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I agree. Although I am skeptical that the "boy" is a catamite. Severian thinks so, but he can be wrong.…
22 Jul 2010, 00:44
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It does almost repeat the Moria scene, doesn't it?…
21 Jul 2010, 11:43
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Speaking of monsters ... what was the giant thing deep beneath the mines, that scared the man-apes?…
21 Jul 2010, 04:58
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Does Inire ever do anything without being commanded so by the Autarch?…
19 Jul 2010, 11:44
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Presumably, we must always be tested, even in a new creation.…
19 Jul 2010, 11:44
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Never mind---I suppose there is no point in that.…
18 Jul 2010, 13:14
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Could "Diuturna" be pronounced "Juturna"?…
18 Jul 2010, 13:09
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That reminds me of the translation of Pankrater as "all-holding." (a krater being a wine cup)…
17 Jul 2010, 17:59
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Regardless, they exist in the universe of Urth. So do aliens, but that doesn't mean talking cabbages can be assumed to exist in the universe of Urth.…
17 Jul 2010, 15:55
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I'd guess something happened at that moment to put Severian into that perspective. Perhaps it wasn't Severian who slipped into 4 dimensions but the Cumaean.…
17 Jul 2010, 12:53
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That explanation of the Cumaean makes an amazing amount of sense.…
17 Jul 2010, 02:53
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That's exactly my concern: if he throws it into the void, how is it found? But I agree---there seems to be a Borgesian aspect to the Library, for sure.…
17 Jul 2010, 02:52
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"Cousins" could indicate a certain distance, political, cultural, motivational, or otherwise. As in "our American cousins..." in a Le Carre novel. --- On Fri, 7/16/10, Gerry Qui…
16 Jul 2010, 20:20
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It makes perfect sense. I just have never heard this interpretation. --- On Fri, 7/16/10, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote: From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> Subjec…
16 Jul 2010, 17:17
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Er, in what sense do you mean that? Actual? Symbolical? Sarcastical? Fantastical? --- On Fri, 7/16/10, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote: From: James Wynn <crushtv at gma…
16 Jul 2010, 15:45
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Perhaps. In other words, "you, the reader, who will one day find this book on a shelf and read it." But underwhelming. Why "delve into Ultan's library" when all you need to do is a…
16 Jul 2010, 14:52
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Some of my favorite passages in Severian's narration involve commentary on literary style. In Shadow, he compares writing to execution of the condemned. What do you all make of …
16 Jul 2010, 13:04
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Of course, if he has accepted a name given him, he has had centuries to learn how to spell it. But certainly there is no overt suggestion that he does not identify as Father Inir…
16 Jul 2010, 12:18
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oooh ... I think it was #3, but I saw it before #2 so it made no sense. Er, even less sense.…
15 Jul 2010, 02:14
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Which Pirates of the Caribbean movie was that?…
15 Jul 2010, 01:41
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Fair enough. Shepherds do both.…
15 Jul 2010, 01:40
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Good one! I should say, not just "pulp cliches" but Golden Age of Science Fiction cliches. I think they are intended to suggest exactly the sense of "boyish" wonder that they d…
14 Jul 2010, 12:28
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I always suspected Wolfe of deliberately using pulp cliches in BotNS. I had no idea he applied the principle so thoroughly. It almost has the effect of reading about ancient, cle…
14 Jul 2010, 11:32
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It's maddening, isn't it? It makes sense that a scheme of universes proximate in space could also be proximate in time, or could equally well be expressed as such, or only when …
13 Jul 2010, 20:34
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You're on thing ice, Lane.…
13 Jul 2010, 19:43
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Referring to their shirts? You may be thinking of Hawaiians.…
13 Jul 2010, 19:23
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That's certainly my feeling.…
13 Jul 2010, 18:39
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My father-in-law is a Protestant, of course. (broad wink) I'd turn him on to Wolfe but I fear the result. He might stop reading altogether.…
13 Jul 2010, 18:35
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Interesting. I think that the Briahns can direct the flow of energy any way they want; this supports that notion. The "timing" may be a false concern.…
13 Jul 2010, 18:27
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So you're thinking power could be drained from past Sun to future Sun? That's interesting---not what I thought at all. Sensible though. I assume that all universes coexist, and t…
13 Jul 2010, 17:38
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Only The Wizard of Oz. Oh, wait ...…
13 Jul 2010, 17:29
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My father-in-law, who eschews SF because it lacks hope with a capital (C)H(RIST), would agree with you. I disagree. As a Catholic acquaintance once said to me, "Catholicism is n…
13 Jul 2010, 17:22
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Maybe that's where the extra "I" goes.…
13 Jul 2010, 16:39
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That has been my assumption. It would mean that (1) first Urth had a yellow sun (2) then it drained itself into a lower universe (3) then a higher universe drained into it, ther…
13 Jul 2010, 16:25
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When?…
13 Jul 2010, 16:12
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But who's the archon of this universe? Inire, appropriately mysterious and aged as a Titan, or Tzadkiel, violator of all known laws of scale and appearance? Is one ruler below an…
13 Jul 2010, 16:09
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Ah. "I, the Alpha/Omega."…
13 Jul 2010, 16:04
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That reminds me: I need a white fountain to go with the white obelisk in my front yard. This is difficult to process, making as many problems as it solves. It may mean that all …
13 Jul 2010, 16:02
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I'm very impressed with how you snuck that conclusion in there. ;) Granted, the wolf is not critical to the story---almost a tease. But I think a cacogen hitching his star, so to…
13 Jul 2010, 15:08
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It seems like a stretch, but I for one expect that Wolfe will stretch for a wolf reference. I think he expects us to expect that of him. The words "inire" and "finire" (initiate/…
13 Jul 2010, 14:48
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And could he climb ladders like a monkey? I suppose we'll never know.…
13 Jul 2010, 02:23
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Wow. I knew "inire" but I did not know "finire." That's plenty of solution for me. But I agree that these are not "real" names. Inire probably has his own name, which we don't k…
13 Jul 2010, 01:32
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Is there a link to "pastor"? Typhon-Pas does lead his flock off Urth.…
13 Jul 2010, 01:16
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No, that's definitely it.…
13 Jul 2010, 01:03
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Exactly. And this does not make Tzadkiel evil, but he is not good either.…
13 Jul 2010, 01:02
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Could this fit a genetic program carried out by Inire? The problem there is that you consider Inire to be corrupting, but in that scenario he would be purifying. Of course inces…
12 Jul 2010, 23:53
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I assume that there are so few "people" left on Urth (subtract the not-quite-human and failed Ascians, who may well control the rest of the planet, and some outlying tribes) that…
12 Jul 2010, 23:44
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That doesn't seem to apply here. What function does a baboon have? I always assumed "baboon" was meant--- a baboon is a dogheaded ape and was thought such by the Egyptians.…
12 Jul 2010, 23:31
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I agree. One comment though---I thought Rudesind was tall because of his long limbs, but you're right---he's average to short. Severian is tall but not that tall. However, thos…
12 Jul 2010, 23:29
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Well, Tzadkiel is the demiurge. There's no doubt about that at all---he's the highest of the low, not the lowest of the high. And Christian dualism was imported straight from Per…
12 Jul 2010, 23:21
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