![]() It has subtlety that forces the reader to pay attention. But what sets the book apart from standard swords-and-sorcery fare is the richness of its language and the great imagination in its details the difference is like comparing a fine oil painting to a crude computer graphic rendering. The protagonist grows up under the protection of a strange, cloistered society, learns a few things about the outside world, betrays his guardians, and is thrown out to seek his own fortune - familiar fantasy stuff. In terms of plot, The Shadow of the Torturer isn't a complex novel. Fortunately for the squeamish, though torture is part of the story, it's not described in much detail. It's written in a voice reminiscent of 19th century writers like Poe or Dickens, which adds to the melancholy beauty. ![]() Set in a far distant future, when Earth's sun is fading and human society has lost much of its technological aptitude, Wolfe's novel has a haunting, elegiac quality. ![]() The Shadow of the Torturer is such a book. There was a time when the fantasy genre didn't just exist to entertain, but sometimes aspired to a higher level of artfulness. ![]()
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