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IIRC, the thorn is drenched in Severian's blood soon after he eats the brain of the old Autarch, becoming the New Sun (within the confines of the story of the first 4 books). I s…
23 May 2011, 12:33
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This is in Gerry's nature and I think I can accept that. Harping on the "giant sloth" bit was an error (the correct term for that creature is "megatheriam") but what bothers me is…
21 May 2011, 23:44
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To go with Gerry's scenario I'd have to also accept that the number of the "Group of 17" is a coincidence. Also that Cadroe of the 17 Stones, the black bean story etc. are unrelat…
20 May 2011, 15:18
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I kinda like this idea. I tend to agree; as fallen angels might contend with angels and God. I can't see this. The promise of the New Sun is not portrayed as a threat to huma…
19 May 2011, 20:34
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An interesting observation! My first response is that it seems like something that would happen if Severian was (unknowingly) an actor in a play. Same could be said for many other…
17 May 2011, 17:39
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Yep, most Laws of science become more and more guidelines with exceptions as the science advances. And Genetics and Evolutionary science have certainly advanced in the past 100+ y…
17 May 2011, 17:34
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We only have a handful of Hiero-types to consider- B, F and O, Malrubius, Tzadkiel and Apheta. I don't recall any of them mentioning the Megatherians (I'd want to double check Mal…
17 May 2011, 17:15
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Hethor mentions the Quasar, IIRC (an appropriate name for a ship which will seek the "white fountain"). Not familiar with a connection of loganstone to Hethor.…
25 Apr 2011, 15:51
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I wouldn't go so far as to say it couldn't be a typo. But one reason I lean toward Antonio's view and why Drotte-Roche might need a somewhat higher level of typo evaluation than th…
20 Apr 2011, 14:38
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Hey, back then, when there was only 4-5 channels to watch, everybody watched Star Trek. If you liked science fiction you couldn't help but be influenced by it. On the other hand, …
23 Feb 2011, 13:24
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Thanks Roy. I've been a bit confused on why Vadsig was possessed by Mora and Fava. There is still some mystery to it. How? Why? But your ideas shed some light on the subject.…
17 Feb 2011, 00:30
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Such open conversation works for me. Got me familiarized with a horny version of Moses I wasn't previously familiar with (though I was familiar with the idea of jews having devil h…
16 Feb 2011, 01:44
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Okay, I was confused whether this was a Koran or Exodus misreading. Looks like it was a Latin translation of the Bible that got "cornuta" or horned as the description of Moses' fac…
15 Feb 2011, 21:12
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Dan'l Danehy-Oakes- Which also reminds me that Michelangelo famously depicted Moses with horns. Oh sheesh, I hadn't heard of that. I wonder if Wolfe made the horned connection to…
15 Feb 2011, 19:36
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Isn't that the way of it, yes. Seems it doesn't matter if it is Hercules, Moses, Zoroaster or Jesus, the touch of God is both a blessing and curse on a man's life. Apologies for i…
15 Feb 2011, 17:06
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Incite sounds so negative! I think much good comes from the interaction. I assume Gerry feels the same way, given his continued participation in the process. Group members like Ger…
15 Feb 2011, 16:40
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I agree with both of these assessments so I consider myself suitably chastened in regard to general Wolfean auctorial tropes. Still I think this particular passage is a somewhat u…
15 Feb 2011, 15:23
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This is potent advice. If more people would follow it, more people would have the clear, straightforward understanding of Gene Wolfe that Gerry Quinn does.…
15 Feb 2011, 14:29
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Yes, absolutely. My guess is that the dream-travel phenomenon is travel between two closely related time strands. So back on the "home planet", beings have to follow all the laws o…
15 Feb 2011, 13:38
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Marc, it upsets some people here greatly to think that Gene Wolfe would write in a way which is not meant to be understood. Perhaps "not conciously understood" is a more gracious w…
15 Feb 2011, 13:27
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I think I see where this is coming from. Still I lean in the direction of James' theory that dream travel is the province of Neighbors (and thus SilkHorn is part Neighbor). I think…
15 Feb 2011, 05:23
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I am reminded of the BotNS story where one angel is bleeding to death and the other muses that if he had known it possible he would have been more careful in the past. Not sure…
14 Feb 2011, 18:02
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There seems to be a bit of talking past each other here. James seems to be saying that beings in dream travel take on a new form of existence, where some physical laws apply and ot…
13 Feb 2011, 11:55
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Yes, Barbatus explains that: "What you call eidolons are not ghosts, but beings maintained in existence by some external energy source. What you call matter is all, in actuality,…
13 Feb 2011, 02:18
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No, I don't.…
13 Feb 2011, 02:03
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Gerry who told you that all works of art must have a "nuts and bolts" meaning which supersedes all allegorical meanings? Seriously, I am having trouble understanding where this ide…
13 Feb 2011, 01:59
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This is an interesting debate. It reminds me of the debate last year with Tony Ellis on whether Yesod is to be found forward or backward in time relative to Briah. The evidence pre…
12 Feb 2011, 08:14
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James makes an extremely good point. UotNS may be as close to a "test" or "experiment" as we'll get with WOlfe literature. We know he never meant to write UotNS so we can go back …
11 Feb 2011, 18:15
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First, I enjoyed your conversation on materialism with Lane. Thanks. I think what you wrote above is in the spirit with which Wolfe is writing. Any object or event exists simulta…
11 Feb 2011, 17:54
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Ah, Gerry, your pugnacious, argumentative side is on full display in this post. Still, is probably better to not let that side get the best of you. For brevity, I'll just say that …
11 Feb 2011, 17:39
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Gerry I get the impression you consider yourself a man of math, logic and science and that for you, these explanatory philosophies are always superior to spiritual, religious or m…
11 Feb 2011, 15:09
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I can see why Marc has trouble with your theory Gerry. As a self-acknowledged mystery writer, Gene Wolfe has a special place in his work for dream sequences and stories/myths/lege…
11 Feb 2011, 13:40
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I think this is good reasoning. By it, we must conclude that Pas' Plan was meant to use Viron as a central focus point for the whole Whorl. Why Viron? I'm thinking that of all his…
11 Feb 2011, 13:18
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This is an interesting alternate explanation. I think most have been content with the idea that the benevolence is a result of the principle that we tend to become the role we play…
11 Feb 2011, 12:56
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Hmm..how to put my view into words.... I think Wolfe, in trying to make ancient gods "real" in his story recognizes that they are, as in legend, giant, superpowered beings who mu…
10 Feb 2011, 14:00
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Hm. yep. But also Piaton is dark-haired (while Typhon is blonde). Isn't that some sort of clue to genealogy? I think I detect some ring of truth to this idea. The Ky…
10 Feb 2011, 13:15
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That is funny. Because David Duffy's question made me think of nothing else more than Wolfe's Peace. Jeff's quote seems quite germaine to that novel also. Anyway, I think Gene Wo…
10 Feb 2011, 13:01
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Old Earth or Urth? Well, either way I think you and James have a good idea on the right way to go with all this. Hm..."not literary enough"? You can't mean Wolfe displays a poor…
10 Feb 2011, 03:44
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Heh, that one's a bit too easy Jeff. I wasn't sure if you were kidding or not. But perhaps you haven't followed any of the discussion between James and I on the general mythologica…
10 Feb 2011, 01:17
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I don't see that as a problem. Why would people remember an isolated lander leaving the Whorl? Each city seems pretty wrapped up in its own business. Now if you are talking abou…
10 Feb 2011, 00:48
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The undine says she only wants Severian's love. But they have to sneak off underwater somewhere to do it and Severian is ambivalent about the whole thing. Eckhart says: So I …
10 Feb 2011, 00:33
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I think the evidence in at the crater Horn finds. It is ringed with a circle of blue glass and the plant growth in circle is newer growth shrubbery compared to the surrounding mat…
10 Feb 2011, 00:21
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I really don't know. But if I have to make a guess, based on the text, I'd have to guess that like aquastors/eidolons Triskele and Malrubius, the persona/spirit of Jonas was creat…
09 Feb 2011, 23:11
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Well first let me say that this is an awfully long story about nothing much happening. I interpret such a story as being important more for the telling and who is telling it than …
09 Feb 2011, 23:06
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Yes, I think we are in agreement on Wolfe's intentions. Especially if "creation", "God's Plan" and "Word of the Increate" are all synonymous. I don't quite get you here. Why has …
09 Feb 2011, 20:30
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If I understand James correctly, when Inhumi dream travel to Urth they become human. Not just some ethereal dream-substance but fully, fleshly human, able to have eat, have sex pro…
09 Feb 2011, 19:16
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I think it is more complex than this. We could consider BotNS a religious/mythological based story for which the moral is that the world/universe is more than a battle between go…
09 Feb 2011, 19:07
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Yes. I think this is getting closer to the heart of the matter. I would ask Andrew about which group, on the Whorl, do we know is able to do "possession", putting their spirits in…
09 Feb 2011, 18:36
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Well, I think it is assumed that the soldier was dead, but Severian reanimated him, in part with his memory of his friend Jonas, whom he missed. Sorta like the reanimating Thecla i…
09 Feb 2011, 18:21
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It seems clear that the New Sun and its killing of humanity so that green things (even a green man) may live is presaged here. The pelagic, watery, fish stuff combined with the gre…
09 Feb 2011, 17:55
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