ie the play got a bit abstract and I am still not sure I understand bits of the play
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Mr. Mark A. Laborda
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2014
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A good story but getting harder work now in volume 3, has this been going on too long?
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