Book of the Week – December 22nd, 2015

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I’m back with an early post, since I know everyone will be busy with family and friends and important things like eating loads of ham this weekend. After last week’s post on The Claw of the Conciliator, we continue with the next in the series, The Sword of the Lictor. And wow, is this one a doozy.

Sword of the Lictor

Where Claw of the Conciliator left off in a seemingly out-of-nowhere event, and bafflingly without any kind of real conclusion, Sword of the Lictor opens after skipping what would normally be the climax of the quest: Severian has already gotten to Thrax and settled in as the new Lictor there, serving the archon by running the prison and performing excruciations and executions. Dorcas is with him, still, and Dr. Talos and Baldanders have long since returned to Lake Diuturna. Continue reading

Book of the Week – December 17th, 2015

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As part of my efforts to remain free from Star Wars spoilers today, I thought I’d get a jump on my Book of the Week post. Last time, I talked about the brilliant Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe, and this week I’ll be delving further into the series with the second installment, The Claw of the Conciliator. This one is going to feature specific plot points; it’s simply unavoidable.

Claw of the Conciliator

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