The Shadow of the Torturer

**The first volume of a masterpiece** – Usula K. Le Guin The Earth is old and the sun is dying. In the great Citadel of the City Imperishable, Severian, apprentice of the torturers’ guild, betrays his oath. Exiled, Severian begins his phantasmagoric odyssey through the dark and perilous world of the deep, distant future. **A spectacular achievement** – The Times **Totally original, new, incomparable: the beginning of something great** – Ursula K. Le Guin Cover illustration: Bruce Pennington