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Audio CDs hold uncompressed audio, but they don't have WAV files on them (or any files). Since it's not music, it can be compressed to 32Kbps with reasonable fidelity.…
14 Jun 2007, 21:47
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I think the veteran New York editor is mistaken. Maybe she would not be able to sell her publisher on a young Gene Wolfe, but David Hartwell would have no problem with it. Hmm, i…
01 Jun 2007, 16:55
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I've been sitting on my hands trying not to join this off-topic-athon, but this comment on Starship Troopers finally pushed me over the edge: Here is what Verhoeven has to say abo…
13 Apr 2007, 02:10
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It is rather rude of you to accuse other fans of being closed minded, even with a smiley. Personally, I would be very comfortable with such an interpretation, but I can't reconcil…
09 Apr 2007, 15:29
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Severian sees "wires and bands of metal" that were placed under Jolenta's flesh. Why would Talos bother with that if he could make her beautiful with a "glamor" or by raising her …
03 Nov 2006, 17:47
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I like your theories! Another one is that this passage is telling us that Talos's surgical skill made Jolenta irresistably attractive to everyone, even Severian's dead grandmother…
31 Oct 2006, 03:42
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What I would say is that his woman characters are often foolish or evil, creating situations where misogyny is apparently justified. Compare Wolfe to Iain M. Banks, who also has a…
17 Oct 2006, 22:59
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Oh, blatant misogyny.…
16 Oct 2006, 17:38
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I agree that The Death of Doctor Island is accessible in terms of understanding the plot, but I also find it to be one of Wolfe's most disturbing and offensive stories. I can't im…
16 Oct 2006, 16:55
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What language are they speaking? I always thought of it as future Spanish, in which case there might be more of a difference between, say, Caterina and Katarina (the latter being …
14 Oct 2006, 16:23
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How long do humans live in the time of the New Sun books? How about wealthy humans with access to ET medicine and time travel? Do we have any idea?…
28 Aug 2006, 17:55
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(Sorry if no one else is interested in this admittedly off-topic discussion.) That's a valid point if true. Wait a second, I missed something - are you saying that Wolfe used thi…
19 May 2006, 05:59
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I believe that he is a human who modified himself to extend his life (through the SFnal mechanism of unending growth). Otherwise he would not be a candidate for Autarch/epitome.…
17 May 2006, 14:31
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Yes, but this statement is about motivation, not behavior. As I said, how could anyone know? What external evidence could possibly validate the assertion? If a pedophile describ…
17 May 2006, 07:50
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I know this is not really relevant to Wolfe, but... this assertion just has me floored. Where did this idea come from? How could anyone possibly know? What does "often" mean? W…
16 May 2006, 23:00
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Severian was an unusual fellow, and his eidolon bulked up more quickly than most. It's also possible that B, F & O didn't know everything about eidolons (2 of them being youngster…
02 May 2006, 14:42
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So you are saying that because Able didn't contradict the queen's offhand remark here, he is an Overcyn? I'm not sure that's conclusive evidence. I still think of him as being a h…
27 Nov 2005, 21:13
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Able visited Skai and gained certain powers, but is it stated that he became an Overcyn? I thought it was necessary to be born into Skai for that. After all, the dragons and Aelf…
27 Nov 2005, 08:52
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She was frightened and hesitant before the fact, but once she saw the wealth and power that came with the position, she seemed to become enthusiastic. Couldn't they exercise their…
26 Oct 2005, 17:15
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Other than her comments to Able, we don't see her making any effort to avoid the marriage. Garvaon was available to rescue her, but she seemed to be holding out for a younger and …
26 Oct 2005, 16:32
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Idnn was an opportunist who cared only about becoming queen. The frost giant women who followed her died for nothing, as did Garvaon. So yes, that part of the story does support S…
25 Oct 2005, 21:31
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I had no trouble getting a copy to read via interlibrary loan. It's not as good as owning it, of course.…
22 Jul 2005, 10:18
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They resurrect Severian when he drowns in the Gyoll, and they seem to be immortal. Those are pretty good powers! It's interesting that Severian shares them.…
03 Jun 2005, 09:44
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1. Read "The Urth of the New Sun", if you haven't already. 2. Read the following: Michael Andre-Driussi, "Lexicon Urthus" Robert Borski, "Solar Labyrinth" The first one is out of…
24 Mar 2005, 17:43
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Would you guys please stop masturbating on the list? And what is causing this epidemic of including an entire previous message, complete with Yahoo advertising, just to add a 1-li…
18 Jan 2005, 12:13
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Jealousy. Garvaon loved Idnn, and was obviously a more worthy suitor than either the monstrous Gilling or the cowardly Svon. It wasn't concealed for very long, as Wolfe's puzzles…
03 Jan 2005, 22:45
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I found the rape of Mora to be most objectionable. "The Death of Dr. Island" is in a class by itself, but certainly "Seven American Nights" and "The Ziggurat".…
22 Apr 2003, 06:23
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The cards sound electronic to me. A waveguide is just a rectangular metal tube, and it is an electronic, not photonic, device. (Although optical fibers also act as waveguides, th…
25 Oct 2002, 00:20
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This is saying that the repentance took place after her marriage, not the sex. I don't see any evidence of infidelity in the passage.…
21 Oct 2002, 02:27
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This bothered me too, and I think Wolfe could have thrown in a word of exposition, but I have an idea. In our time, evoked potentials are the most practical way to detect thoughts…
20 Jul 2002, 16:16
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OPERATION ARES and the Kai Lung books seem to be readily available (my favorite search site is http://www.addall.com/used), but how about LETTERS HOME? Is it available anywhere at…
10 May 2002, 17:07
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No, it's not possible, because... If he had seen the laser burn, it would have been obvious beyond any plausible dissociation that he had *not* killed the thing earlier in the wee…
08 May 2002, 17:55
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This is still unknown. Perhaps the personality is stored only in the human-specific parts of the brain, which are a fraction of the total size. If the information were organized …
22 Apr 2002, 18:21
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I would distinguish between underappreciated and low rated books. I think that if the Soldier series is underappreciated, it's because very few readers are sufficiently well read …
03 Apr 2002, 19:06
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Wow, I hated this story. It had all my least favorite Lupine elements: phonetic dialect, misogyny, Christianity, and an incomprehensible ending. Did anyone like it? *This is WHO…
03 May 2001, 14:08
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Well, this reminds me that I wanted to mention that inhumi flying seems almost as wacky as inhumi space travel. Just how much are they supposed to weigh? What are they made of? …
27 Apr 2001, 16:11
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Is the crab creature the entity that supplies fish to Mucor? (I still can't make any sense of that scene.) *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.…
27 Apr 2001, 15:32
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I thought it was Chenille and her father, Calde Tussah. *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.…
23 Apr 2001, 22:28
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1. It seems a little odd to refer to Seawrack as being raped, when she was quite willing to have sex with Horn (or have her arm chewed off for that matter) on instructions from the…
19 Apr 2001, 08:56
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1. Alga, why do you think it's worse than any other Wolfe book? Or are you just tired of his tricks? 2. I wonder how completely David Hartwell feels he needs to understand a Wolfe…
07 Apr 2001, 15:05
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Here it is: http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/02/25/reviews/010225.25scifit.html *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.…
04 Mar 2001, 18:37
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This has been discussed on the Whorl list. It doesn't really hold up. How could they travel to Urth if they were already there? Also, the gravity on Green seems similar to that o…
03 Mar 2001, 08:01
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Nice summary! Well, he's the same guy who has teen virgin Mora expounding the "get back on the horse"/"Friday" concept of rape. Then there's Jahlee's "hello soldier" reaction to …
23 Feb 2001, 11:42
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Typhon's technology is extremely limited, and fallible. The gods are not AIs, they are simulations of scanned humans. There is no suggestion that they can be reprogrammed. You w…
21 Feb 2001, 21:47
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Thank you! I had no idea why Quadrifons appeared in the text, so this was very helpful Why do you think that Quadrifons's name is not to be mentioned? *This is WHORL, for discu…
17 Feb 2001, 17:09
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Marble says that Mucor is taking care of her, not vice versa, so she is not hurting Mucor by leaving. No. *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.…
17 Feb 2001, 17:02
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On the matter of Silk's wounds: I think that he cut himself because he wanted blood for Hyacinth's final sacrifice. He wouldn't have wanted to die until he had completed it. Aga…
13 Feb 2001, 19:18
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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 on the Neighbors of Green, ultimately d…
13 Feb 2001, 13:35
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Is there any reason to think that a god can do a direct bio-bio transfer? If not, the path must have been Pig->glass, glass->Horn/Silk, and it happened shortly after Pig saw Horn/S…
08 Feb 2001, 14:16
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I would just add to this that the Neighbor told Horn "I can send your spirit into someone else" - spirit, not memories. In retrospect, Fava's afterlife was a good clue. *This is …
08 Feb 2001, 10:29
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