Gene Wolfe

citadel of the autarch

Severian the Torturer continues his epic journey across the lands of Urth, carrying with him the Claw of the Conciliator and the great sword, Terminus Est. All his travels are leading towards a destiny that he dare not refuse . . . Winner of the John W. Campbell Award for best novel, 1984

Urth: Book of the New Sun Book 4

The Citadel of the Autarch

Tobias V. Langhoff

And so this epic tetralogy closes; actually, this is rather the fourth volume of one long novel, because things didn’t start making a lick of sense before the third book, and even know there are lots of things I don’t understand. I intend to read the coda next, The Urth of the New Sun, which apparently will make things even clearer, although many people say that a second read-through might be required too.
 
It was a wild ride, and a great one. Looking back, I see I gave the second book four stars and not five. In retrospect I’m not sure why that was, although like I said, answers to the many great mysteries that begun in the first book didn’t start popping up until the third book, so I suppose I was very bewildered as I finished the second one. I’m sure now that this is one of the best works of speculative fiction (because it’s both sci-fi and fantasy) I have read.

citadel of the autarch

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