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I think somewhere it is contrasted that the Ascians hope to eventually copy one individual over and over in the millions in their populatce. The Commonwealth hopes to eventually …
02 Aug 2010, 16:07
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I presume the Author of you and I is to be considered of an intelligence too vast, penetrating, universal, inhuman and mysterious to ever be comprehended by us. How true is that …
01 Aug 2010, 12:58
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I think this is a very apt comparison which I haven't seen made before. I can't help but think that horror was intended in the scene where Becan is so immediately happy and acce…
31 Jul 2010, 08:01
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---------------------------------------- Yeah, alzabo, avern, abaia, arioch..so many alien "a's" on Urth. Wolfe himself refers to the Vodalus feast as a "satanic eucharist". B…
30 Jul 2010, 19:59
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Yeah, alzabo, avern, abaia, arioch..so many alien "a's" on Urth. Wolfe himself, in an interview, calls the Vodalus feast a "satanic eucharist". But we are to take Severian's fe…
30 Jul 2010, 19:54
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Without disagreeing I'd want to point out that fuligin is the color which is darker than black. If black absorbs all colors of the spectrum then a black hole is even darker becaus…
30 Jul 2010, 16:58
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So, why doesn't Wolfe have Severian reject the Autarch's pharmicon at the last second and have him find the true, Increate-given, path toward becoming the New Sun and Conciliator? …
30 Jul 2010, 16:32
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Perhaps I should have been more clear. I perceive that the story presents two sorts of resurrection. One is pure and good and is associated with Pelerines and gems and white (or is…
30 Jul 2010, 15:16
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Jeff Wilson- That last related tale puzzles me. The very large, very pale "pandours" suggest armed and armored siblings of Idas. Perhaps the pandours and undines are related. I t…
30 Jul 2010, 05:27
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I think it is a single snake-like thing which extends to nether-dimensions; no visible head. The "many" are faces which form the pattern on the "reptile's" back "the eyes of each …
30 Jul 2010, 04:56
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Well, I suppose the catamite status of the baby would fall under my other category, "unpleasantly outrageous" better than "fantastic" explanations. I was addressing what I thoug…
29 Jul 2010, 17:46
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No reason he can't be both (though Baldanders is dark haired). The thing is the word "catamite" is used. Severian is not a real person who might have meaningless random musings. T…
29 Jul 2010, 13:01
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A good question. First, I'd say Southerners are mostly, like Hallvard, tall, pale skinned and blonde, from the cold parts of The Commonwealth. To the north of Nessus are the India…
29 Jul 2010, 03:55
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My assumption was that, like Idas, all the undines have white/albino hair. The green algae color wouldn't work so well atop a brunette. I put a lot of stock in the undines' clai…
28 Jul 2010, 11:38
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Well, I certainly agree that Borski takes one theme, like haircolor or onomastics and runs with it and stretches it beyond all credulity. The blonde catamite is a perfect example.…
27 Jul 2010, 19:52
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True, Severian is able to identify the old Autarch in a couple guises. Still, perhaps an alien who has chosen to live on Urth as a human is a bit better at disguise than a human…
27 Jul 2010, 19:38
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Oh, that is so unfair! heh. Actually red hair would be in the mix also, (remembering that Fechin is Father Inire). Sorry about the goat, btw. My theory holds together pretty we…
27 Jul 2010, 19:13
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I'm not sure it is as clear as all that. The old Autarch served as Third Bursar. Captain Tzadkiel served as a sailor on his ship. Severian served as one of his own army commanders.…
27 Jul 2010, 18:27
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Severian encounters three people who have facility with mirrors, Jonas, the old Autarch and Hethor. Severian encounters persons resembling Jonas and Hethor when he goes on Tzadkiel…
27 Jul 2010, 18:10
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Jeff Wilson- Well, many major power players including Father Inire, The Old Autarch and The Cumaean (via Hildegren) explicitly state that their strategy involves playing both sid…
27 Jul 2010, 17:34
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I think my interpretation is that Severian, at that point, doesn't know if he will be successful in bringing the New Sun. If he is not perhaps the next torturer boy should also be …
27 Jul 2010, 16:41
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Well, I don't know that there is any way to prove such a thing, certainly not to those who don't like the idea. But it is interesting that different paths can arrive at the same d…
27 Jul 2010, 12:05
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I was just watching a National Geographic special on the mystery of the gigantic, many kilometers-long Nazca desert drawings in southern Peru. I thought about the Sun series, most…
24 Jul 2010, 03:51
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Here are the suspicious circumstances to me on this issue in BotNS- 1. Conspicuously absent is mention of homosexual activities among the members of the guild.From prisons to Gre…
22 Jul 2010, 03:18
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Or holograms? Wolfe does invoke them in the first few chapters and eidolons can shatter and become silver shards or something like that. Anyway, I guess they gain real substance …
21 Jul 2010, 23:38
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sorry, another copy of this was filed under subject #. Typo. I think Severian dies and is resurrected as an eidolon several times (probably five). Oh, yes, I'd forgotten that …
21 Jul 2010, 11:41
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I think Severian dies and is resurrected as an eidolon several times (probably five). Oh, yes, I'd forgotten that line. Thanks Tony. It does seem rather explicit. A shame it can…
21 Jul 2010, 11:39
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I'm not seeing that Idas has gills though she does have concealed web feet. I think that is a damn good guess. Especially since Severian lays that skull at the threshold of his …
20 Jul 2010, 22:54
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Wow, that is a very interesting consideration. Severian has various superhuman powers...could each of them have been endowed during his duplication as an eidolon? If so, perhaps …
20 Jul 2010, 18:18
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As Severian's powers of resurrection are an echo of his ability to resurrect the sun? Hm, could be. Brother Severian, eh? Well, the bizarre sexual attraction between Severian and…
20 Jul 2010, 02:58
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That is a funny name. Like something from Monty Python, I think. And yes, the comparison of Severian to Ymar has been made in the past. Some even think perhaps Ymar was the first…
19 Jul 2010, 13:23
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Yes, Prometheus is the perfect example to help me clarify what I am trying to get to. Thanks. To his Greek believers Prometheus is the one who created humanity, invented arts an…
19 Jul 2010, 13:10
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Yes, considering the "waves of gravitation" emitted by the onrushing New Sun that could be the force which kills off the giant monsters. Or perhaps some newly risen continent has …
19 Jul 2010, 04:12
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This is all good but not (I think) answering the question which is being asked. Perhaps we've all seen the Christian bumper sticker which reads: "I know the Future. God wins". So…
19 Jul 2010, 03:34
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Yes, thanks, that is correct. Sorry, confused with Ottoman.…
18 Jul 2010, 06:06
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In my last post under Patera Inire (which has a typo- should start- "I don't agree") I mention an allegorical answer I think best for explaining how an ocean-bound creature like …
18 Jul 2010, 06:02
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I do agree with this conclusion. Most important in my disagreement is the sense I have that this story was written (and meant to be read) through a Christian lens. Severian may be…
18 Jul 2010, 05:13
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I agree. If Inire was described as really tall and beautiful there might be an obvious case for him being a hierodule. But he is seems significantly different than B, F and O. Sev…
16 Jul 2010, 14:34
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He also drives them off the Whorl. He drives them off the Whorl using heat and drought. This was a big part of my suggestion that the name Pas is derived from the Babylonian god/…
15 Jul 2010, 00:27
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John Watkins: Nice post John. My thinking has leaned in the same direction, heavily influenced by the (surprisingly) hard SF, (shockingly) foresighted 1972 book, The Gods Themse…
13 Jul 2010, 17:11
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I think Severian bears quite a resemblance to Number Five (as Phaedria quite resembles Thecla). Number Five's real name is Gene Wolfe. Is it so far fetched that Inire is father to…
13 Jul 2010, 16:12
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Well, not quite so simple to determine. But using these two clues together I found what I never had put together before. Thanks fellas! I always knew that the left head was blond…
12 Jul 2010, 23:40
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Cliff Judge: I I don't think the old Autarch is involved in picking Severian. He is a failed New Sun-bringer himself. I think he is old and wants to glean just a bit of glory or…
12 Jul 2010, 19:44
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James Wynn, I liked your previous post about names. I also think A.P. Marques raises a legitimate concern about a Fenrir origin. Other authors are likely to distort to disguise a m…
12 Jul 2010, 19:11
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I like the possibility of Fenrir as a name origin for Fr. Inire too. I also agree that suggesting Inire could escape Urth whenever he wanted is not capturing the spirit of the sug…
12 Jul 2010, 13:44
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A number of years ago my brother asked me for something new to read and I gave him BotNS. After he read it he told me he had "figured out the secret". I was a little intrigued (tho…
10 Jul 2010, 05:51
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A.P.M.:> Sure, but that is not the point I am getting at. The question I'm asking I think what the Increate wants is not just for the White Fountain to save the sun, but for Se…
09 Jul 2010, 21:13
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I think the name Jahi in E & G is a reference to the Persian/Zorastrian goddess/demon of that name. She is known for lasciviousness and as a "polluting whore" and the source of th…
09 Jul 2010, 20:58
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Oh, some further thoughts on monkeys and Inire- I agree that "dog-faced baboon" is the likely reference for the cynocephalus. I think it might tie in with the Egyptian god Thoth wh…
09 Jul 2010, 17:53
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Roy I appreciate your efforts to ground all discussion in direct references from the text. I certainly welcome the generation of a theory which explains all these monkey references…
09 Jul 2010, 15:55
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