2. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe《新日之书》——杰因.沃尔夫

The Book of the New Sun is a novel written in four parts. It is written in first person by a man named Severian. His profession is torturer and the books chronicle his rise to power as ruler of the world. The world is our world, but set in a distant future where the sun has begun to cool and dim. The books are rare in the fantasy genre in that they have invited serious analysis and literary criticism. The Book of the New Sun starts with a killer premise and more than delivers. I came to the series only recently and count it as one of the greatest reads I have ever had, fantasy or no. It is a more challenging work than most "wizards and knights" fantasy, but oh so worth it.

《新日之书》这部小说分为4个部分。它是书中一个叫赛弗里安的男子以第一人称来写的。他是一个行刑官，书中记述了他成为世界统治者的历程。世界就是我们现实中的世界，但时间设定在遥远的未来，在那个时期太阳已经变得冰冷昏暗。这个系列在魔幻题材的书中十分罕见，曾引发了深入的分析以及文学争议。《新日之书》以杀手背景开始，但并非以此推动情节。我也是最近才开始读这部书的，这可以算得上是我读过的最好的作品之一，不仅限于魔幻作品。这是一部比大多“巫师和骑士”更富挑战性的作品，值得一读。