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tannerbooknaldo's review against another edition
very slow paced, even though the world building was great. i might pick up where i left off eventually.
lucardus's review against another edition
5.0
Zweite Lesung … Hält das Versprechen, dass man bei erneuter Lektüre ein neues Erlebnis hat, bislang Entgangenes aufscheint, Dinge in ihrer zuvor empfundenen Eindeutigkeit dieselbe wieder verlieren. Bei jeder Lektüre ist die Wahrnehmung des Inhalts neu und verändert, so wie der Leser selbst nie mehr der Selbe ist.
toeknee013's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dgil's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
victorio's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is my second reading of the series, about six years removed from the first. I've always heard you have to read it twice to fully understand them. While I do believe that's true in some sense, I also believe maybe remaining a little confused helps add to the enjoyment of these books. As I read them now, there are some "oh I didn't catch that the first time" moments, but also a lot of "oh right, that's just this thing" moments as well. And maybe I've just grown a lot in the past six years, but goddamn is Severian sexist. I remembered this from my first read through but either I didn't realize how frequently it came up or it just didn't bother me as much before (which says more about me than the book, because it's very blatant). It's hard to know if this is a reflection of Wolfe or if he intended to write his character in this way. He's constantly "in love" with every woman he meets and kisses or sleeps with most of them, but he's also an unreliable narrator so maybe he's lying?
Anyway, even having read it before, the prose is very hard to get through and I still don't understand about every 15th word, and there's really no sort of plot to keep you interested, so if you don't like world building and being confused, you might not like this book. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I do like these things. A lot of my favorite parts don't even happen till the next volume, and tbh a lot of my least favorite parts happened in this one (besides the misogyny, there's also a really long play that makes zero sense). I feel like I remember it all being worth it in the end. Increate, please, let it be worth it in the end.
Anyway, even having read it before, the prose is very hard to get through and I still don't understand about every 15th word, and there's really no sort of plot to keep you interested, so if you don't like world building and being confused, you might not like this book. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I do like these things. A lot of my favorite parts don't even happen till the next volume, and tbh a lot of my least favorite parts happened in this one (besides the misogyny, there's also a really long play that makes zero sense). I feel like I remember it all being worth it in the end. Increate, please, let it be worth it in the end.
outcolder's review against another edition
5.0
Genius. [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] called it a masterpiece and who am I to argue with her? Some of the things I liked about it: psychedelia, ambiguous morals, the "magic" always has some kind of bizarre explanation... These books are full of characters who give the (anti-)hero some object or knowledge that will serve him later. There are more figures like that maybe even than adversaries. I loved that... it adds all this mystery, like, what is that thing really, who is that person really... there's a kind of [b:The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare|184419|The Man Who Was Thursday A Nightmare|G.K. Chesterton|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1403181403s/184419.jpg|195447] thing happening too. Awesome. Somewhere near the beginning he meets a blind librarian... after that I was hooked good and proper.
gasket's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nutshell_john's review against another edition
I am not sure exactly why I could not get into this book. For some reason it seems very overwhelming and also underwhelming at the same time. I understand I only got in about 50 pages, but it seemed like I was reading a lot longer. Maybe I will revisit another time but this is the first book I could not really get myself motivated to read and I am usually someone who will complete a book no matter the issue.
foolishmortal23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
latmey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0