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Yes, it does.…
29 Dec 2010, 23:09
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Yes. The phrase "one surviving world" should inspire the question of why the other world(s) did not survive rather than be reduced to a simplistic count of one.…
29 Dec 2010, 23:07
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James it is interesting. We are seeing the same connection between Shadow Children and Inhumi but in reversed perspective. Sainte Anne/St. Croix is the home planetary system of Sh…
29 Dec 2010, 19:41
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James I think this objection is entirely to the point....but ONLY if this is our earth, our universe. And I know that is your interpretation. So I can see why it doesn't work for y…
29 Dec 2010, 18:43
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This is to be understood, if you've had a modern Christian upbringing. "I read it before I could read" has interesting connotations. I had a similar conversation with James Jordan …
28 Dec 2010, 22:43
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I'm afraid it is probably a vain hope. One interviewer had the cheek to ask Gene Wolfe how long he thought or hoped his books would be read. And Gene Wolfe actually had an answer: …
28 Dec 2010, 20:44
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I think you are exactly on target with this, Jordon. Fomalhaut and Pisces imply there is some- thing fishy going on there...heh...well, maybe just something oceanic? Probably both.…
28 Dec 2010, 20:41
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It seems to me that we do. Jahlee and...can't remember the one who looks like a little bald guy. And both of them want to do one thing on Urth- mate with humans. It seems like ther…
28 Dec 2010, 18:38
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Antonio Pedro Marques: >Besides the fact that it is *the* probable way a travel powered by the This seems right to me. I can't imagine checking star charts and making careful m…
28 Dec 2010, 17:50
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Marc, first let me say that I agree with your approach. Wolfe creates Labryinths, not wide open worlds. When we turn a corner of the maze and see a "character" that resembles ano…
28 Dec 2010, 13:24
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Heh. What? Noooo! But does ask an interesting question. Did Blue/Green's sun ever have a black hole in it? Here is an abbreviated version of my suggestion. The words of Duko Rigo…
28 Dec 2010, 03:58
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I hate to be a repeater, but did you catch my possible re-interpretation of Marc's theory? I thought it had merit but perhaps it was ignored because it didn't. Or perhaps it was j…
27 Dec 2010, 23:27
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Hm. I already mentioned the ruins beneath Blue's Ocean. And I have long thought the "Accepted Lupine Gospel" was on the wrong track with regard to the eclipse ("Tzadkiel's Ship ca…
27 Dec 2010, 18:41
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Heh, what futher explanation could one need! Interestingly, I find the same two pithy summations to be true for Frank Herbert and the Dune series (I may be alone in considering t…
27 Dec 2010, 17:10
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I'm not too good at such things but I think I've heard 300 mile estimates. Our moon is 2160 miles in diameter. Moreover, Lune is still in the sky during Severian's time on Urth so …
27 Dec 2010, 12:05
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There are ruins to be found below the water's surface on Blue. To me, this implies that Blue has had a Flood. This suggests they had a similar problem to the one Urth had/has which…
26 Dec 2010, 16:43
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As Roy so nicely pointed out, the quote I posted was from James Jordan portion of the triumvirate, not poor Nick who was perhaps unfairly blasted, heh heh. Might not matter so muc…
26 Dec 2010, 11:37
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Well for me that is exactly the point. There IS no mention of why there is the need for judgement, what the basis for that judgment is, how Severian is tested, how he passes the te…
26 Dec 2010, 03:12
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“This DONT PAY ATTENTION TO MY WORDS is specifically LINKED TO SETTING. We have to ask ourselves, I find it a pretty compelling argument Marc. In part because I find that Gen…
25 Dec 2010, 09:43
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Thanks to all for the Holiday Greetings! Witz, this reminds me that I've been operating on a few assumptions about Ushas which may need to be questioned. I'm thinking you are sa…
25 Dec 2010, 07:53
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Gerry Quinn: [in regard to Abaia, Erebus and scylla] Who said they died anyway? Well, I've already posted how the caloyer of Saltus predicted their "withering" at the coming of …
24 Dec 2010, 17:40
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Gerry, once again I won't pretend to understand the basis of your probability estimates. Treating fiction like a scientific assessment seems to miss the point. I suspect you are no…
24 Dec 2010, 17:17
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Well, this is an offshoot topic from the initial subject. Why dwell upon it exclusively? What about the primary subject, that being the question of the connection between a star ca…
24 Dec 2010, 14:17
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A multi-part question. I think you are on the right track. Yes, if HOrn, armed with sword and a light, invokes Severian and the Sewer invokes Urth then the blind, old guy invokes …
24 Dec 2010, 04:52
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Well, yes, what I mean is that by pointing out ambiguities you feel you are disproving theories or weakening them perhaps. If self-contradiction really bothers you so much I can…
24 Dec 2010, 04:17
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That was in regard to monster sea creatures but there is their heavenly mirror images, also. Apheta does not have a name, until she meets Severian and needs one. She is a larva. …
23 Dec 2010, 22:54
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Aw Gerry, I can't believe you said that. Next you will tell me that the USA and UK were in grave danger of being invaded by Afghanistan and Iraq? ;= ). (When I say "pointless" I m…
23 Dec 2010, 22:45
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Not just possible it IS ambiguous. That is the point. WOlfe CAN'T be too clear in descriptions of god-like beings.If they were clear, they wouldn't be god-like. Is it really impor…
23 Dec 2010, 22:07
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Well, maybe I could add a little more. There is the parallel of the flooding of the Vincula to consider. Perhaps it was David with whom I discussed that parallel earlier? But the…
23 Dec 2010, 21:26
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I would add that, like Severian, Horn in the Sewer on Green is, like Severian, not only armed with a sword but a light. Other than that, Marc, I think you have nailed it to a T.…
23 Dec 2010, 20:32
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For me, the meanings are pretty clear. The words are spoken on Blue so there is only one sea goddess he can mean. The "feignings of the sea goddess" refers to the female figure …
23 Dec 2010, 20:22
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Mount Erebus is a (earth) volcano in Antarctica and iirc, the god/demon Erebus is said to dwell in that location on Urth. Abaia is frequently associated with the ocean or sea or pe…
23 Dec 2010, 20:02
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Heh, Antonio I'm afraid I was among the confused people after reading your post. Two completely unfamiliar terms. A bit of Googling informed me that a parallelepipede is what I'd …
23 Dec 2010, 17:18
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Yeah, sometimes what seems interesting in your own head comes out as a bit hackeneyed and boring when translated to words. For me, anyway. Well, I suppose Gene Wolfe is faced wi…
22 Dec 2010, 20:38
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I agree that Severian is not telling us a lot of embarassing stuff that he knows. I think Severian does meet her in tUotNS; sees her anyway, as the woman on the Path Of Air. As …
22 Dec 2010, 17:56
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I agree, especially in the light of paired opposites I'm viewing things in. We've got evil fish symbols and good ones. Maybe comparable to the Long Sun's simple Sign of Addition pa…
22 Dec 2010, 17:39
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Juturna, Abaia's daughter-bride, does claim to be able to swim between the stars. Since she is obviously bound by the laws of physics, given her size/water-bound nature I had alway…
22 Dec 2010, 15:40
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Forgot to clarify- Ourobouros, Echidna, Scylla and the Cumaean can be more associated with snakes than fish but I think the myth name Abaia was chosen for the primary demon on Urt…
22 Dec 2010, 13:53
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Speaking for everyone, would you please explain why any of my theories concerning the stories written by Gene Wolfe resemble unpolished straw men, platypuses and vending machines?…
22 Dec 2010, 12:13
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I think it is a mistake to take the text too literally about death when it comes to mythologically named characters. Again I find it helpful to frame these characters in mythologi…
22 Dec 2010, 04:57
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I think, when the main text fails us in some way, we are meant to delve to a different level of interpretation. I think mythological may serve here. I find it virtually undeniabl…
22 Dec 2010, 04:54
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Perhaps I am being too simplistic and naive but the answer that lies between the superficial text and deeper symbolism seems too easy a puzzle, especially given your theory, Marc.…
22 Dec 2010, 02:18
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Gerry you really seem like a decent chap trying to understand the viewpoint of others, including me, but I'm really not sure what more I can say to help you. Your statement above …
22 Dec 2010, 02:06
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Both time travel and cloning are invoked in BotNS but time travel is explored in far more detail and in connection to Severian. So I'd lean toward time travel for explanations but …
21 Dec 2010, 19:46
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Easily only if there was a real person sleeping. There is not. There is an author creating this scene with carefully chosen words. It is actually quite difficult for me to interpr…
21 Dec 2010, 19:07
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I'd have no problem if the discussion were along those lines. My objection is illustrated by Antonio's post who, when confronted with a contributor who observes "the tail seems spi…
21 Dec 2010, 18:22
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This sounds almost Dickensian. And in an interview, Gene Wolfe has said that as an only child he often spent his time people-watching, looking at faces for hints of unknown relativ…
21 Dec 2010, 17:57
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No, you miss the point of the analogy here. There is only a "good" description of the entirety of the elephant if there is a sighted man present. Each blind man "sees" with his han…
21 Dec 2010, 17:19
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I don't think we have very much which is "obvious" left to discuss in Wolfe's work. Haven't we moved on to the subtle and not so obvious? (like the antechamber being a spaceship) …
21 Dec 2010, 16:40
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Marc, I understand your perspective (I think). Mine differs only in being open to some alternate religious interpretations. The Pelerine admonishes Severian for viewing ongoing eve…
21 Dec 2010, 15:35
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