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Has anyone read this, and if so, do you have thoughts? I re-read *A Borrowed Man* before reading *Interlibrary Loan*. I had found *A Borrowed Man* to be very opaque on first readi…
18 Jul 2020, 14:44
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According to http://www.pandorasbox.com/petaja.html (isn't Google wonderful?) the Kalevala-related books are: _Saga of Lost Earths_, _The Star Mill_, _The Stolen Sun_, _Tramontane…
30 Apr 2001, 08:58
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Which play is the Shakespeare reference in? And where in Milton? That's interesting. I've always had a soft spot for Finnish mythology (which I know isn't quite the same as Lapland…
27 Apr 2001, 09:21
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The Angels are "downloading" the Rush recording for purposes of psychotherapy, in fact social psychotherapy. They state this explicitly. The globes have been used to "teach" the an…
27 Apr 2001, 09:04
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(I previously sent this reply to the Whorl list by mistake, apologies to all for that.) Really? Anti-Christian, perhaps, but specifically anti-Catholic? Am I misremembering, but i…
26 Apr 2001, 14:13
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Really? Anti-Christian, perhaps, but specifically anti-Catholic? Am I misremembering, but in this universe, didn't John Calvin become pope? It seems to me Pullman is mostly attacki…
26 Apr 2001, 08:29
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I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, enjoyed the second, and finished the third. That seems to match Mr. Ansley's and Mr. Bishop's experience. (My evaluation of C. S. Lewis's space…
25 Apr 2001, 09:53
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<<From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net> Subject: Yet another Secret theory: we have met the enemy and he is us>> But how does your theory square with "a weapon too heav…
24 Apr 2001, 10:02
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Another idea on the Secret. If all of the inhumi who have human blood were taken on astral trips by Horn/Silk or someone with equal astral travel abilities, and _left there_ as bo…
23 Apr 2001, 14:44
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Hmm, given the conversation with Mora in which Horn basically tells her she's going to be dead sexy when she grows up, in spite of being a big, tough woman, my assumption has been …
23 Apr 2001, 14:32
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If the inhumi reach Blue by astral travel, wouldn't the human-inhumi appear on Blue as humans, as Jahlee does on Urth? However, as a version of the secret that provides an offensi…
20 Apr 2001, 13:08
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Wolfe is kind enough to preserve some ambiguity here. The obvious reading is that their guilds are brother and sister guilds. You may read it otherwise if you choose, but don't thi…
12 Apr 2001, 14:10
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That's what I can happen when I post before my first cup of coffee has kicked in. What I should have said is: "The narrator occupies Silk's body, but the climactic revelation that…
11 Apr 2001, 11:38
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As I think I said before, the godling reminded me of similar closed environment creatures in Varley's Titan trilogy. In both books they are manifestations of the bad temper of a go…
11 Apr 2001, 09:15
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<<From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu> If it weren't for the passage you quote, I would have said there is no Pas in the Narrator. Pig probably has some Pas because he…
03 Apr 2001, 13:46
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Mr. Borski, Maybe I need some gingko biloba too, but where is it stated that Neighbors have two heads? Four arms and four legs like many creatures of Blue, but two heads? Dav…
13 Mar 2001, 08:24
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Wolfe has a habit of introducing a mystery, having Silk/Horn state that he knows the answer, and then not saying what it is. Does anyone here know the answers to: 1) IGJ. Silk/Hor…
09 Mar 2001, 21:45
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<<From: "Patrick O'Leary" <poleary at cecom.com> Pig as Godling: Yes, the reference to "ears" and "claws" is probably the best evidence I've seen. Good fishing! Yet, for me, it still…
27 Feb 2001, 02:13
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Spammers get addresses by extracting email addresses from any available source, including web pages. Since the lists are archived on the web, they are accessible to address miners.…
23 Feb 2001, 12:45
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1) Pig(Passilk) -> monitor -> Silk(Horn)? No. From: "Patrick O'Leary" <poleary at sloth.cecom.com> <<1. Passilk does not infiltrate Silk in Pig's Post-Op scene. Yes, there is a monit…
22 Feb 2001, 09:36
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From: "Robert Borski" <rborski at charter.net> <<If I read you correctly, Patrick, you seem to be denying the possibility of even small godlings in general, whereas Wolfe at least men…
22 Feb 2001, 09:01
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<<From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net> vizcacha may concede on the details, but I'm not about to. >> Which is not to say I agree with Mr. Borski, just that he's right…
15 Feb 2001, 08:36
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I find Jahlee's death very straightforward, if disappointing. Jahlee attacks Nettle because she has always loved Horn, and she will never have him because Horn loves Nettle. Horn k…
14 Feb 2001, 08:49
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In TBotLS, we learn that the plan of Pas is to drive the inhabitants of the Whorl out, so that they may populate Blue and Green. All sorts of methods will be used. In OBW, as I rec…
13 Feb 2001, 22:01
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<<From: dd at adobe.com (David DiGiacomo) The Neighbors of Green sent their slave inhumi to prey on the Neighbors of Blue. Once that source of blood was exhausted, the inhumi turned …
13 Feb 2001, 21:42
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<<From: "Robert Borski" <rborski at charter.net> To Adam Stephanides and vizcacha: are you now still going to argue that Silk has suffered a failure of nerve and cut himself not only …
13 Feb 2001, 21:13
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More evidence of Pig-as-godling: The godling Horn/Silk meets in the beginning is described as having "bestial, pointed ears." (p. 53). Pig shaves and gets his hair cut after (bef…
12 Feb 2001, 21:12
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A few minor notes during a second reading: 1) When Horn and Pig talk about names, Pig's first suggestion for a name for himself is "Cotton." Later, "Ox," "Bull," and "Owl." Finall…
11 Feb 2001, 12:03
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Could the giant be Baldanders? -- Vizcacha, aka Dave Lebling *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.…
30 Dec 2000, 10:17
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Dan'l wrote great wisdom on covers, but... I just recently bought the omnibus Jack Vance _Dying Earth_ trade pb (my Lancer _Dying Earth_ is falling apart, etc.). The cover depict…
09 Dec 2000, 11:54
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Gene Wolfe: He who would pass over the Bridge of Death, answer me these questions three! Reviewer: I will answer! GW: Who was Severian's grandmother? R: Dorcas! GW: Who was Apu P…
07 Dec 2000, 17:10
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Emil Ludwig's biography of Napoleon was published in 1926, and when Weer was 13 he had read it "a year or two ago". So, if that means he was 11 or 12, he could not possibly have b…
20 Nov 2000, 21:02
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Posting from work, so I can't give a page cite, but there is an occasion in _Jungles_ where Horn says something like "no one in my family will ever read this passage," or possibly …
30 Oct 2000, 13:45
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I'd vote for two lists, because in February (?) we will have the whole spoiler thing all over again when _Return to the Whorl_ is published. But of course that assumes all other c…
21 Oct 2000, 13:54
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Has the gang of three looked into the relationship of the Chinese tale to the overall story? It seems to me that that story (sorry, I'm at work, details will be sketchy) provides a…
20 Oct 2000, 08:51
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I agree with Tony here. That was how "And When They Appear" struck me when I first read it. House advises Sherby to get in the freezer with his dead parents: this is not subtlety!…
23 Sep 2000, 11:52
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I finally got the book and the time to read it (had to put aside the new Harry Potter, which has its own attractions as my children have now both read it first and want to talk abo…
29 Jul 2000, 12:04
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Both are artificial constructs (in different senses) propped up by other actors. Both aspire to be something they are not. Jolenta is discarded, Vodalus is discarded (presumably …
09 Jul 2000, 11:53
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The Autarchy and the Ascians are solutions to the same problem. That is, the people of Urth went to the stars, brought war and destruction, and were chastised by the placement of t…
25 May 2000, 20:16
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Never fear. You have the right myth. Tim Powers has also explored this territory, most notably in _On Stranger Tides_, which is about Blackbeard and voodoo and certain interestin…
02 Feb 2000, 08:42
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Could this be a reference to _Terminus Est_? Is Talos saying "If you're going to give him life, why do you have your sword with you?" Another possibility, if he really is referri…
19 Jan 2000, 09:00
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This one at least seems fairly clear. Baldanders' goal is, on more than one occasion, stated to be eternal life. Famulimus and Barbatus have "awesome cosmic power" but very short…
19 Jan 2000, 08:54
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Perhaps the FAQ idea could be moved along by someone (or several someones) posting an actual entry or even (heroically) entries for the said document, in the style which they think…
13 Dec 1999, 15:42
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From: Ron Hale-Evans <rwhe at apocalypse.org> <<I know of two lists of these mysteries. One is in an old Usenet message by Donn Seeley that I have kept and treasured since the early E…
02 Dec 1999, 17:09
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1) What is the Christian take on the fact that in tBotNS, it's apparently hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years in the future, and the Second Coming hasn't happened yet? …
19 Nov 1999, 11:03
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William Ansley suggests: This is by far the best theory, in my opinion. The "Horn" who is the narrator is the body of Silk with the mind of Horn the protagonist. There is almost…
17 Nov 1999, 09:16
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Alex David Groce writes of Borges' influence on Wolfe: <<Borges is also always looming over Wolfe's work ... "Funes the Memorius" and "The Circular Ruins" are obvious ones.>> I'd …
26 Oct 1999, 14:58
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"Greene, Carlton" <CGreene2 at hunton.com> asks: <<Sev says of Juturna: "She saved me once when I was a boy" and then to her "Do you remember that?" Juturna replies "No. It hasn't ye…
25 Oct 1999, 17:20
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alga wrote: <<Yes, indeedy-doody. The four gospeleers of the NT come to mind instantly, writing decades, and dubiously, after the death of their biographee. If you throw Thomas in,…
18 Oct 1999, 09:20
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Length of _Whorl's_ voyage. I recall a remark by Marble, in the scene where she is remembering the mustering of the chems before departure, where she mentions how old she is. I d…
14 Oct 1999, 09:54
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