"Women did not make the world. All of you are torturers...in one way or another." 

It was not at all what I expected, and honestly I want way more of the first 1/3 of this story. Swathed in this dark hopelessness, we have Severian subconsciously inching towards happiness and a brighter path, away from his dystopian, gruesome job and social programming. The last 2/3 of it reminded me of a Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL or some cheap campy pseudo-sci-fi. The more time we spent with Severian, the less I liked him or cared where he ended up.

Now- before I continue, it is WILD to me how close this character is to the recently written Hadrian Marlowe from the Suneater series. Marlowe's logical puffing is ripped straight from this book, the apathetic tone too. Even the very end of this book - the way the narrator (Severian) tells the reader he doesn't blame us if we do not continue listening - is BEAT FOR BEAT what Christopher Ruocchio does at the end of his first 3 Suneater books. Okay. Anyway. Both Severian and Marlowe explicitly make it a point to wear deep black cloaks and both carry a rare sword, although swordsmanship is not the strong suit of either man. Losing my mind actually. 

This is uncomfortably dreamlike and mostly well structured. I think I don't love this because of Severian's character. He is conditioned to be stoic and sociopathic, being a journeyman in this strange, Tim Burton-esque, Neverending Story apocalyptic world's "Torturer's Guild." But that distance is not what put me off him, it's the way he's aggressive and how he physically reacts without awareness towards the three women in this book (all of whom are necessitated to be in love with him?) There are fragments of a coming of age tale, but it's ALL hoisted upon this intentionally stilted, aristocratic, philosophizing dialogue, so again.... more of that nonchalant distance from the reader. For anyone that enjoyed the Books of Babel series by Josiah Bancroft, you may enjoy this 80's piece.