Eric S. (Shooter) reviewed on 8/18/2009

Helpful Score: 2

Started out wonderfully dark and mysterious, but by the end of the 1st half I was hoping the plot might move more quickly or offer some larger insights. The 2nd half (the 2nd book, actually) I found to be quite plodding and I ended up skipping through much of it. It's true that the writing is excellent and the story unique. However, I for one thought that some of the plot devices (the traveling troupe of actors, for example) were a bit cliched, and I was wishing that the last 2/3 of the volume were as good as the first 1/3 seemed to be. I also had a hard time seeing the supporting characters as more than 2-dimensional. Severian seems to be the only character with true depth. I do recommend this... but just know that sometimes even classic novels can be hard to finish.

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