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Well, Silkhorn does astral travel to Urth with Jahlee, where she takes real human form and basically spends all her time copulating. Aside from making the connection of busty redhe…
27 Nov 2012, 15:48
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I can concur with this view. But what DID invent those source things if not humans? Evolution? God? Are these words for the same thing (in Wolfe's view)?…
27 Nov 2012, 14:42
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When Moses was a baby in Pharaoh's court, he was offered the choice of a gold bowl vs. a bowl of hot coals to see if he was a danger to the throne. An angel guided his hand to the …
27 Nov 2012, 14:19
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This brings to mind Severian's revelation on Tzadkiel's ship that the unquestionably angelic Barbatus and Famulimus have a watery, "kelpie"- like origin, connecting them to the gia…
27 Nov 2012, 13:56
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Yes, I think these are exactly the questions Gene Wolfe expects us to ask. But I differ from some others in finding that he provides unequivocally likely answers. The first questi…
27 Nov 2012, 13:44
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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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This is in alignment with my own perspective of things. Truly free and independent choice of action is necessarily a limitation on an all-powerful God's power. Conversely, the mor…
26 Nov 2012, 18:48
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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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Spitballing may be what we are limited to in a story which jumbles Theseus with the Monitor and Merrimac and Mowgli with Romulus and Remus and Squanto. As I see it, mythological T…
26 Nov 2012, 15:51
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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'm thinking Daniel Petersen's comment may have been inspired by Severian's/Wolfe's own line that "We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are thei…
26 Nov 2012, 14:05
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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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Completely agreed. (e.g. Severian's unprompted denial of pedophilia is the only reason we might think it happened.) This is the direction of my interpretation also. Typhon was the…
26 Nov 2012, 13:18
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The animal vs. plant orgin of the Claw is left open for most of the story. In the end (of Citadel) Severian could have found a claw from an animal carcass on the beach but instead,…
23 Nov 2012, 16:20
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Thank you. Yes, I think all that is relevant. I do think Wolfe uses many of the intelligent creatures in his stories to point out not only our anthropocentric view of the universe …
01 Oct 2012, 18:59
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I don't know. But I'll play Wolfe's advocate for a minute, as he is known in interviews to praise the intelligence and wisdom of ancient scholars and denounce our assumptions of th…
01 Oct 2012, 18:34
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Thanks Marc. Yes, I thought I'd seen some sort of mention of this conflict and when I first read OBW the connection jumped instantly to mind. I don't have a personal relationship…
01 Oct 2012, 12:38
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In nature, the more common scheme is for a parthenogenetic mother to produce male and female offspring (usually in times of environmental disturbance) and it is the siblings which …
01 Oct 2012, 12:18
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Actually, Horn himself (though I guess he has died and is now SilkHorn) associates Krait's vision with inhumi space flight. I think such casual assumptions of their space flight i…
30 Sep 2012, 07:29
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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 could use some elaboration or explanation for these two. (3) The Neighbors withdrew from both Green and Blue, essentially giving them to humanity to make their own (and in Marc…
24 Sep 2012, 12:55
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I am hoping Antonio is lucky enough to not be familiar with Donald Trump. Ditto Good question. Had to search around to find it among the pages at the end of RTTW. That part of th…
24 Sep 2012, 00:31
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Just a few loose ends to (perhaps) wrap up this thread. I think a good case has been made to support the idea of Seawrack losing her arm via Babbie rather than Horn's shot. It isn…
23 Sep 2012, 04:13
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Agreed. I guess I'll offer this observation. Severian connects the Naviscaput to Abaia. But the Naviscaput has taken Night as his mate. In Greek mythology, the mate of Night or Nyx…
21 Sep 2012, 18:49
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Not shoals but deeply cut channels, iirc. We are never told or shown what Abaia looks like except that he is the size of a mountain. That would seem to jibe with the Naviscaput who…
20 Sep 2012, 12:58
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Interesting post. You got me thinking. Actually, I think the metaphysical connection might be more to Severian, who ends the Sun series as an ocean-borne fish god. He is the human-…
20 Sep 2012, 12:25
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At first glance I can see why this hypothesis seems more parsimonious. But I don't think it accounts for much that is in the text. Seawrack does seem to feed Horn two storylines. O…
19 Sep 2012, 02:43
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Yes, The Naviscaput story appears as a dreamy legend so having its head serve as a ship armed with a cannon seemed to be an imaginary, invented part of the story to me. Now that t…
18 Sep 2012, 19:16
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Thanks Gerry, Sergei and David for helpful comments on this passage. I agree with Gerry that Marc really hits the nail on the head with the post above. Silk has paternal feelings f…
18 Sep 2012, 17:03
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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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Interesting. And 1.2 million miles? Just a jog down the block for the inhumi ;- ).…
25 Jun 2012, 12:23
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Thanks for that Mo. I'll have to agree with Fred. Given a limited data set, that being the body of Wolfe's work, I too detect a real dark (which is not to say evil) side to his nat…
30 May 2012, 12:01
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Some feel this List exists to establish a canon of "accepted lupine gospel" as Roy once put it. A panel to establish the proper, accepted and/or correct way to interpret Gene Wolfe…
29 May 2012, 12:32
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Actually it is a Wolfe quote or a close paraphrase to one. I'm too lazy to check, heh. Well, I agree that there is a deliberate ambiguity on who is doing the action here. T…
28 May 2012, 07:55
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None that would be universally persuasive of course. But in 25 years of reading BotNS, I always had the sense there was a hidden subtext to the story. My views on the Cumaean are r…
23 May 2012, 13:15
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That is my view. I think Gene Wolfe sees pre-christian earth as a place filled with gods, monsters, angels/demons and Christ precursors such as Dionysus, Alexander and the Cumaean …
21 May 2012, 13:23
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Thanks, Daniel. It is great to have this discussion brought back to attention. My current view of the Sun Series is framed as a SF-oriented view of pagan pre-Christianity as the pr…
07 May 2012, 14:06
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Interesting comparisons and insights. This is as good a summation as any of the way I see Wolfe presenting Man, God and the Sun Series universe.…
27 Apr 2012, 11:11
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To me they are quite similar but it bears some explanation. Master Ash tells us that if Urth took the path of ice, most of the humanity there would be evacuated to other planets be…
17 Apr 2012, 13:27
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Yep, thanks to both Matthew and Marc for those quotes! (will we hear from Luke and John? [sorry]) Yes, the BotNS connection of fish mouths and caves and of both swallowing people…
17 Apr 2012, 12:41
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Agreed. The lord of Moria (e.g. Durin) also. We get a somewhat positive spin on dwarves from the troop in The Hobbit and from our exposure to Gimli in the trilogy but there are pl…
17 Apr 2012, 12:30
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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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I think there are two different questions being answered here. If the question is whether the Whorl could be a precursor to Tzadkiel's Ship I suppose the answer is yes. If the q…
16 Apr 2012, 12:21
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Thanks for the heartfelt and sincere post, Marc. I too have found in life that the threat of violent retribution or actual fighting is a very effective deterrent against bullying b…
13 Apr 2012, 15:08
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The prisons in France are similarly filled with Muslims and the rest of Europe isn't so different. Americans and Europeans live under such conditions because: 1. It makes the majo…
13 Apr 2012, 13:22
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Intended or not, I'll take your word "community" to be the community of prisoners and staff within a prison. I agree that it wouldn't be so terribly difficult to arrange daily sa…
12 Apr 2012, 20:40
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I do think the reverse happens. Of course I think the people of a nation create their own government. But I think the government also has an effect on the people in a self-perpetua…
12 Apr 2012, 20:34
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I disagree with those who find the only tragedy in the death penalty to be the execution of an innocent person. Why is freeing a lifelong thief, drunk driver and wife beater a grea…
12 Apr 2012, 19:52
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