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I had a question about the day of the week of the final day described in "Seven American Nights." The main clue is an outdoor procession Nadan supposedly witnessed on that day: *A…
17 Aug 2010, 13:34
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Lee Berman wrote: I have made this point in regard to a few other issues recently. There are some who latch onto one viewpoint based on one section of "the text" making them blind…
17 Aug 2010, 04:45
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I had better state my theory again, before it gets any more confused in people's memory. 1) My theory is about what happened at Severian's graduation specifically. What normally h…
17 Aug 2010, 00:04
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Another approach is to associate Tarot symbols with prominent characters and objects and see how far we can go, and how well the matches align with chapters containing them. 0 Fo…
29 Apr 2010, 18:55
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The middle symmetry suggests arranging the chapters in pairs and looking for common features. There are books where this works, for example "The Scarlet Letter" and "Fearful Symm…
27 Apr 2010, 14:01
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Craig Brewer The name "Kiki" might be an homage to "Kiki's Delivery Service," a Japanese anime by Miyazaki. That would indicate that Kiki is a witch. She demonstrates supernatur…
19 Apr 2010, 13:42
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Everyone who doubts Bax has to reckon with all the independent corroborations in the story: 1) The second letter of Doris, particularly the postscript confirms: the werewolf attack…
18 Apr 2010, 20:09
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That's almost as plausible, except that when the hand-holder vanished "something raced away, too big and too dark, too near the ground" (p. 129). That would seem to be Lupine in …
16 Apr 2010, 18:15
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Let's see if this all fits together. We have two vanishing passenger incidents involving Doris. One is pp. 132-133, and Bax definitely says this is Lupine. ("She was in here with…
16 Apr 2010, 17:46
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1) A king, 2) A queen (Mary?), 3) A long-legged man (the vampire Nicholas), 4) A woman wearing a fur (Lupine), 5) A dwarf Another interesting thing about the ring-gem becoming a s…
14 Apr 2010, 00:11
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Another possible take on A&I Properties is that the 'A' is for Ambrosius. That would make Mr. Isaacs, the surviving partner, be Goldwurm. Goldwurm is a well-known Jewish surname.…
13 Apr 2010, 04:49
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If this really is Jacob and Esau, it's possible there was no killing of George at all, just a reconciliation as in the Bible story. George (aka Emlyn) goes off to Faerie to learn…
10 Apr 2010, 17:13
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Jacob cheated Esau out of both an inheritance (birthright) and a blessing. The house ends up belonging to Bax too, and it's interesting that it was held by A&I Properties, with a M…
10 Apr 2010, 02:01
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"Girls dig Bax' -- not Doris, not without an expectation of money (per. "Dear John" letter, which needs to be genuine because it doesn't really mention the fantastic). "Bax forg…
31 Mar 2010, 04:40
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I don't allow Bax as the Compiler in any theories because it makes complete fraud much too easy. But temporal rearrangement of letters is allowed. For example, if the second Dori…
31 Mar 2010, 04:14
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Thomas Bitterman No, I am bringing in all the independent witnesses against your theory. To support it, you have to say that the challenge note from George, the letters from Madam…
31 Mar 2010, 00:01
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One more detail: who is Henry Parkhill (p. 156)? /I have founded my own little firm, you see. I call it A Plus Tutors. Our president is Henry Parkhill. (I know you would like him…
30 Mar 2010, 14:53
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It's not really a letter at all. It's a challenge note. All George had to do was leave it someplace in the house where he thought Bax would find it. Why not talk to Bax directly?…
30 Mar 2010, 01:55
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I agree that making the compiler Bax, so that all the supporting evidence can be lies (the storage cabinet and the description of the Japanese sword by Mrs. Dunn that is good eno…
29 Mar 2010, 13:35
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brunians writes: Lo and behold, Ganymede pops up again. :)…
23 Jan 2010, 02:17
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I found the reference. It was actually twin icons of Ganymedia and Catamitus on either sides of the doors of the entrance to the wing where Hyacinth resided. Ganymede and Catamitus…
16 Jan 2010, 19:49
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Of course, since "male chem" and "once male" are two entirely different things, this doesn't help prove or disprove the theory at all.…
16 Jan 2010, 19:24
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The "eight or nine sprats" are actually Hyacinth's brothers and sisters. Here is the context. The commissioner said he wanted a maid, not a nanny. The interjection about sprats sug…
16 Jan 2010, 00:16
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I absolutely agree about the explanation of the "ghost of Patera Pike," but Pike need not be another clone for this to work. Silk saw the older astral-projected Silk only briefly…
15 Jan 2010, 15:26
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The name Malrubius occurs two times in TRTTW. The first time, Severian is talking to Silk/Horn during the jump from the trial; he refers to Master Malrubius as another person in…
14 Jan 2010, 07:08
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Isn't he a significant part of the story? Nobody has mentioned that Silk/Horn is identified by Severian as Malrubius. Indeed, the aquastor Malrubius of the BOTNS is probably strong…
12 Jan 2010, 23:52
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For a Wolfe view of a world with unlimited longevity, look at 'The Doctor of Death Island.' Life becomes meaningless, therefore cheap. Love is gone. The war between the sexes is l…
05 Jan 2010, 21:47
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How many details can one video possibly get wrong? 1) Severian and other torturers wearing shirts. 2) Sharp point at the end of Terminus Est. 3) The Claw represented by some sort o…
24 Dec 2009, 14:33
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Interestingly, it is the werewolf scene with Scott Zeitz. Ebony instantly realizes it's a wolf and not a dog ("OhMyGod!....A woman tried to pet it." p. 190). The last real communic…
17 Dec 2009, 04:05
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16 Dec 2009, 23:41
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Werewolves don't have to be described in-story as having healing powers for us to assume them. In many werewolf movies they heal rapidly from any wound not made by a silver weapo…
09 Dec 2009, 13:47
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Unless there is time-travel involved, yes. He was dead before the assassination attempt on Chase. A better candidate is Donny Duke. Here are some clues. 1) He played a murderer i…
07 Dec 2009, 23:52
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My thought was Margaret Briggs/ Mariah Brownlea. The latter is Cassie's role in the Volcano God play, so this suggests Margaret is also a role played by Cassie. Every other initial…
28 Nov 2009, 06:07
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Kieran Mullen: This latest round of speculations was set off by a reported clue Wolfe gave, that in the end Cassie loved Bill Reis and went to Woldercan to find him. Exactly how…
08 Oct 2009, 01:39
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I agree this is as plausible as the Pavlatos case. I'm still troubled that Sharon Bench knows both Rian and his mother fairly well. (She knows that Rian is "too brave" for exampl…
06 Oct 2009, 17:25
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However he jumps, into the past or future, Bill Reis has only one personal timeline, and it ends when he is executed. Cassie may be able to steal more time to be with him this wa…
06 Oct 2009, 17:17
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I'm not sure what you mean by "another version" of Reis. If you mean a Woldercanian copy/doppelganger, this is subject to the same issue of lovable/unloveable copies. If this is …
03 Oct 2009, 04:56
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James Wynn writes: Yes, I think it's well-established that the bat-people work with and/or for Chase. 1) One is present at Cassie's transformation. (p. 43, "Behind him: great, d…
02 Oct 2009, 04:06
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Zelda owns a hopper. Could she also be some sort of time-traveler? It will fit Casey's need perfectly to have some valuables deposited that she can access in the future even afte…
01 Oct 2009, 06:44
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Yes, Ebony eats pork at almost every meal, except when she has hare, another wolf prey. I was wrong about Margaret never eating meat. She also consumes pork at times. At the same…
01 Oct 2009, 06:15
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It appears that Ebony White is another good werewolf candidate. Look at her name: werewolves are associated with the colors gray, black, and white (p. 206) and her name is as bl…
30 Sep 2009, 14:49
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I don't see the theatrical connection between the quote "What is truth? asked jesting Pilate..." and the presidential assistant John. Is it because of the Bacon/Shakespeare conne…
30 Sep 2009, 14:28
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Going back that far into the past probably required a long hopper trip, and fuel rods are expensive. She also may not have taken much wealth back with her. Was it coincidence th…
30 Sep 2009, 14:00
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This theory keeps the best of the Cassie/Pavlatos connection without the extra complications of time-travel to get Rian's age right. I think it's good as far as it goes (I still …
29 Sep 2009, 15:07
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Maybe Gertrun was a ghost. In the beginning Cooper said it would be a ghost story, and that he personally encountered it. He said he would not tell the whole truth for the sake o…
22 Sep 2009, 15:06
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Yes, I've read it. The protagonist, Raul, is jealous when his time-traveling girlfriend Aenea tells him she has been married and had a child. Later he realizes the husband must h…
21 Sep 2009, 19:22
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I was puzzling over Cassie's statement that she didn't think she would ever eat fish or fruit again (288). It seemed inconsistent with my theory that she was Margaret, since Marg…
21 Sep 2009, 16:10
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Roy C. Lackey wrote I find that solution very unsatisfying. Even if Woldercan contains duplicates of everyone on Earth (highly problematic -- how could such a wild place support…
21 Sep 2009, 15:41
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If the obvious answer that the Nazis took him and killed him isn't good enough, there is one other possibility -- he has somehow transformed himself into the young woman, Gertrun…
21 Sep 2009, 15:17
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It's a little *too* wrong. Shirley and Sharon don't sound much alike. She's just pretending not to know Cassie's friend. And her averted choice of last name may indicate what she…
20 Sep 2009, 06:05
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