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I'm not convinced that this is socialism or that it tells us anything about a socialist system of government. You entered into a family business and you worked at it. Perhaps yo…
07 Aug 2011, 18:56
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Gene Wolfe seems to walk with a cane. Silk is limping through much of the Long Sun, and the Rajan has his strange staff in the Short Sun.…
16 Jun 2011, 01:10
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I copied most of this from an Excel file, and the formatting came out a little off. I meant to say, "A travel speed close to the speed of light would explain why only 300 years ha…
02 Jun 2011, 18:14
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Here are some comments of the speed of the Whorl: 1 You have to travel very fast to get to any stars because of their great distance. To reach even the closest star in 300…
02 Jun 2011, 18:07
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Lexicon Urthus does mention the Soviet politburo in connection with the Group of 17, but Andre-Driussi doesn't cite his source.…
22 May 2011, 19:46
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I agree that the number 17 being connected to the Soviet poliburo is probably a myth. I've seen it repeated many times but no source is ever given. Does anyone have a Soviet or C…
22 May 2011, 18:01
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I did not realize it and I think that's what Wolfe intended. He wants her identify to be obscured. Look at the mysterious note that Severian finds in the Inn of Lost Loves. The…
21 May 2011, 22:58
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Wolfe is derivative? Yes, but so is Shakespeare.…
10 May 2011, 09:47
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" Don't worry, Wolfe is so good at concealing it even the last page won't help." LOL…
30 Apr 2011, 14:48
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*Wuthering Heights* is what I think of as a good example of unreliable narrators. The story as a whole is told by an outsider, who doesn't understand the place or its people, and…
18 Apr 2011, 14:07
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I have omibus editions of Book of the New Sun--doesn't include Urth of the New Sun--and Book of the Short Sun. Both from SFBC publishing.…
22 Mar 2011, 19:21
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Thanks for the link to horseshoe orbits! This might work.…
09 Feb 2011, 11:04
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I like this explanation, but I don't think it would work. For bodies in orbit around a central body, the orbital period is directly proportional to the distance or radius from the…
09 Feb 2011, 03:29
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"BTW, is there a consensus on the exact relation of the planets Blue and Green? Do they orbit one another as a single system, or do they orbit the sun on opposite sides, as do Eart…
09 Feb 2011, 01:47
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It can't be anyone on this list, where all theories are reasonable and grounded clearly on the texts.…
19 Jan 2011, 18:34
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Let's make the green man work!…
19 Jan 2011, 14:20
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Christians rejected gnosticism in the early days of the church. The dualism and secret knowledge of gnosticism was not compatible with the gospel of acceptance and love.…
17 Jan 2011, 23:40
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On the other hand, Wolfe is an engineer. He knows how things work, and his science is usually right on. More accurate than most sci fi writers.…
16 Jan 2011, 21:58
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I think you're absolutely right in your scientific analysis of the green man. But perhaps Wolfe just did not think things through as you have done. Even Homer nods.…
16 Jan 2011, 17:58
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Dorcas did not seem like an optimate to me, since optimates were the "best" people of the Roman republic and Dorcas never struck me as being what we might call upper or upper middl…
15 Jan 2011, 18:11
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"Is there any chance the whorl is an excavated Lune or is it way too small?" Yes, it's way too small. The Whorl is gigantic but not that gigantic. One characteristic of most ast…
27 Dec 2010, 09:23
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Forgive me if this discussion of Biblical literalism is getting off-topic. The relevance to Wolfe, I think, is how Christians and Christian writers regard the holy scriptures. Ma…
21 Dec 2010, 21:15
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Most protestants do not read the scriptures literally either. There is a strong emphasis on the conscience of the individual, as opposed to top-down authority, which fits in well …
19 Dec 2010, 02:07
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I think "Pas" is a corruption of "Pan", the Greek god of rustic places. "Pan" means everything, as in "pandemic" or "pandemonium". Scylla, possessing Chenille, explains about the …
28 Nov 2010, 10:19
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Great mythological reference. I thought I knew Greek myths but I must have missed this one.…
23 Nov 2010, 14:42
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I used to live 8 miles from Barrington. Now I'm 350 miles away.…
11 Nov 2010, 19:59
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Typhon is boring? Why do you think so?…
04 Nov 2010, 11:53
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Good, well-reasoned post.…
06 Oct 2010, 10:16
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A few points about the speed of the Whorl; 1. You have to travel very fast to get to any stars because of their great distance. To reach even the closest star in 300 years, you…
23 Sep 2010, 22:17
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" I think I've heard estimates the Whorl is at least 300 years old. Typhon was presumably alive on its launching and is still alive when Severian meets him strapped to his couch. Q…
21 Sep 2010, 16:56
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Thanks for the links.…
16 Sep 2010, 23:14
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"The Wolfean Oracle Speaks" An interview by Michael Andre-Driussi: 4. Was what Silk saw in the manteion Pike's ghost, or an aquastor, or what? -- It was seen in the manse, not t…
16 Sep 2010, 16:03
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You're right about Oreb only using one-syllable words. Perhaps the two-syllable "fishing" implies some sort of development in our feathered friend. Oreb is limited in speech but …
15 Sep 2010, 19:19
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"I don't think Wolfe the author was so constrained that the state religion the Chapter parodied had to be polytheistic. " Yes. I've always taken the parody (of the state religion…
14 Sep 2010, 16:41
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It's interesting that chenille can be a fabric made out of *silk* as well as cotton yarn. che?nille? ?[shuh-neel] ?noun 1. a velvety cord or yarn of silk or worsted, for embroider…
03 Sep 2010, 01:29
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Congratulations.…
25 Aug 2010, 22:45
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Thanks for all the good ideas. I need to re-read BotSS with these in mind.…
17 Aug 2010, 10:17
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Quetzal has been Prolocutor for 33 years when Silk is enlightened. I assumed he had come aboard the Whorl only a year or two before he became head of the Chapter, and then, as a …
17 Aug 2010, 00:20
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And the maid comes back to life after the ritual beheading. If she was really beheaded, she would really have to be resurrected too. I don't think the text indicates real resurr…
16 Aug 2010, 06:34
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I agree. Wolfe includes these specific numbers for some reason. A lesser sci-fi author might just include meaningless digits, but Wolfe, I'm sure, has some meaning in mind. Som…
14 Aug 2010, 19:02
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Brass used in counterfeit coins seems to make them feel greasy. At least that's what Mark Twain says: "I told him I had an old slick counterfeit quarter that warn't no good beca…
13 Aug 2010, 20:06
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I like "UotNS is basically BotNS For Dummies."…
08 Aug 2010, 10:12
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I think Wolfe provides all the evidence needed to conclude that Dorcas and the old boatman are Severian's grandparents. 1. The old boatman speaks of his dead wife "Cas" just befo…
06 Aug 2010, 20:00
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I believe there are a number of references to Severian being tall, and he's around 6' and his mother is probably an exultant. I think Urth's common folk are shorter than people t…
05 Aug 2010, 15:43
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Exultants could result from Darwinian evolution alone, without any genetic engineering. According to Wolfe, Severian is about 6' or 6'1", and Thecla is a head taller (around 7' o…
05 Aug 2010, 10:22
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Yeah. Torture is a good way to gain confessions, but not necessarily a way of getting the truth. If you waterboard me, I'll confess to the Lincoln assassination to make you stop.…
05 Aug 2010, 00:25
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I think I always identify with the main character of a novel, especially if the main character is also the narrator. But identifying with Severian is too obvious and boring. So…
02 Aug 2010, 18:32
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Thanks for the link to the Mattachine Society--has some good info even if homosexuality is not the issue.…
29 Jul 2010, 15:57
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Severian uses the word "catamite" and so something must suggest a sexual element to him. But I like the idea that the child is Baldander's son (or his Number Five).…
29 Jul 2010, 09:18
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Pan means "all", as in pandemic. Scylla says that her daddy was "to be the god of everything--that's what his name meant." (LotLS, ch. 11)…
14 Jul 2010, 20:56
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