Shadow & Claw: The First Half of 'The Book of the New Sun' (New Sun)

Comprised of two novels, this is the first half of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, an opus which is often trotted out as evidence that science fiction can be just as rewarding as literature. It's true: these books are as compelling as non-genre fiction in large part because of Wolfe's allusiveness—he's clearly well read—and his ability to skillfully employ the whole bag of writerly tricks, most prominently narrative misdirection that keeps the reader guessing. And as we guess, we are swept along. (And by the way, isn't about time that science fiction readers removed the chips so many of them seem to have on their shoulders? We know that though most science fiction, like most of anything else, is crap, but we also know that it can be art.) I was moved to read this after stumbling across a blog post by the estimable Waggish: http://www.waggish.org/2007/11/23/gene-wolfe-the-book-of-the-new-sun. Waggish is less than enthusiastic about Wolfe, but still, his questioning of Wolfe's books made them sound interesting enough that they seemed worth a read, and they are. I will certainly go on to finish the series just as soon as Amazon airlifts the final two volumes across the Pacific.