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Okay, I don't have a copy of the Lex, so I don't know what it says there ... but ... "longfather" is simply an antique word for a male ancestor distant enough that you can't (or do…
19 Nov 2002, 17:22
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Roy quoting me: Per se I do not think it would represent a problem (though I suspect that if it was the wooden leg that was woefully wounded the Claw would either fail or make it …
18 Nov 2002, 20:29
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Actually, since first reading that scene, I've always envisioned the leatherskin as some kind of lobster ... possibly one with a slightly softer shell, possibly one that has molted…
18 Nov 2002, 20:24
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Yep. I sit corrected.…
18 Nov 2002, 19:58
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Yes, I recall that also ... but this does not automatically imply that the Old Sun has just started to die in his time. As I said, I had the impression it had been going on rather…
18 Nov 2002, 19:29
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There are more posts in Roy C. Lackey's posts than are dremt of in your philosophy: I seem to recall some discussion of this in the past ... but ... it seems to me that the commo…
18 Nov 2002, 18:07
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Scribble, scribble, scribble ... another great thick post, eh Mr. Lackey? This puzzles me. I have wondered for some time just why many of the participants on this list assume that…
18 Nov 2002, 18:02
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Don Dogget, agent of SMERSH, emerged from an alley and dropped the microfilm. When deciphered, it read: [...] Actually, I think this slightly reverses the usual understanding of …
18 Nov 2002, 17:59
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If I expressed myself in a cruel manner, I apologize. I did not intend it. I may seek truth and clarity, but not penance (except in myself). Gaaah. No. It seems rather thirsty, b…
15 Nov 2002, 16:20
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Dan Rabin responds to moi: By Jove, you're right. Sloppy, Dan'l, sloppy.…
13 Nov 2002, 16:57
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Dan (Doggett): You wrote, I do not feel certain what, precisely, you consider my "primary contention," but as you do not (to me) appear to address (what I consider) my "primary…
13 Nov 2002, 16:55
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Marc writes: Well, with the exception of the parenthetical "with the help of the trees," that seems very likely at this point.…
12 Nov 2002, 19:57
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Don: First, let me second Roy C's words of welcome and express pleasure in reading your interesting and articulate first posts. OK; here's my primary point of contention. I do n…
12 Nov 2002, 18:11
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Well, yeah ... and I think we can also take it that Mr Wolfe's reasons for Pas being two-headed might be quite different from Typhon's reasons for making Pas two-headed ... that …
08 Nov 2002, 22:32
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There is nothing in the books which seems to me to suggest that the appearance of the Gods of Mainframe is necessarily based upon the appearance of the bodies in which they resode…
08 Nov 2002, 18:14
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If he had, you'd think there would have been just the one religion, instead of the "Vironese Faith," the Islam-like faith of the -- oh, darn, I'm blanking on the city's name -- t…
08 Nov 2002, 00:55
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Okay, I assume everyone is agreed that Typhon, in SWORD, is a Satan image in much the same way & extent that Severian is a Christ(ian) image, right? I mean, he goes through the who…
07 Nov 2002, 20:56
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Actually, a close reading of the Hebrew scriptures shows that from end to end, Law, Prophets, and Writings ("TaNaK") promise blessings for "doing the right thing," from caring for …
04 Nov 2002, 18:35
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Nutria, It's good to hear your comments, and to the very large extent that we seem to be in agreement I take this as a point in favor of what I've been saying -- not merely becau…
04 Nov 2002, 18:22
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Roy quoted Mantis ... ... and wrote ... Pedantically I riposte: Time travel of the variety Mantis describes occurs in at least one mainstream novel, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, which…
30 Oct 2002, 17:17
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Two points in support of the estimable Ansley's prescribed prounciation: a) "Wabe" needs to rhyme with "outgrabe," whose origin (if it can be called that - past tense of "to outg…
30 Oct 2002, 17:14
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Adam and Tom exchanging ... For clarity: The "Gnostic model" of the Long Sun books is this: In Wolfe's "major" works, he presents settings in an orthodox Catholic universe in wh…
29 Oct 2002, 17:36
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If this is getting too far off topic, someone please yell at me. I think it retains relevance as a discussion of what, as a Catholic, Wolfe's views of certain issues might be. To…
28 Oct 2002, 21:33
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This one is one of the best (and most attractive) presentations of gnostic ideas that I -- speaking, of course, from a non-gnostic and pretty much ignorant point of view -- have…
28 Oct 2002, 19:11
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Josh Geller writes: My apologies; since so many people (including some on this list) speak of Christianity as if all Christians thought and believed alike, I should know better. I…
28 Oct 2002, 17:47
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A few fussy points for philosophical clarity. Actually, one common meaning, and _the_ basic philosophical meaning, of "pessimism" is very much in line with Gnostic doctrine; see…
28 Oct 2002, 17:19
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Even better, I think, would be the various collection of his late letters and notebooks which have been published. Probably the most relevant among the rather overwhelming Dickiana…
28 Oct 2002, 17:09
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The description of the sacrificial rite is very remniscent of what is known of the rites of sacrifice in the temple at Jerusalem, including the business about splashing the blood …
23 Oct 2002, 19:22
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And hartshorn responded: I see your point, and even agree with it -- there is a certain feel to the Whorldly pantheon that does remind one of (especially) the Greek gods; and na…
23 Oct 2002, 16:00
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Yes ... his preaching to animals (and birds in particular) should make that clear. He's also part Father Brown, I think. ...yes, particularly given the other observations in your…
23 Oct 2002, 15:38
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You know, the whole business about "why Napoleon kept his hand in his vest," according to _any_ biography, is a huge red herring ... he did not (as far as I can tell) habitually go…
15 Oct 2002, 20:09
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Welcome, Daniel Goss. You wrote (among other interesting things): Oh, I don't know ... you've got some good points here. (You quoted Roy): Bounce that against the idea that "de…
09 Oct 2002, 15:46
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Roy C. comments: I can only observe that this is a very Judeo-Christian-centric view of the problem. Believe me, the same ethical questions are asked in the Far East.…
07 Oct 2002, 18:28
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Actually, you really don't, but if you really want to, ... h'mmm. Check out the mythology section of a good children's library, there are always good books of Gods And Heroes there…
07 Oct 2002, 15:54
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Thank you ... In this context it might be worth considering the attitudes of that other great Catholic fantastist, J.R.R. Tolkien, on the subject; in THE SILMARILLION, ... oh, d…
07 Oct 2002, 15:53
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Off topic, but not totally; it goes to the purgatorial interpretation of PEACE... Nor do I want for a moment to get into any such theological conflict. And I certainly don't want…
07 Oct 2002, 15:43
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Roy C. wrote ... The usual method is called "repentance." Has nothing to do with the case -- the whole point (well, _a_ major point) of Christianity in general, and Catholicism i…
04 Oct 2002, 20:40
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Things are arriving at my machine in weird, random order. As do I, regarding incest. And so what? Consider Oedipus. Incest appears to be so vile that even unknown, it pollutes th…
17 Sep 2002, 21:07
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While acknowledging Nutria's correction to "Christian moral exemplar," I wish to observe that it wasn't really necessary. Wolfe does not, in my opinion, involve any protagonist i…
13 Sep 2002, 16:02
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H'mmm. An interesting, if questionable ... what would it be? Pneumatological? ... point of view ... where "questionable" is not intended as a pejorative term, since an SF writer …
09 Sep 2002, 20:20
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Hartshorn wrote ... ...okay, I'm blanking. The only robots I remember from Smith are the Manshonyaggers, which I somehow can't really think of as "moral." What am I forgetting ..…
09 Sep 2002, 16:58
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Not if you reverse the polarity on the neutrino flow. Yours for better technobabble,…
09 Sep 2002, 16:00
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Okay, then, we're agreed on this pernt: in the Lupiiverse of discourse, chems experience emotions reasonably comparable to those experienced by humans. Now, assuming (and I thin…
06 Sep 2002, 22:12
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Roy, on chem "glands": Because the designers' goals are not what you assume they are -- they are attempting to build "chemical persons," the term actually used in the text which …
05 Sep 2002, 17:59
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According to http://web2.iadfw.net/tharvia/charts/worldcons.gif, there have been two Worldcons held in Atlanta. One of them was in 1986 and so fits pretty well with what you've des…
03 Sep 2002, 19:41
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Now, this is an interesting statement. Roy, you seem to be stating that behavior influenced by hormones is thereby less mechanistic, or something? I wonder if that's a trap Wolfe d…
03 Sep 2002, 18:07
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For those who haven't checked out Crush's Long Sun page (http://www.visualclick.com/~jwynn/GeneWolfe/LongSun/), I think it ought to be required reading for Long Sun discussion. I …
27 Aug 2002, 22:35
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Or (given the partial content of the interview you pointed out -- thank you!) something very clever on the part of Wolfe's unconscious or subconscious or whatever it is that does…
27 Aug 2002, 19:02
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Which was in fact my point ... This is just a goof, really, but it's a stfnal idea that I've played with many time and never come up with a good storyline for ... I've often had …
26 Aug 2002, 18:23
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Good heavens ... Stone Ox has brought up a marvellous correspondence, and then missed something that ... well, I guess it isn't obvious because I never saw it before either, but …
26 Aug 2002, 16:27
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