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FWIW, my impression of the message of multi-limbs on Blue's creatures is the opposite that some others get. Having four limbs is not a universal ideal or baseline (as our arthropod…
04 May 2009, 12:18
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In following this debate I find myself stepping back a few paces to try to discern a larger pattern. In 5HoC we have Shadow Children who take on the form of what might be called t…
30 Apr 2009, 15:13
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for some reason, Bruinian's comment: reminded me of a new fact I encountered recently. That Abaia is the name for a mythological giant eel has been mentioned numerous times in th…
06 Apr 2009, 15:13
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Well a somewhat fruitful thread, for me at least. Regarding Duko Rigoglio's rant, I too agree that it might describe both the large natural size of Nessus and the Library and the…
05 Apr 2009, 04:31
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The other initial mystery about Seawrack is how she came to have one arm. My first thought (again hearkening back to BotNS themes) is that she was produced asexually, a bud grown …
17 Mar 2009, 04:01
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I was reading the Short Sun and thinking that we are invited to figure out two things when we are first introduced to Seawrack. One is her real name which is supposed to sound som…
14 Mar 2009, 20:54
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As with the end of CotA, the end of UotNS is rather densely packed with explanations. I just noticed a passage I hadn't ever noticed before (perhaps Roy will know if it was discuss…
18 Jul 2008, 03:29
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Roy quotes: Roy writes: We don't know that Madregot runs ONLY from Yesod to Briah. And I think there are implications that being at the brook(s) means you are outside space and t…
17 Jul 2008, 12:29
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If I understand Paul B correctly, he interprets BotNS without any sense of religious allegory. Perhaps Wolfe isn't even trying to address the Problem Of Evil? It is just a cool tal…
11 Jul 2008, 14:01
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One support for Jeff Wilson's idea that Juturna is Severian's sister could be their shared pale white skin. In my view, another would be their bizarre sexual attraction for each o…
09 Jul 2008, 23:09
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I think Severian identifies Inire and the Cumaean as hierodules to B, F and O and gets no argument. Does that count? Jeff Wilson writes: That is SO unromantic! A guy is suppose…
07 Jul 2008, 03:10
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Jeff, you could be right. Perhaps the principle goes so far that there is nothing accidental in the whole of the story of Severian's life. But it seems to me there are unplanned …
02 Jul 2008, 00:35
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Since it came up, I thought I'd list the lines from Dr. Talos' play which make me think the underlying theme is about corruption of the human race through mating with alien, god-…
19 Jun 2008, 13:44
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Duncan says: I believe almost all the vocabulary in this series are "real life words" which have meaning in our world. Yes, the Jungle Hut scene surely took place a few decades …
18 Jun 2008, 14:37
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I'm in the camp which perceives Severian far more guilty of withholding details of his sexuality rather than embellishing them in his story. Heck, it takes him four books of sprin…
07 Jun 2008, 04:47
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In the "Sev the Murderer" thread Dave Tallman notes that Severian is a flawed hero, not a villain as almost everyone would agree. As Thalassocrat points out, almost all humans w…
05 Jun 2008, 16:41
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Dan'l posts: I thought the Katharine maid thread of last month developed a pretty good theory on this which you might have missed?. Roy suggested Catherine was an exultant and…
02 Nov 2006, 18:31
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Regarding Catherine, Roy writes: Apprentices routinely asked older journeymen about their parentage but were told little. If Severian's mother had escaped from the torturers and…
20 Oct 2006, 13:44
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Dan'l writes about Talos: Ah, so you are thinking the Baldanders-Talos relationship mirrors the humanity-Hierogrammate relationship? That's a pretty insightful thought and I don…
07 Sep 2006, 10:45
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Dan'l says: A cane-sword seems like a unique enough item to merit some sort of connection but I don't see it either. Talos acquires his gold headed cane as a "dropsie" after on…
06 Sep 2006, 18:35
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Sorry, this is a terrible post- off topic and redundant on a tired subject. But in a perusal of Wolfe interviews I just found this excerpt from one with Larry McCaffrey in whi…
06 Sep 2006, 12:50
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Maybe that's a poor choice of name for this post since it is pretty hard to draw a family tree for very vaguely described creatures who can reproduce sexually or asexually. I me…
15 Aug 2006, 18:29
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Roy C. Lackey writes: I'm sympathetic to the view that Dorcas really isn't Severian's grandmother. It is only implied by some "ham handed" clues, but never revealed outright. …
13 Aug 2006, 16:26
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Sorry for this flurry of posts, but I can't resist responding right away to Roy's Apheta-Bug (aphid?)post, which made me laugh out loud. Okay, fine, she is larva, she lights lik…
09 Aug 2006, 16:17
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Roy C. Lackey takes me to task for using the abbreviation "Hieros" to refer collectively to the groups named Hierogrammates, their larvae the Hierarchs and their servants, the Hi…
09 Aug 2006, 13:16
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James B. Jordan writes regarding the fallen angel origin of the Nephilim: but isn't the word also derived from the Hebrew for "fallen"? also he writes: The beginning of Genesis …
09 Aug 2006, 11:38
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Continuing to try to interpret the subtext of BotNS in terms of Christianity replacing pagan religions: The flood was meant to purify humanity from contamination while Jesus bro…
06 Aug 2006, 12:48
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I promised Dan'l I'd say why I think Wolfe finds Ushas necessary so this is my best stab at it. I think the answer is found most clearly (hah!) in the play Eschatology (study of…
02 Aug 2006, 12:16
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Tony Ellis writes: Does the same principle apply to the circumstantial evidence for shapeshifters in BotNS? Do they exist on Urth? (no I will NOT mention the Piteous Gate ;-) ) …
31 Jul 2006, 17:53
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As noted in the "more symbols" post I think BotNS has Gnostic characters who seek advancement/salvation through acquisition of arcane knowledge. This is in opposition or competi…
28 Jul 2006, 13:06
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regarding teratoid symbols as radiation warnings Jeff Wilson notes: As I see it, little Thecla and Domnina were admiring themselves in the mirror hallway when Father Inire warns …
28 Jul 2006, 11:41
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Dan'l writes: Using the internet I've been able to explore the lives of some saints. There are a lot of convenient sites available. This one provides a thumbnail sketch of each-…
27 Jul 2006, 12:29
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My bad on initial subject misspelling. Actually I feel priggish and petty for pursuing this thread futher but..well..maybe it is useful. Dan'l quotes from Castle of the Otter: …
26 Jul 2006, 17:13
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In a recent criticism of my Urth before Earth ideas, one anonymous reviewer asserted that Earth must be in the past of Urth because of "the radiation hazard warning signs in the …
25 Jul 2006, 15:22
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Twice in recent posts, Gene Wolfe has been accused of being disingenuous in interviews. Another Lupinology truism? My dictionary calls the word: I see the opposite. In intervi…
25 Jul 2006, 14:45
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Roy writes: Cyriaca, who spent long hours with her special, very knowledgable uncle, forces us to question whether Father Inire is the humble vizier and servant of the autarchs.…
24 Jul 2006, 11:53
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Somewhere I read Wolfe quoted as saying Severian was an (one of many?) aspect of the Outsider. Dan'l thinks: Sounds Buddhist, yes? They reach their Nirvana by escaping the endl…
22 Jul 2006, 17:49
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Dan'l, thanks for the feedback. It is always appreciated, especially when given with insight. I think we are in agreement on these issues except at two points. Dan'l suggests:…
19 Jul 2006, 19:00
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When I first read Shadow of the Torturer back in the 80's, like many I first thought it was set in our past. Later with references to anti-gravity, interstellar travel, polychro…
18 Jul 2006, 16:38
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Has anyone read Peter Wright's Attending Daedalus? The scholarly language makes me fear I miss the point. I think he is saying that BotNS story is really about a political powe…
12 Jun 2006, 14:59
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As a BotNS fanatic I have noticed a complete absence (I think, any exceptions?) of "normal" two parent families in the series. All the child characters have either one or zero pa…
07 Jun 2006, 10:24
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I chanced upon a couple posts from last year about the assassin Severian encounters in the Secret House on flood day. I have a possible (if not very specific) solution to his id…
31 May 2006, 17:09
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Roy, good point. I think this is another example of Wolfe misleading us. And when he misleads us it is always to mask an important fact. In fact, noticing this deception was a b…
31 May 2006, 11:33
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In a previous post I noted some interesting (largely monkey based) connections between Father Inire, Rudesind and Dorcas' husband. I was hoping someone would fill in the blank s…
30 May 2006, 08:17
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Macronaut two great recent posts! (IMHO). You say: I think you missed this part of my post: Which only proves great minds think alike? LOL! sorry. I agree completely regardin…
30 May 2006, 07:23
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When Severian appears in Dr. Talos' play, it is interupted by a tableau which Talos uses to squeeze the audience for money. He calls special attention to certain scenes, telling…
29 May 2006, 19:01
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Robert Borski lists two Rules of Names in his Solar Labyrinth book. The first is a clear and concise way to distinguish Commonwealth humans from others via saintly names. The s…
29 May 2006, 07:32
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Many have thought the Atrium of Time was a place where time stands still, as evidenced by the symbolism of a broken sundial . But in his two trips there, Severian finds differen…
28 May 2006, 13:50
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There is a BotNS problem posed by Severian: How could Hethor get a slug the size of a horse to follow Severian through pampas, towns, mountains and jungles? Robert Borski propo…
28 May 2006, 06:14
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If you find it impossible that 5th Head of Cerberus could be part of the history before BotNS, then you should skip this first paragraph. In this book we see (very hazily) that d…
27 May 2006, 17:24
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