The Citadel of the Autarch

The Book of the New Sun, Book 4

By: Gene Wolfe

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

The Citadel of the Autarch brings The Book of the New Sun to its harrowing conclusion, as Severian clashes in a final reckoning with the dread Autarch, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that will alter forever the realm known as Urth.Listen to more in the Book of the New Sun series.©1982 Gene Wolfe (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• John W. Campbell Award, Best Novel, 1984

4th time reading this series

One of my favourite titles and my first audiobook. the narrator did an amazing job across all 4 books. Can't wait to hear more of his stuff, fantastic job.

I would recommend this to anyone with a love of sc-fi and fantasy.

Great writing

Good voice performance, different tones made it feel performative. I
Imagine the narrators voice as Severian.

The End of the Tetralogy

So with this book, I have finally finished Gene Wolfe's tetralogy 'The Book of the New Sun'. While I don't think it quite measures up to Tolkien's 'the Lord of the Rings' or Dan Simmons 'Hyperion Cantos', and while I'm not a big fan of science fantasy (mainly due to my huge bias against fantasy), I was still kinda amazed at the sheer amount of what Wolfe pulled off with this novel. He played with the form, with the genre, with almost everything he began with. He explored time, love, relationships, pain and power. For me, 'the Sword of the Lictor' (book 3) almost discouraged me from continuing, but 'the Citadel of the Autarch' (book 4) pulled it all together.

My measuring rod for excellent fantasy literature

The Citadel of the Autarch is a satisfying conclusion to Gene Wolfe???s The Book of the New Sun. (A fifth book, The Urth of the New Sun, is a coda to the original four books.) We???ve known all along that Severian the torturer would be the autarch by the end of his story, but his fascinating journey to the throne is what this saga is all about??? on the surface, at least. What it???s really about, for those who want to see it, is the juxtaposition of future and past, the nature of time and space, perception and reality, religion and science, and the Earth???s and humanity???s need for redemption. All of this is explored in the context of the strange characters, situations, and places that Severian meets on his way. The Book of the New Sun is not an easy read, but it???s what speculative fiction is all about ??? it???s brain-bending, it makes the reader consider and question, it stretches the intellect and opens the mind to new ideas and experiences. In The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe accomplishes all this and does it in a beautiful way. This is my measuring rod for excellent fantasy literature.

For readers who don???t want to be bothered by allegory and symbolism, or don???t want to risk scorching their synapses, there???s still much to admire in The Book of the New Sun, for though it wallows in weirdness, all of it is tied loosely together by Wolfe???s lovely language, detailed world-building, smart ideas, and astounding imagination.

Amazing experience

Wow, what a wonderful and unexpected treat this series was for me. I'm so glad I knew nothing about it going in and that I stayed till the end. This is an open-ended abstract sci-fi fantasy intentionally crafted in such a way to allow the reader to fill in the story on their own as they connect the dots. I definitely would not recommend this series to the average reader as the format is likely going to be over so many people's heads that they will just not connect. However, to the lover of both science fiction and fantasy, to the individuals that have active imaginations that crave intellectual gymnastics, to push out against the unknown, this book is for you, and I recommend this short series wholeheartedly. I did a little research and saw that there are some more books by the author that are related to this series. I will move on to read these after taking a hiatus.

good

interestung twists and great conclusion recommended for anyone on the journey with Severin and Dorkus

Become a Seeker for Truth and Penitence

This is a review of the four volume THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN (TBNS) by Gene Wolfe; which traces the coming of age of Severian, once a member of The Order of the Seekers for Truth and Penitence.

In printed form the earlier works of Gene Wolfe can be quite challenging and this is the quintessential Wolfe novel. The esoteric language employed forces your eyes to slow down and read with great care. So many of the words, while supposedly all authentic English words, are unfamiliar that looking up at least a handful of them is necessary to understand the text. As a result, the reader’s mind has time to explore Severian’s world as the protagonist himself is doing. The printed books are heavy in the hand and the weight of the pages fore and aft serve as constant reminders of what has come before, and what is yet to be.

The most telling observation I can give about the audio book is that it transforms a massive tome into a much more personal narrative. As an audio book TBNS takes on a less intimidating, much more intimate and even more friendly character. The inexorable pacing of the narrator, Jonathan Davis, does not permit pauses for reflection, or speculation, the story plows on, without pausing to try to pronounce a word, without going back to regain the flow of the plot after a difficult flashback. And it is just fine.

Jonathan Davis is a most excellent narrator for TBNS. His voice has a deep calming quality that is well suited to recounting Severian’s story. He gives each character their own individual voice. He gives a fine performance ranking this among my favorite audio books. I can recommend all four of the volumes of TBNS here on Audible without reservation.

Note: The short afterwards that are part of each of the four volumes are not included in the audio versions. They should be read to get the full effect intended by the author Gene

The strange trip concludes

This is the last part of the Book of the New Sun tetralogy, which is acclaimed as one of the most intelligent, imaginative, beautifully-written works in fantasy. And, certainly, it is. Wolfe's richly rendered distant future setting of Urth is like nothing else out there and the novels thrum with wonder, gorgeous imagery, and philosophical contemplation. There are interesting characters, strange beings, and fantastic places. There are moments of terror, humor, awe, and sadness. There are multiple layers and puzzles whose illumination reaches from the final chapters back to small moments in Shadow of the Torturer.

The tetralogy is also known as one of the most oblique, self-referential, meandering, WTF works in the genre, and that’s certainly true as well. Revelations about the mutability of time and being cast things that happened in previous books in a new light, which isn’t surprising given that Severian’s interpretation of events never seemed totally reliable. At the end, it *appears* that Wolfe has left some significant questions unanswered, but Severian insists that everything we need to know is in the text he’s written so far. People on the internet (including one guy who apparently did his thesis on these books) have said that rereading the cycle provides more insight, that passages that didn’t seem particularly important the first time take on new significance. With a lot still fresh in my memory, that seems credible enough -- maybe in a few years, I’ll see what emerges for me from a second pass.

Yet, not fully getting a work doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. Taken on a scene-by-scene level, Citadel is as imaginative, thought-provoking, and moving as the rest of the Cycle. Severian at last finds himself at the front of the war with the Ascians, which was a vague background detail in the previous three books. The nightmarishly fascinating engagements with massive formations of mind-warped enemy troops, who speak in stock phrases reminiscent of Orwell’s newspeak, are a high point of Wolfe’s already impressive imagination and storytelling. I also enjoyed his resurrection of the soldier Miles, which proceeds in a somewhat comical way, and the storytelling competition between patients in a camp hospital, which seems to be sly meta-commentary from Wolfe on what the purpose of stories really is (an Ascian even has an entry).

And Wolfe does answer a number of questions directly. We learn who the autarch really is, and how Severian ends up becoming the autarch himself. Mysteries concerning Dorcas, Thecla, the goals of the aliens, and apparitions that had appeared to Severian get resolved, or at least illuminated enough for readers to draw their own conclusions.

If you search the internet, it becomes apparent that intelligent people hold widely varying opinions on Wolfe’s masterwork. Make no mistake, it is difficult and dense compared to most SF and fantasy, with multiple layers and allusions contained in its dreamlike world. Yet, if you feel up for the challenge, this is a work that pushes the envelope of what speculative fiction can be. I strongly recommend treating all four as one large book and taking them on in a single pass. Finally, I loved the audiobook treatment -- the cool, attentive reading of Jonathan Davis, a talent in his own right, was perfect for Wolfe’s precise, crafted prose.

outstanding

One of the greatest stories ever told. please read the Book of the New Sun.

Finale of an amazing series

What did you love best about The Citadel of the Autarch?

This is deep literature clothed in dark Sci-Fi robes. In this, the final book in the series, we see our protagonist complete his transformation from Torturer to something more. Yet, we also get the sense that our narrator is unreliable. The careful reader/listener will see that Severian is editing history as he recounts it, but the fact that he cares about his actions and how the reader might perceive them now demonstrates the changes taking place. Wolfe concludes his beautiful story with striking imagery and subtle allusion.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Severian, the protagonist and narrator.

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Davis is a magnificent actor who brings a full range of characters and portrays Severian beautifully. His careful acting reveals nuances which I missed when I read the book.