#132 in Science fiction
The Sword of the Lictor
- 302
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel
- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
- August Derleth Award
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Our view
With “The Sword of the Lictor”, Gene Wolfe continues an absorbing science fantasy that leaves much unsaid and trusts the reader to fill the gaps. Some readers say it has almost no plot in the usual sense and still rank it among the best books they know. It is the third volume of “The Book of the New Sun”, following Severian’s journey, and should be read after the two before it.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Sword of the Lictor is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gene Wolfe. First released in 1982, it is the third volume in the four-volume series The Book of the New Sun.
Reading order · The Book of the New Sun
Full order & progress →- The Shadow of the TorturerStart here
7.77.7 / 10 - The Claw of the Conciliator
8.18.1 / 10 - The Sword of the LictorThis book
8.18.1 / 10 - The Citadel of the Autarch
8.08.0 / 10 - The Urth of the New Sun
7.87.8 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 118 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 45% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.8 | 8 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 110 | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Sword of the Lictor?
It has 302 pages — shorter than 81% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.1 and 8.2, closest to this book.
