by Gene Wolfe
First published 1982
Severian arrives at Thrax, the strange city of Windowless Rooms where he must serve his exile. The disgraced torturer has traveled far from his guild in Nessus, cast out for showing mercy to a client. Now he walks the streets of this mountain settlement, learning its customs and taking up his new role as the city's executioner. The dying sun above casts its fading light on Earth's ancient peaks as Severian continues his mysterious journey toward a fate he does not yet understand. In Thrax he encounters new allies and enemies, faces moral choices that test his changing nature, and discovers more about the relic sword he carries. Each step takes him further from the young torturer he once was and closer to something greater. His path winds through the mountains toward a destiny that will transform not just himself but the dying world around him.
Genres: science-fiction, literary-fiction, adventure, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water, redemption-arc
Setting: Thrax, Nessus
Period: Dying Earth
302 pages · Paperback · Timescape Books