The Citadel of the Autarch

I gave the first three volumes of The Book of the New Sun 5 stars. In reality there are large parts of them which confounded me. Perhaps with more careful re-readings I would dock a star or two. Or maybe I'd like them even more, and defy reality to add to a perfect score. 11 out of 10!

Having finished the fourth and final book, I have a perception that there were fewer mysteries in it. The great adventure of Severian speeds up. He is caught up in war, he encounters time travel anomalies, he achieves the destiny he mentioned in the very first chapter of the saga. There are no stories within stories to perplex the reader, but Severian's philosophical speculations are at times lengthy. He muses in detail about the miracles he has performed, wondering whether the relic he carried, or some power within himself was the cause.

But mostly, there is exciting adventure: battles, conflict, weird creatures, wonders to behold n inner and outer space.

While reading this book, I chanced upon an interview with Gene Wolfe, where he said he didn't believe in the distinction between science fiction and fantasy. A unicorn is fantasy now, he mused, but if we genetically alter a horse to grow a horn, it will enter the realm of science. On a personal level, I find this idea unsatisfactory. I contend there IS a distinction between symbols, myths, metaphors on the one hand, and on the other the reality they illuminate. I see the relationship between the genres (Science Fiction versus Fantasy) in the opposite way to Wolfe: to me the strength of science fiction is that its starting point is things technically classed as scientifically feasible. They can take the place of magic and myth, and become symbols and metaphors, but their grounding in scientific possibility adds some spice. Reality matters.

In Gene Wolfe's universe, myth and reality coexist as if they are the same thing. This is an abhorrent idea in the real world as I have observed it, where charlatans, cultists, conspiracy theorists and fascists are doing so much harm. But we are not in the real world right now, we are reading a work of fiction here. If, while reading, I suspend my disbelief and submit to the fictional rules, I give the books 5 stars. If I hold my ground as a skeptic, a rationalist, an atheist I give them zero.

There were moments of doubt for my atheistic self, when I might have undergone a phase change and given "The Citadel of the Autarch" zero stars. But one passage in particular ended that, when Severian experienced a kind of pantheistic revelation. It reminded me of the many experiences I've had on beaches and in forests, feeling a connection to nature and a kind of joy... albeit an atheist's joy without any reference to a deity such as Severian's Pancreator.

"The thorn was a sacred Claw because all thorns were sacred Claws; the sand in my boots was sacred sand because it came from a beach of sacred sand. The cenobites treasured up the relics of the sannyasins because the sannyasins had approached the Pancreator. But everything had approached and even touched the Pancreator, because everything had dropped from his hand. Everything was a relic. All the world was a relic. I drew off my boots, that had traveled with me so far, and threw them into the waves that I might not walk shod on holy ground."

So you can choose. The new sun which Severian is destined to bring can be a science fiction construct: a super-advanced alien civilisation has been mentoring the Urth, and Severian passes their test. Through a sort of wormhole with its exit point at the centre of the dying sun, the benevolent interstellar engineers extend the life of the solar system.

Or you can favour the religious symbolism: Severian is a Christ figure and as a reward for our spiritual worthiness, the sun-God will grant redemption to us through a new resurrection.

Either way, when you walk barefoot on the sand of an unspoiled beach, you will feel the joy and beauty of creation. My personal take is that the joy of the universe is enhanced by its internal consistency, with no need for a supernatural construct to explain it. It's a beautiful world!