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Well, for what it's worth, Dan'l and James seem to me to have pretty unusual reactions to LB. My experience with the novel is that when I introduce it to someone, they either say:…
29 Jul 2003, 04:19
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I'll second the recommendations for _Lolita_, which is a fine book. My personal favorite Nabokov novel, however, is _Pnin_. It is not the tour de force that _Pale Fire_ is, but ha…
16 Apr 2003, 21:20
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If I recall, Vidal's "Visit to a Small Planet" isn't quite the play that's in the story. I think "Mary Rose" on the other hand, doesn't seem changed. Can anyone confirm my memory…
11 Apr 2003, 06:30
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True, but from his fiction it seems unlikely that Wolfe has the same relationship to the Catholic Church that most people have to their employers. Wolfe clearly does think about D…
21 Jan 2003, 00:31
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I read Wolfe & Gaiman's _Walking Tour of the Shambles_ last night. I'd say it's fairly entertaining, and worth picking up for completists, but reminds that neither one of these fel…
17 Jun 2002, 16:20
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It's "You Can't Go Back" in _Iron Tears_. One of Lafferty's better stories, which is saying a lot. While the intention was, I'm sure, all to the good, I think "Junie Moon"'s main…
17 Jun 2002, 16:09
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Allow me to weigh in on the "likes SS" side, but with the caveat that while my visceral reaction is favorable, and many passages I love deeply, most of the criticisms people have a…
29 May 2002, 17:11
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Another random minor 5HC tidbit: The man in black who arrests V.R.T. being from (at least for the moment) The Department of Public Works, Subdepartment of Sewers and Drains could …
18 Apr 2002, 05:22
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So to what extent are the Proust and Coleridge "encapsulations" in the 5HC novella _essential_ to the theme, and to what extent does Wolfe do this kind of thing just because he can…
17 Apr 2002, 20:40
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mantis said: Agreed. Three cheers (or little creepy stars) for Borski. Going back to alga's comment on the cruelty of 5HC, I think part of what amazes me about the book is that …
17 Apr 2002, 18:26
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I've finally managed (I think) to get back onto the list after some struggles due to CMU's bizarre email setup. I've semi-read the archives for my time away. I'm actually rereadi…
16 Apr 2002, 19:24
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Adam nicely summed up what was right and wrong with AI and said: This is one point I have to disagree with; it doesn't make complete sense, but the Flesh Fairs seem much more pla…
27 Aug 2001, 12:43
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I'm just quoting this, but the whole detective discussion is interesting. I agree that Wolfe's "baptized" detective fiction derives from Chesterton (_Nightside_ being practically …
22 Aug 2001, 13:13
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Hmmm.. Wolfe's taste in Nero Wolfe sounds a lot like mine. I don't think I've read BEFORE MIDNIGHT or TOO MANY WOMEN, though. I started a writeup on Wolfe & genre mystery (comme…
15 Aug 2001, 19:22
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Dan'l said: I fail to see why they are silly; considering them to be science-fiction rather than fantasy strikes me as odd, but that's another story. The examples I came up with …
02 Aug 2001, 13:55
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Well, I haven't yet read TGC, but this is pretty common in alternate history fantasy. Canonical examples of worlds that would _really_ involve a lot less common names and history …
01 Aug 2001, 20:30
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mantis said: Hmmm... You might want to give it another try--it's been five years now, but I recall my interest rising considerably at some point after the fire. _Titus Groan_ ha…
28 Jun 2001, 13:08
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Patrick O'Leary said: Who, I wonder, is Syd Barrett here?…
22 Jun 2001, 13:16
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I don't know if this is the same one, but one of the "Necronomicons" was partly the product of occasional list contributor Dave Langford. Perhaps he knows more about the spurious h…
15 Jun 2001, 16:33
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Blish was Catholic? Somehow I'd gotten the impression he was, at some point, an atheist and at another point (I forget the ordering) an Anglican, and that heresies and theology we…
11 Jun 2001, 13:39
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I assume that's just Wolfe's way of saying "he's a in a very weird cognate of our reality."…
07 May 2001, 12:37
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Are there more than a handful of Wolfe stories this short* that _aren't_ weird little throwaways? I didn't find this one particularly obnoxious, other than that ultra-irritating "…
04 May 2001, 11:27
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Hey, how hard should I try to track down "Try and Kill It." Nov. 96 Asimov's, someone recently compared this to "The Ziggurat*" and claimed it was Wolfe in Faulkner territory in c…
27 Apr 2001, 16:42
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Not that this isn't purely a tangent, but actually in Luke 1 the angel announces things to come to Mary before she is pregnant, and Mary says "May it be to me as you have said." S…
18 Apr 2001, 13:56
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Well, I haven't got much to say on this other than to direct your attention to: http://world.std.com/~pduggan/wolfeint.html I'll add that I agree with Wolfe about THE DISPOSSESSE…
10 Apr 2001, 01:44
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A quick google for "ignoramus and agnostic" confirms that George is almost certainly right.…
15 Mar 2001, 12:59
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Several points here. It's not really my theory that Neighbor is their language. I am unconvinced that the "how to communicate with..." is about teaching a language at all. I'm t…
13 Mar 2001, 14:28
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Robert said: OK, you (sort of) have us here. Kevin & I were thinking of Piaton's head being the graft-on, but of course it's the other way around (otherwise Typhon doesn't get a …
13 Mar 2001, 03:05
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<snipping Robert's Pas-as-neighbor arguments> Fine and well, but you still haven't dealt with the fact that when Severian meets Typhon in SWORD, Typhon doesn't remotely resemble a…
12 Mar 2001, 14:20
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Well, it leaves a lot to be desired as an explanation (since Hoof's section is so different) but even though these kids haven't had a strong literary education, Hoof and Hide were …
07 Mar 2001, 21:11
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<defense of the 3rd person sections of RttW snipped> Very nice, mantis. Ok, I'll bite. It's been a while since I read ENGINE SUMMER, but I'm about to reread it again. Which s…
01 Mar 2001, 22:44
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Blattid said: I'd say Wolfe was pretty instrumental in my conversion (raised Southern Baptist) as well. Wolfe introduced me to Chesterton, and then I began to say "you know, thes…
27 Feb 2001, 15:10
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Sounds good. I don't see really where quaternity comes in here, though unless we're, as I don't think Robert is. taking Wolfe to be writing hard-nosed allegory. Robert's notion i…
27 Feb 2001, 00:23
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Blattid spoke: Ah, I was replying to the "explicitly Catholic" part, which wasn't true when I joined the list, but is now. Of the "off the list" Wolfe fans I know, three are Cath…
26 Feb 2001, 17:33
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Blattid: I am, and as a fairly recent convert should probably be expected to be obnoxious about it or something... Although, unless I missed something (which seems fairly certain…
26 Feb 2001, 15:02
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Nutria said: in response to vizchaza: I agree, but not completely. Severian contains multitudes, but I at least don't think that we can say "Severian is Thecla" in quite the sam…
22 Feb 2001, 17:59
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Long ago, I said: Yup. Twice. Maybe. Rather, Silk is the means by which the ghost of Horn returns to Blue to say goodbye. mantis raised the issue of why at some point Silk i…
19 Feb 2001, 12:58
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The proposition: Typhon is originally from Blue/Green (is a Neighbor, I suppose). Pros: (1) Gives a reason for his sending the Whorl to Blue/Green. (2) Explains Mother/Scylla re…
19 Feb 2001, 12:47
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I don't think SS is fantasy. Or at least, I suspect it's not meant to be read that way. The reason it is problematic is that the narrator makes use of abilities that are as stran…
19 Feb 2001, 01:57
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Nutria said: I agree with you that Oreb all along has strong aspects as a Holy Spirit figure. Given this, what do you think the significance of Oreb's possession by Scylla is? T…
18 Feb 2001, 14:27
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<snipped> Nice post, mantis. Note that there is also Nutria's reading: Horn isn't delusional, but his family & Remora (our editors) are. I find the most convincing reading to be…
17 Feb 2001, 21:17
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Well one thing that is important to keep in mind is that the events up to the transfer from Green at Horn's death are actions carried out by _Horn_, recollected by Silk/Horn. Silk…
14 Feb 2001, 13:27
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Adam wrote: (much snipped) Which is what I sort of believe. I'm also beginning to wonder if Silk (and the inhumi) thinking the secret is so important is a self-delusion and atte…
13 Feb 2001, 16:26
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Indeed. Silk the suicide I can buy, but not Silk the clumsy, vandalistic, self-mutilating suicide. I'm not convinced yet of Pig as assassin, but I think _someone_ must have attac…
13 Feb 2001, 00:14
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1) I'm unconvinced that Silk was actually attempting suicide in the manse, in any sense other than not binding his wounds and hoping that he would die. I'm still not sure how he w…
12 Feb 2001, 13:02
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Clearly I need to reread it all again. Whether "it all" means back to SHADOW or starting at OBW, I'm not sure yet. I reread Long Sun this summer, so its fairly fresh, but it will…
08 Feb 2001, 18:41
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I think the very first thing I should do is eat crow (or, perhaps night chough) for having pooh-poohed the whole Scylla is in Oreb thing.…
05 Feb 2001, 13:11
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Rostrum said: Even limiting things to OBW and IGJ, I disagree. To name an instance that comes to mind immediately, without moving to the bookshelf, what about the last few lines …
31 Jan 2001, 14:52
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Wombat said: Yes. I didn't like Clute's review of OBW, but this is a fine review (although it might say too much to someone who hasn't finished RttW), with some nice insights. I…
31 Jan 2001, 00:44
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Hmmm... Tiredness is forcing me to bed. I think it's interesting to note that Horn is quite literally playing the "detective of dreams" quite a bit so far, as of page 107. Last …
25 Jan 2001, 02:55
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