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I don't read the temptation paragraphs that way. "What if my father decided not to go to Cuba to run the casino? What if he did not enroll me in the monastery school because of som…
03 Dec 2008, 16:22
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The more I check out Burt, the more bogus he looks. Here's more... Burt's story of being a midshipman on half-pay (p. 55) is a lie. Midshipmen were in training to be officers, but…
02 Dec 2008, 22:42
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I just found another reference that helps clinch the case for Captain Burt's "Dago" anachronism, and ties him directly to Lesage. Asuka calls Chris a "rital" and he says "I suppos…
02 Dec 2008, 20:27
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1. Captain Burt is marked as a time traveler by his anachronistic use of the racial slur "Dago" (p. 39). According to the Online Etymology Dictionary <http://www.etymonline.c…
02 Dec 2008, 17:38
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Thank you for the date corrections. There's still enough of a gap between 1680 and 1725 that Wolfe may have intended a clue, but it's not as clear as I first thought. ...his belie…
01 Dec 2008, 21:28
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01 Dec 2008, 20:47
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Oops -- sorry about multiple sends of the same message. My mailer was malfunctioning and it looked like nothing was getting through, so I tried multiple times.…
01 Dec 2008, 16:47
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I recently posted a theory here that Chris/Ignacio murdered Valentin and helped Lesage set up Captain Burt for betrayal. I now think the truth is more complicated than that. Chris …
01 Dec 2008, 16:43
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I previously posted a theory that Chris/Ignacio had killed Valentin and set Captain Burt up for betrayal by Lesage. I now think that idea was mistaken. Chris says confessions that…
01 Dec 2008, 16:24
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I suppose you're referring to Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," though I think he's doing something like he did in "Watchmen" -- a deconstruction of the world of heroi…
29 Nov 2008, 13:05
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Wolfe may have drawn some ideas from Tertullian, but he surely wouldn't consider him to be the last word on Christian morality. A couple of centuries later St. Augustine wrote on…
22 Nov 2008, 18:19
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There is Christianity in Wolfe's future world. Cassie encounters it through Margaret (especially in her song "Walk in the Reign") and in her role as Mariah Brownlea. Her star-pow…
20 Nov 2008, 12:51
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Son of Witz wrote: It's not my theory, it's Borski's, from Solar Labyrinth, and the text seems to support it. He's talking about before his unmanning. The text says she was born i…
19 Nov 2008, 11:38
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There is direct evidence that Norma is Bill's ex -- she comes right out and says it: "I used to be married to the volcano god. Did you know?" (p. 176). Cassie misunderstands and a…
13 Nov 2008, 16:02
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Indeed. Things didn't work out quite as well as the Vironese hoped in the case of Silk, however: 1) People expected miracles and the favor of the gods when Silk himself had lost…
05 Nov 2008, 11:57
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Given that Wolfe is a Christian I doubt very much that he would write a work consistent with such a nihilistic Lovecraftian premise. But other writers, such as August Derleth (al…
03 Nov 2008, 20:55
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I haven't read that and it looks like it will be hard to find around here. The only online summary I found was here: http://www.mulle-kybernetik.com/RAL/MT/shortstories.html: Off…
31 Oct 2008, 16:03
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AEG is packed with Christian symbolism. There's a lot of the Book of Romans in here. Notice the two bracelets Cassie receives from Reis. The gold one is heavy, barbaric, and dea…
30 Oct 2008, 12:22
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Gid cannot be too powerful. A time-traveler with the ability to freely change the past would not allow himself to be shot and lose a leg, for example. I don't think he can consciou…
28 Oct 2008, 15:07
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If the birth announcement message was treated like Cassie's ethermail (sent in order to avoid time complications) then it's possible that there was no child at all and that Gid i…
28 Oct 2008, 12:01
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I'd like to expand on this theory, which I think may be a key to the book. When Cassie asks to drive Gid's hopper, she says "I want to be -- I want to matter. I want to be somebody…
27 Oct 2008, 16:21
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I think Gid still loved her even after the loss of her mojo, but she might not love him, at least not enough to turn from her grief over Bill. The Pygmalion reference on p. 81 su…
27 Oct 2008, 12:06
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That's plausible, but Silk does run into a genuine Long-Sun blackout in the next section of their narrative, so Matthew's narrative compression idea may be right. It could also b…
27 Oct 2008, 11:22
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Margaret is probably a werewolf and a spy (I'll post all my reasons in another entry) but I doubt she has extensive magical powers. She does know enough about hotel security that…
25 Oct 2008, 17:27
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I suppose most of these things could have natural explanations if we really pushed it. The apartment building could have a bizarre numbering scheme such that apartment 301 is on …
25 Oct 2008, 12:06
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I think you've nailed it with this reference. I took a quick look at the online html version of this book: http://craphound.com/someone/Cory_Doctorow_-_Someone_Comes_to_Town_Someon…
20 Oct 2008, 17:39
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Great observation about the time zone. Of course Cassie wouldn't start to get up early when she is pampered royalty -- she'd sleep later, if anything. Possible explanations: 1) …
20 Oct 2008, 00:09
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You may be onto something about Margaret Briggs. 1) She is described as a small gray woman (p. 54) with a colorless face (p.57). 2) She doesn't think to get a straw to preserve C…
18 Oct 2008, 22:10
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That's very reasonable, given the same-initial clues we have elsewhere. Also: 1) "In real life Donny Duke was small and swishy..." p. 53. The assassin is a "little bit of a thing.…
15 Oct 2008, 15:24
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Randolph Carter and "The Dream Quest of the Unknown Kadath" are heavily referenced in Wolfe's story "Game in the Pope's Head" in "Starwater Strains." Carter seems to be an alias gi…
15 Oct 2008, 14:53
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Marc, Your article is fascinating and I agree with nearly all of it except for the "Urth is Green" which seems to me a stretch too far. (I know that Gene Wolfe once said this, b…
22 Sep 2008, 12:07
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*Pedro* *Periera wrote: * Toward the end of OBW, the Rajan was surrounded by inhumi and feared for his life. Soon after this, he met someone in the woods (a Neighbor or the Outsi…
18 Sep 2008, 16:06
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James, I actually did note that theory in my post, very briefly, as dismissed it as follows: Perhaps I was too hasty. We have evidence that an astral-projecting Silk can be mis…
18 Sep 2008, 11:36
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Wolfe once offered evidence for his theory in an interview (http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2tmhh/wolfejbj.html): If you read the anthropologists about the Indians they will …
04 Sep 2008, 12:02
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Hi Tim, welcome to the discussion. The fact that the Hierodules have beautiful faces under their two masks doesn't really help indicate their true nature, in my opinion. It stil…
31 Aug 2008, 13:04
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It looks like he just isn't thinking clearly, which is understandable. He doesn't believe his wife is dead, because he whispers to Tamar that his wife will not want a divorce af…
29 Aug 2008, 11:36
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I posted on this a few months ago, in April: And later Helen Algmin wrote, and I replied: / My last comment on the "Clue" connection: We do know one murder in full Clue-style: …
28 Aug 2008, 04:59
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I don't think the quality of Wolfe's writing has gone down, but perhaps he has toned down the puzzle elements in his later stories so there is less for us to discuss. Another pos…
22 Aug 2008, 08:43
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As the corrected poster, I would like to say that I didn't mind too much. I would rather have had feedback on the substance of my post, but it was an interesting response anyway …
14 Aug 2008, 11:40
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All right, I said "an inhumi" a couple of times in there. I meant it as a gender-neutral shortcut for "an inhumu or an inhuma." People often use the plural for gender-neutrality in…
13 Aug 2008, 18:07
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I'm about the only active contributor right now other than Mo, though I saw a new registration recently. What about the Gnu Free Document License? That's what Wikipedia uses, so …
08 Aug 2008, 20:38
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That's a good observation about the pit being made up of Neighbor trees. There had to be a strong Neighbor presence for Horn to be resurrected there, and that probably enabled hi…
02 Aug 2008, 11:46
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On reflection, that part of my theory is weak because Hoof should have seen Silk's astral form change appearance before they left Urth. Instead, I'll blame the shadowy presence t…
01 Aug 2008, 11:21
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All the Latin phrases Valeria gives are direct quotations of mottoes found on famous sundials. See my recent post on "Valeria" for details. The phrase "terminus est" can be found…
22 Jul 2008, 04:39
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Paul B wrote: I'm sorry, this is dead wrong. The actual phrase was "[the bells] toll the deaths of continents". Baldanders knew perfectly well what would happen, and he explain…
18 Jul 2008, 17:04
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Valeria's family was connected with Typhon: "They had waited, at first, to leave Urth with the autarch of their era, then had waited because there was nothing left for them but w…
18 Jul 2008, 05:00
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Paul B wrote: Even considering the physical implications of your suggestion, you make a preposterous claim here without any evidence. Presumably a white hole is the only way to r…
17 Jul 2008, 18:02
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I've been holding back on this discussion because of time constraints, but I would like to weigh in. I think that the bringing of the New Sun was a good thing, but I can't agree wi…
17 Jul 2008, 15:54
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b sharp wrote: (Dave Tallman do you really see The Cumaean as a kindly old woman in contrast The Cumaean seems quite compassionate -- she nursed Jolenta, a stranger she had no re…
08 Jul 2008, 22:10
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Here's another possibility: the word "called" might connect with "caller" (as Hethor is designated by Father Inire in his letter). Hethor used mirrors to bring alien creatures to…
08 Jul 2008, 05:31
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