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I am pretty sure some of the (published) difficulty Wolfe had with his older son is reflected in the fictional difficulty Horn has with his oldest son, Sinew, and his monstrous su…
30 Apr 2015, 13:27
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Sounds also like a summary of the entire Sun series to me. I think David was just providing an example to direct our attention to the Greek root word with the prefix tagging alon…
24 Apr 2015, 15:15
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IIRC you connect this theme to the Vironese custom of plant naming of women and animal naming of men. Also to the connection between botanic parasitic vine/multi-limbed trees an…
15 Sep 2014, 18:46
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Yet I think it should be remembered that one of the primates Severian encounters (on the Ship) ends up BEING Tzadkiel. Does this provide a link between Inire and Tzadkiel? I th…
11 Sep 2014, 16:58
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Sorry, I am not familiar with "Lionel Messi". But I disagree that he and football have a relationship to these BotNS characters. Mythological Typhon is a multi-headed monster re…
25 Aug 2014, 03:32
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You recognize that Victor is trying to convince himself he is human but do not recognize that Victor often succeeds in doing so. When Marsch first meets Victor he notes Victor's…
24 Aug 2014, 13:29
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IIRC, the "she" is Thecla speaking to Severian while imprisoned. I can't see why she would beg for pardon for saying he wasn't yet pale enough. Thecla struggled between dismissin…
17 Dec 2013, 15:25
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I've long wondered about the significance of the name of Master Ash and his cryptic reference to Vine. I've found one likely reference in Norse mythology, in which the first man a…
13 Sep 2013, 20:00
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My first reaction was to disagree with Marc; to say that he is still Horn, in part. But then I noticed Marc didn't phrase it like that. He says the guy is "not her husband anymore"…
30 Aug 2013, 12:02
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Thanks Jeff! Heh, yep the monkey and dog families figure largely into my interpretation of a primate named Wolfe.…
17 Jun 2013, 11:08
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This discussion got me thinking. I think if we are to solve this mystery, the answer might come from a better understanding of The Cumaean. We first learn she is the Seeress who l…
08 May 2013, 13:15
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I don't remember Borski's explanation on the ribbons but I think there are a number of subtle hints to be found in the various attributes and acoutrements of these two. For examp…
01 May 2013, 14:54
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On the subject of identity, I could trot out my theory regarding clones in this series. I have an intuitive sense that clones are more important in BotNS than they superficially ap…
08 Apr 2013, 18:59
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I don't know if this has been noted before but at the end of OBW, the narrator is telling several stories at once in typical confusing fashion, shuttling between them with each new…
10 Dec 2012, 04:11
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Just for the sake of discussion, I'll disagree. Perhaps Wolfe isn't diamond-hard but I'd give him ruby- or sapphire- on the MOhs scale. I think he makes a sincere attempt in most …
28 Nov 2012, 15:51
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My own thinking is in line with nates, but I have to admit that Jerry's thinking is congruent with Wolfe's quote in the Gevers interview. Perhaps we are just supposed to accept it …
28 Nov 2012, 13:36
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With regard to the astral projection sort of travel, I agree with those who think that has more to do with the less-than-substantial Neighbors' influence than Inhumi. FWIW, this so…
26 Nov 2012, 19:22
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Not at all pedantic or patronising. I, for one, appreciate the clarification of your position.…
26 Nov 2012, 18:39
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I tend to agree. Over and over the Inhumi are described as reptilian. Then they end up mimicking a mammalian mating ritual but reproducing like amphibians in the water. What gives?…
26 Nov 2012, 18:37
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In the Nick Gevers interview, Wolfe is asked, in complex fashion, about the secret of the Inhumi. Here is Wolfe's answer: Wolfe's answer does not (to me) address nate's concern. …
26 Nov 2012, 15:20
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I agree with badger that this is too broad and simplistic. I agree with Jeff that this is, in some fashion, "the secret" that Master Gurloes imparted but there is more to it that w…
26 Nov 2012, 13:39
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I just read a passage where Krait is discussing his vision and the vision of all inhumi. He says he can see clearly in fog and that the sky always looks black to him and the stars …
28 Sep 2012, 17:07
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I'm re-reading Short Sun and I've become fully convinced of something I previously suspected. When Horn finds fresh blood on his boat he thinks of the woman he shot on the pirate s…
18 Sep 2012, 03:32
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I am confused by this. I could guess the first [sic] is a way of forshadowing that Horn's self-identity will come into question later. But what about the second [sic]? Is Hide's id…
18 Sep 2012, 03:06
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I was watching a TV show on the "Secrets of Christianity" and there was a segment on a sea voyage Jesus took. The interesting part (for this list) was a mention that Jesus probably…
16 Apr 2012, 19:23
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Well, not just a dream, but a dying man's dream. I'm not sure I can explain it any better than I have. Among the clues given I think the most telling was a shot of a book with the…
06 Apr 2012, 18:49
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Aren't all Wolfe motifs scattered far and wide, inhabiting the interstices of the text like white wolves in the Secret House? True, fish themes are splashed across the Sun Series…
16 Mar 2012, 19:31
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Heh, yep. Reminds me of David and my discussions on author as demiurge. You can create everything in a world but you can't control the free will of the residents/audience. Hm,…
16 Mar 2012, 00:42
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I am quite aware of the superficial context of the references. You ignore that the text can be understood at more than one literary level. I don't think there is a particularly go…
12 Mar 2012, 19:54
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I don't think we can be. And I agree that the interview, by itself, could be dismissed as retrofitting. Much as we'd hate to think of Wolfe doing that, he is human. Here is wha…
12 Mar 2012, 13:52
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As I see it, if it is human-created it is, by definition, not objective truth. How could it be? Only God is objective. The rest of us were gestated in a womb and raised in an ape-l…
23 Dec 2011, 14:22
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Well, of course you should not ignore it! But I think reading in context is important. By saying BotNS has no "fantasy" sort of magic, I think he is saying there is no Harry Potter…
22 Dec 2011, 19:57
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I think the text duplicates this discussion: My statement about cultural prescribed cannibalism not being for the purpose of nutrition stands. Famine and starvation cannibalism …
21 Dec 2011, 18:08
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Daniel Petersen: http://silkandhornheresy.blogspot.com/2010/06/reading-wolfe-is-dream-like-another.html Nice essay, Daniel! I found the graphic intriguing as well. The dagger p…
19 Dec 2011, 19:33
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You have not mentioned the fairy tale of Rip Van Winkle (or is that too American to be known around the world?). Anyway, we are not discussing a hypothesis here. Many have just r…
17 Dec 2011, 15:40
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Yeah, I am eternally jealous of you Dan'l, that you were participating in those Golden Days, though I did get some discourse with Mantis a couple years ago in an online- one year …
16 Dec 2011, 21:22
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Heh, funny. I am always described as the fair and unflappable peacemaker. Oh it IS weird and creepy. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. "Let's just talk about Wolfe" s…
16 Dec 2011, 20:56
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Gerry you are inventing straw men to knock down again. Nobody has said Doras is "about" Briar Rose, the Sleeping Beauty. The suggestion was simply and broadly that BotNS has i…
16 Dec 2011, 04:06
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Great research and insight David! The "Three Maids" remind me of the three maids in Dr. Talos' play. Aside from beheading, I wonder if there is further connection to Lybe, Solang…
03 Dec 2011, 13:11
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I find it interesting that Hierax is dead, but I find it more interesting to wonder how Pig knows this. Wow. My interpretation is so different. I think perhaps the "pirate ship"…
23 Nov 2011, 18:20
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There should not be any debate. It simply isn't very hard to see. The chapter title, the text formatting, the dialog; they all make it as clear as you could hope to get from Wol…
21 Nov 2011, 02:56
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Yes, I meant to mention that but forgot. I don't think it is so simple though. Who is Severian's grandfather? We don't have to consider his connections to Father Inire but we can'…
18 Nov 2011, 21:01
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I concur. Moreover there is some evidence that Wolfe is intentionally shifting his allusion from Greco-Roman myth allusion of Urth to the sea neigbor/rival Egyptian mythology for t…
17 Nov 2011, 21:22
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I hear you, Marc, and feel your pain. I consider the literal solution to be a possibility and I hope you'll find resolution at some point. What I meant in the last post is the ir…
10 Nov 2011, 13:26
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Well, I'm really not trying to knock you off your game nor knock you onto mine. But in explanation of my own view I'm tempted to write: "No, no no! Blue is USHAS". Not Urth. (si…
10 Nov 2011, 03:15
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Heh. Good movie! I don't see this in terms of good and evil, though. More like a predator-prey relationship. Those with an abundance of self-confidence will prey on those who are m…
09 Nov 2011, 20:32
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I think Gerry has been on this list too long. His subconscious is starting to absorb the deeper structure of the narrative, even if his conscious mind resists. You are 2/3 right …
09 Nov 2011, 13:22
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This does not seem a meaningful evaluation to me. The implication is that Gerry's theory is in competition with the idea James and I have. I don't think that nor do I think James …
04 Nov 2011, 20:22
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Interesting! The debate does carry on after all. I would agree with the assessment that there are far more S. America references than to any other geographic location on earth. Thi…
03 Nov 2011, 12:04
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I was just checking into the Hyacinth myth and I was reminded that this character was a teenage boy, the sexual consort of Apollo. I was trying to think if there is any evidence (…
02 Nov 2011, 14:15
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