The Sword of the Lictor

After the events of The Claw of the Conciliator, Severian has finally made it to Thrax and has been acting in his post as a torturer. Thrax is a city carved into the mountains, so we get the sense of the dizzy and deep environment there. It’s not easy to get to, and not easy to leave. Unfortunately, Severian decides to sleep with the Archon’s wife, Cyriaca, and then shows her mercy after he is ordered by the Archon to execute her. This chain of events leads to Severian losing his companion, Dorcas, and him out on a lonely road towards a war in the north.

For what feels like the first time, Severian seems to be truly alone. I missed Jonas during this part of his journey, and some of the other companions. Instead, Severian encounters a series of otherworldly monsters and beings.

The first monster encountered is the Salamander, which reads like a dragon of pure fire energy. It’s clearly something that was summoned onto Urth to hunt Severian. As an entity radiating so much fire and heat, the Salamander burns all in its path and area, and Severian escapes it out of pure luck.

Another is the Alzabo, readers will remember the Alzabo from the second book where Severian consumes an elixir made from the Alzabo and the flesh of Thecla. Now Severian encounters a living Alzabo stalking a rural family’s home posing as their missing father and bringing some element of psychological horror to them. Since the Alzabo has the memories and voice of the father, it’s quite easy for it to trick the family into believing it’s somehow the missing father in actuality or in some other form. This scene definitely sat with me for a while, especially since even Severian is slightly fooled by it, but all the Alzabo wants is to consume flesh. Severian also learns that the Alzabo comes from another world:

“Aren’t you delighted, Severian, that when the animals came to Urth to replace all those our ancestors slew, the alzabo was among them? Without the alzabo, you would have lost your dearest Thecla forever.”

Severian also has to face off with a two-headed ruler from Urth’s distant past, Typhon. The reanimated ancient ruler wishes to recruit Severian and conquer the dying earth. We learn about some of the history of his conquest and of Urth.

There’s another encounter with the giant Baldanders and some alien beings who are likely traveling backwards through time, revealed to be some sort of cosmic architects. Yet another hint that this series is more science fiction than fantasy with elements of time traveling in different directions, humanity or beings in space, evolved humanoids etc.. Along with the story of Typhon and these other beings that Severian continues to encounter, there seems to be some grander story at play behind the scenes that spans an enormous timeline across galaxies and perhaps realities. We know as little as Severian does, but hopefully we learn more in the next book.

If you’re a fan of the first two books of the series, then you’ll love this one. Shadow of the Torturer was an opening with a layer of mist around Severian’s eyes when it came to Urth, the beginning of an odd journey in an unrecognizable world. Claw of the Conciliator opened that world up and increased in pace. Sword of the Lictor pushes it up a notch by bringing a more sinister and uneasy tone to Urth, where it becomes clear Severian is on an Earth with mysteries tied to cosmic entities that have been changing and shaping the world over an extreme length of time, his own story somehow tied to Urth’s destiny.