The Claw of the Conciliator

Summary

Gene Wolfe continues the journey of Severian, an exiled torturer wandering a far future Earth called Urth where the sun has dimmed and ancient technology reads as magic. Severian carries a relic of mysterious power as the dense, allusive narrative folds memory, myth, and unreliable testimony into one another. This second volume of The Book of the New Sun is prized for its rich vocabulary, layered symbolism, and demanding literary ambition.