Notes on 'The Citadel of the Autarch' (1983) by Gene Wolfe (1931-2019)
Gene Wolfe is generally considered one of the greatest sf writers of all time, and with a huge online fanbase devoted to discussing his esoteric texts, it is difficult to underestimate his influence on the sf canon since 1980. His Book of the New Sun (1980-87) series – essentially a single work – is a genre-bending masterpiece of estrangement that deconstructs assumptions of narrative closure. Wolfe’s work strikes a fine balance between fantasy and science fiction, a format that underpins not only the work’s major spiritual and materialist themes, but also its method of estrangement. The fourth book in the series, The Citadel of the Autarch (1983) won the Campbell Memorial award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1984).