I love Gene Wolfe's books and particularly the New Urth series, but they are very hard work. Most authors do a lot of work to make it easy for you, with handy bits of back story and exposition that Wolfe not only skips, but seems to despise. However, the rewards for working through the books are high, I am not a mystery book fan but I imagine the feeling I get when I finally figure out a section of the plot is very similar to what mystery fans feel when they solve the murder. I can't tell you what it is that makes me enjoy reading Wolfe's books where I have no patience for other difficult writers, I think it is his brilliant use of mood and the tantalizing feeling that I almost have the answers. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of the series, I rate the New Sun books very highly there are not many books I come back to again and again.
Re: The Shadow of the Torturer - Gene Wolfe
I love Gene Wolfe's books and particularly the New Urth series, but they are very hard work. Most authors do a lot of work to make it easy for you, with handy bits of back story and exposition that Wolfe not only skips, but seems to despise. However, the rewards for working through the books are high, I am not a mystery book fan but I imagine the feeling I get when I finally figure out a section of the plot is very similar to what mystery fans feel when they solve the murder. I can't tell you what it is that makes me enjoy reading Wolfe's books where I have no patience for other difficult writers, I think it is his brilliant use of mood and the tantalizing feeling that I almost have the answers. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of the series, I rate the New Sun books very highly there are not many books I come back to again and again.