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No. The protagonist is an apparently sincere follower of a future syncretic monotheistic ("Biblqur'an") religion in a Islamic style culture with some segregation of the sexes. S…
19 Dec 2011, 22:29
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Adam Robert's _Land of the Headless_ (2007) has his protagonist fall heavily for _Siuzan Delage_. Some have thought it a nod to Proust, but the plot I think is more a riff on Wo…
19 Dec 2011, 00:46
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I didn't watch it (it looked like too much work ;)), but the Wikipedia article is fairly extensive. It suggests, for example, that the cootch family came into the story following…
16 Dec 2011, 22:27
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I always thought the Autarch's explanation of how flyers work an in-joke by Wolfe, but saw a link today to: http://www.springerlink.com/content/f723g0856r4412w3/fulltext.pdf (fr…
05 Dec 2011, 23:02
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Except that their response to the arrival of the whorl is to send Quetzal. It isn't impossible that Krait was always part of their rescue plan. David Duffy.…
21 Nov 2011, 21:24
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John Crowley's blog recently had an entry about the _Infancy Gospel of Thomas_, where we learn *exactly* what he was up to ;) Cheers, David Duffy.…
20 Nov 2011, 00:42
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He is not bad. I have read several of his books from our library and enjoyed them, but I don't own any of his books (cf Wolfe where I own a few ;)), and I'm afraid I don't recal…
16 Nov 2011, 01:23
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I quite like _The Difference Engine_, but get the impression I am in a minority there. Blaylock is often included as a 'punk, but at the more fantastical end. Christopher Pries…
10 Aug 2011, 03:20
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It could be argued that he is partly responsible for the steampunk glut.…
10 Aug 2011, 02:26
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Moorcock's more complex works are the Cornelius novels, _Byzantium Endures_ series, _Gloriana_, Dancers At the End of Time_, _Behold the Man_, _Warlord of the Air_ and its sequel…
09 Aug 2011, 22:40
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The secret is willing suspension of one's allegory detection sense. Wasn't it Tolkein who said "when I see an allegory, I reach for my revolver"? I quite enjoyed _Pilgrim's Prog…
08 Aug 2011, 21:17
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Answering my own question. No.…
07 Aug 2011, 21:57
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I think this is exactly right. I found _His Hideous Strength_ unreadable for that reason, but not the first two of the Space Trilogy. But everything by Charles Williams is deli…
07 Aug 2011, 08:51
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You knew someone would not resist :) And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every ma…
07 Aug 2011, 08:37
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This reaction always interests me (esp. since if you didn't read more than one chapter, I can't see how you can know much about the Urrasti :)). It also ties into the ongoing "v…
07 Aug 2011, 03:23
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I think that it is supposed to be a happy ending, actually ;) About the top-10 list, I overlap with everyone else, except I included _The Last Unicorn_ _Riddley Walker_ I think t…
04 Aug 2011, 22:52
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Only just finished reading this (twice, of course ;)). When Skip asks "I know the information you wanted from Chelle...Have you got it", Johnson replies "I've got it, and I won't…
29 Jul 2011, 12:01
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I can't remember what evidence we have that the Whorl travelled at relativistic speeds. If not, then a trip of 50-70 light years [rough limit of visibility since we don't know t…
01 Jun 2011, 00:36
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I can't find the interview or article where Wolfe explains a few puzzles and symbols in New Sun -- I think they were all from one page of the text. I thought it was a response to…
23 May 2011, 07:24
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But one may speculate about choices by the Author, surely ;) http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVanswers/2006/10-01.htm…
23 May 2011, 03:34
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I think this is a deliberate wink to the reader. Ditto the mirrors. Wolfe similarly delights in folk etymologies such as Ex-Calibor for Excalibur, and brand[ed] new for brand ne…
21 May 2011, 11:49
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That is definitely the case for Latro. Cheers, David Duffy.…
17 May 2011, 00:43
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I'm not sure if anyone has posted: http://sffmasterworks.blogspot.com/ Scurries through in six and a half thousand words, ending "I know I did not touch upon everything and that…
16 May 2011, 11:15
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Have you read Anthony Burgess's _1985_? The first half is an essay discussing these points, the second half an adequate extrapolation not of 1948 Britain, but 1984 Britain. Che…
11 May 2011, 10:43
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This is part of a group reading http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/69982 Cheers, David Duffy.…
17 Feb 2011, 07:47
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I think these sound similar to the properties of "real" astral travel, as per out of body experiences/Madame Blavatsky/Castenada eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_body The …
14 Feb 2011, 22:03
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So you think Gene Wolfe might be a devil?…
10 Feb 2011, 03:51
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And http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/129/3/1724/204215.text.html But these guys keep trying to make them crash into each other ;)…
09 Feb 2011, 07:15
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And http://www.shrovetuesdayobserved.com/flight.html…
09 Feb 2011, 02:10
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Perhaps, but _Mysteries of Winterthurn_ and _A Bloodsmoor Romance_ are great SF novels, the latter is pretty well steampunk. My only remaining specific memory of _ABR_: officials…
07 Feb 2011, 22:17
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There is the question of who he is quoting. It might be a gloss, as per the sundials, of ...Of writing many books there is no end, [and much study is a weariness of the flesh].…
31 Jan 2011, 22:14
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I think he mentions this because she hit the wall very hard. Most people have heard a definite bone-on-stone thump -- I don't think the noise of the mason's hammer is metallic. …
20 Jan 2011, 23:04
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Asians do not have freckles, except a few interesting Chinese families. Severian comments that racial physiognomy and colour are acquired by living on the same continent for long…
20 Jan 2011, 22:50
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I'm pretty sure there was an interview where he described it as science fantasy, which I found interesting because of the statement by many writers at that time that there is no …
19 Jan 2011, 09:31
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Wolfe gave a brief response to a questionnaire sent out to writers by Barbara Bengels ("The Care and Feeding of Science Fiction Writers"): A formative moment in which you decided…
19 Jan 2011, 00:05
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Maybe they smile a lot...…
16 Jan 2011, 22:31
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No. But I presume you can google as well as me ;) Geoffrey Landis gives http://www.geoffreylandis.com/moonair.html Could we manufacture the oxygen? We would need something like…
13 Jan 2011, 03:03
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The moon can keep an atmosphere, once provided, for 10000-20000 years per top-up IIRC. Those Barsoomian air plants would do the trick nicely. http://www.terraformers.ca/Terrafor…
13 Jan 2011, 00:03
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Goodo! I can see an episode of the _new_ Doctor already. I am reminded of the Gilligan's Island exegesis. Cheers, David Duffy.…
10 Jan 2011, 01:44
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An obvious typo. You meant: Speaking for them, the Old Wise One mentions certain names as possibilities: "I, for Five, remember all these names." Cheers, David Duffy.…
04 Jan 2011, 22:02
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_Castleview_ has the same ...problems... Eg Excalibor is from the exploded planet between Mars and Jupiter, Mr Fee has three pairs of eyes and pipestem limbs, von Madadh is flank…
03 Jan 2011, 23:04
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It sounds suspiciously like she is watching Mickey and Goofy. Cheers, David Duffy.…
16 Dec 2010, 22:11
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My memory of the book was pretty distant, as I had thought some court supplicant families had waited generations in a waiting room. When I looked over an online copy last night,…
13 Dec 2010, 23:14
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I always took this as an homage to _The Trial_. Cheers, David Duffy.…
13 Dec 2010, 03:00
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You needed to polish this bit a little more ;) "but that lie has, nearly always, been so conditioned to consider himself the roost mundane of creatures" [...] I like this, exce…
08 Dec 2010, 06:20
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Surely that's exactly what devious manipulators would do ;) David Duffy.…
30 Nov 2010, 03:05
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I have previously mentioned that I think part of the origins of BotNS are as a dialogue with _Dune_ and _Empire Star_, both of which share many of the same plot elements. Then, …
20 Aug 2010, 00:25
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_Lexicon Urthus_ is certainly not scripture, but Mantis has a nice diagram of how he thought the three universes are related. It does not include multiple iterations of Briah, u…
13 Aug 2010, 02:58
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Well I have just seen an advertisement for the ballet _Ondine_, the tale of a water nymph who is the object of desire of a young prince named Palemon. Presumably the name Palemo…
08 Aug 2010, 10:29
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No, this is not correct. The basis for evolutionary psychology come from standard "neo-Darwinist" behaviour genetics and sociobiology. Sure, but able to be studied indirectly in…
05 Aug 2010, 23:49
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