The Sword of the Lictor

The Book of the New Sun, Book 3

By: Gene Wolfe

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

The Sword of the Lictor is the third volume in Wolfe's remarkable epic, chronicling the odyssey of the wandering pilgrim called Severian, driven by a powerful and unfathomable destiny, as he carries out a dark mission far from his home.

Listen to more in the Book of the New Sun series.©1982 Gene Wolfe (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Absolutely insane ride!

This book is much better than the previous two. So many amazing revelations, world building, and terrifying encounters. The characters are all super interesting as well.

Great creepy sci fantasy book

Fills in all the hole's from the first 2 in the series . starts out slow but ends up great.

Severian's bizarre adventure

if you listen to the first one you'll listen to this one.
it's nuts though

Glad it exists

I'm re-reading this for maybe the eighth time, but first time by audiobook. Every few years I cycle back through the Book of the New Sun and the Book of the Long Sun--just brilliant, nothing like them. The writing is phenomenal. The narration here is pretty tone deaf; often it's clear that Mr. Davis didn't understand the meaning of a sentence he's reading and put the emphasis in the wrong place. Or he didn't know a word, like "theodicy," and mispronounces it, so you might think it's a Wolfeism or archaic term you didn't know, if you didn't have the text to refer to. Even so, the narration here is about one thousand times better than the audiobook for The Knight and The Wizard. Glad I'm able to listen to this during my commute, since I don't have as much time to read now.

Best plotless book ever.

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! 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... 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.