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Gerry Quinn: >Gerry Quinn: Bah, it’s just a credit card type number. The only point is it has low entropy, Ack!!! now I am issuing orders to myself! I think you forgot to add …
28 Oct 2011, 13:04
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Heh, funny, since I usually agree with you Marc! I think the only real point of difference between us is the presence or absence of Jesus Christ in the Sun Series. Other disagreeme…
28 Oct 2011, 12:58
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"dive into Lake" heh! Good one. Of course this is from a guy who has hectored about Hector and found evidence jibing with jibers. My taste in puns may be suspect. I kind of …
28 Oct 2011, 02:51
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Well, yeah, of course. It make perfect sense to me that this Father Inire stuff might be questionable to anyone. It is pretty bizarre. But some people are interested in it and the…
27 Oct 2011, 20:33
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I am going to distort the meaning of your post and agree with you. Any executive power the Autarch seems to have is purely a formality. There is the evidence of Cyriaca and some ot…
27 Oct 2011, 20:01
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It is a point worth making but is there really a difference, other than perspective? Mainstream Christians demonize Lucifer/Satan and the fallen angels and associate them with evil…
27 Oct 2011, 16:27
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Nice post James. I can certainly agree with this multi-layered analysis. Of course I agree that the name of an Astra fits nicely with the gnostic sub-text of this story. Adding a r…
27 Oct 2011, 16:05
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Yes. I think we may actually be mostly in agreement but talking past each other. It may boil down to a forest vs. trees approach. I am definitely a forest sort of thinker and I th…
27 Oct 2011, 14:38
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It is from this old text- An Encyclopaedia of Occultism. It is the first entry on this search page and the Google blurb is the quickest way to read the relevent content: http://www…
27 Oct 2011, 14:15
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I agree. Heh. Why do I suspect you aren't really hurt ;- ). I don't intend to be snotty by pointing out that Gene Wolfe is American and that may give an occasional advantage to …
27 Oct 2011, 13:53
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It has been mentioned a few times recently that there is another passage which suggests all those ships might be one Ship. Why would WOlfe mention this possibility? Again the ident…
27 Oct 2011, 13:28
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Yes, I think the evidence for Hethor on Tzadkiel's Ship is pretty good. "Identical" is simply not a good word though. Is Jurturna identical to Idas? Is a khaibit identical to he…
27 Oct 2011, 02:11
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Oh surely! But why must it be "the" (singular) reference? Consider the name Palaemon. It is a saint name but is also a greek sea god. I think the duality of that name might have si…
26 Oct 2011, 17:31
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Okay, I will concede that my mention of the Citadel hulks is not the best example. But you reminded me of the example I meant to include but forgot: The Whorl. I can't understand…
26 Oct 2011, 17:18
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This quasi-dream/quasi-reality essence is exactly what I think WOlfe was going for. He doesn't WANT us to be able to fully understand it. I'll offer the additional evidence that H…
26 Oct 2011, 16:32
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That's correct. And Gene Wolfe knew this while writing the first few chapters of his book as evidenced by Severian's family crest. He expected us to figure that out without what w…
26 Oct 2011, 16:28
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Tzadkiel's ship was not used to spread humanity from Urth throughout the galaxy. The towers/hulks which comprise much of the Citadel are examples of these ships and they are quite …
26 Oct 2011, 16:13
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I understood in the exchange that Gerry had no way of knowing that "header" is not a slang expression most Americans would understand (I would first think of a method of propelling…
26 Oct 2011, 15:56
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I don't know! I found it in an obscure occult text from 1920. I don't normally read such stuff. But I get the impression Gene Wolfe has. There really aren't many online references …
26 Oct 2011, 15:40
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I agree, it WOULD be like Wolfe. It wasn't only me who was able to follow James' lead in recognizing that the sober, brilliant young general Spring Wind and the arrogant, vain Typh…
26 Oct 2011, 14:55
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Yes, when I first saw your mention of "Kim" I was confused. I thought maybe you had mixed up Mowgli and the Jungle Book with that other Kipling novel. Though I corrected you befor…
26 Oct 2011, 12:47
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That does seem to describe Tzadkiel. The first time we see him, he is a giantic, island- sized angel floating in space. The second time we see him, he is a shapeless, hairy blob. W…
25 Oct 2011, 14:01
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Well, if I understand Larry correctly, Severian is guided to the Last House by a Pelerine (or Mannea, specifically). The Last House is the same sort of time structure as the tower…
25 Oct 2011, 13:16
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Excellent insight in identifying Severian's motivation of going to Ouen as one of his first acts after becoming autarch (and acquiring the memories). And good catch in noting Cont…
25 Oct 2011, 12:40
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Well, he is searching for Valeria's tower. He can't find it. He has to find her by retracing his steps through the twisting path from the oubilette. Yes. Severian tries a short c…
25 Oct 2011, 03:07
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Well, yes, megatherian means "great beast" and Abaia is sometimes referred to as Great Beast Abaia. It seems like one of the easier puzzles to solve. I don't understand why th…
25 Oct 2011, 02:43
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Gerry Quinn: As far as I remember, the only ship Hethor mentions serving on was called the Quasar. Yes, as I mentioned in a recent post, it was a fairly common 70's- 80's SF tr…
24 Oct 2011, 20:19
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I take Hethor's rising status of ship's crew jobs as a sign of his ambition. surely an attribute also found in Lucifer. Well yes. that's what I meant. But "used to be" invokes …
24 Oct 2011, 20:11
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Yes, he seems to have sacrificed superhuman youth, beauty and height for long life. Likewise for The Cumaean. Yes. In contrast to the other, nice-looking hierodules who make ap…
24 Oct 2011, 19:26
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Oh, that actually makes me kind of sad. If robots (not just Jonas but also Sidero) can have human emotions, why can't aliens? Especially, as some have suggested, these aliens are e…
24 Oct 2011, 19:11
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No, the Path of Air (Road of Air in Dr. Talos' play) is a specific area of the House Absolute. It is described as a....the architectural term escapes me now...a sort of breezeway …
24 Oct 2011, 18:56
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Hm. I'm not sure I could summarize 7 years of contributions in a meaningful way in one post. But as a request from a long-time (longer than me), insightful, pleasant and respectful…
24 Oct 2011, 17:53
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I believe it is the Old Autarch who tells Severian that Thecla was chosen for her loyalty to Vodalus as a means to bind his followers more tightly to him. I tend to think Vodalus a…
24 Oct 2011, 17:16
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Thecla was important. But perhaps not as important as eating the mother of the Conciliator/New Sun (which Vodalus may or may not know about. But SOMEBODY in power knows about i…
24 Oct 2011, 16:33
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Okay. A little preparatory spade work is necessary though. First, I'd say the Atrium of Time itself is not itself a time travel device. HOwever it is surrounded by towers which a…
24 Oct 2011, 16:23
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I might be more inclined to agree that Dorcas' husband is just some guy if it weren't for the fact that there are two other old boatmen who also like to talk about undines. The ol…
24 Oct 2011, 15:40
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Yes there is that Merryn quote. But my own memory was of a quote where the Cumaean is asked something or she wonders something and mutters, "perhaps the Abraxas will know" or som…
24 Oct 2011, 15:20
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Proofs? In literary interpretation? You can't really mean that. Anyway, let me ask what I hope is an illustrative question: How can a Christian writer justify writing fiction whi…
24 Oct 2011, 14:50
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Gerry, the problem is that you have asked this same question numerous times over the past few years. I have given you detailed answers each time. Apparently it never sank in. What …
24 Oct 2011, 12:56
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Borski suggests Ultan is a version of Father Inire because of the obscured eyes. I find more significance in the fact that Severian sees the face of the dead woman in the necropo…
24 Oct 2011, 03:24
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I was about to disagree with you about how good the visible story of Severian's quest is. But then you qualified and explained it so nicely. It is the parables and stories within…
24 Oct 2011, 02:54
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A fair and helpful suggestion for a refinement of my idea from you guys. Thanks. Since Wolfe probably hadn't decided to use the name Tzadkiel and very likely hadn't conceived…
24 Oct 2011, 02:41
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What's wrong with taking it seriously because an intelligent reader who is highly familiar with BotNS sees it? Perhaps you consider me stupid? Who exactly is "us"? Why not say…
24 Oct 2011, 02:24
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I do not mean this nor do I think Wolfe does. I think Wolfe uses the Sun Series to recognize that (as in Genesis 1:1) dark is the necessary precursor to light. Severian's univers…
23 Oct 2011, 20:27
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Like David, I would like a link to this quote if possible. I don't necessarily doubt it, but it would be nice to see it in context. Is it possible Wolfe spoke of one "Increate…
23 Oct 2011, 02:41
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This post is for David Stockhoff to whom I promised an answer to his question on what benefit Severian might have for keeping Father Inire in such difficult to penetrate disguise…
23 Oct 2011, 02:20
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Yes, but if the Inire as Dionysus idea is correct, we can't rely on "normal" expectations for human size and reproduction consideratons. Consider the example of Semele, mother …
23 Oct 2011, 01:27
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Without meaning to slight Christianity, the theoanthropic concept did not originate with Jesus Christ. It can be found in pre-Christian religions stretching from Hinduism to Gre…
22 Oct 2011, 19:34
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Fair enough. Though I'd say that I think myths and religion are the key to only one level of this piece of literature. There are other levels which need other keys. Knowledge of …
22 Oct 2011, 18:50
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Great post Jeff. Yes, it could have. Here's the thing for me- We have the mystery of Dr. Talos' knowledge. It is a mystery because it is not explained and I think we are suppo…
22 Oct 2011, 16:37
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