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Cliff Drane, Thank you for your kind words about the Lexicon. It doesn't give the name of the boatman, I don't think, but Robert Borski and I are in the habit of calling him one …
07 Apr 1999, 20:56
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Roy, Actually I thought the estimates on the size of the whorl couldn't be reconciled with the text primarily because I kept botching the calculations (while all the scientists sn…
06 Apr 1999, 14:40
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On this second anniversary I thank you sincerely for creating and maintaining this place (and its twin "whorl") where we meet and discuss matters Wolfean and obscure. None of it w…
05 Apr 1999, 21:26
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In my reading, the possible paradox would be whether or not the white fountain exists, not "if it exists then why can't it be seen from Urth." Because it can be seen from Urth. I…
05 Apr 1999, 17:11
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Roy, I can't tell if you read the part of my posting that had to do with the time Severian tried to heal all the wounded in the tent at once. So for one last time, I'll try a diff…
04 Apr 1999, 04:38
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The "Periodical" Table of the Elements is, of course, the table rendered in magazine format. "Subscribe now and we'll throw in =Trans-Uranic Metals= absolutely free! Be the first…
01 Apr 1999, 17:10
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Roy, The focus on the play and its authorship seems to place it entirely in the realm of fiction. Maybe it is more like the Periodical Table of Elements. A document describing r…
01 Apr 1999, 15:38
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Today I finally found reason to try and calculate the size of the ship "Tzadkiel" by way of answering the question: if the miracle eclipse of the Sun by Apu Punchau was caused by t…
31 Mar 1999, 02:05
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Right, sure, of course. I originally listed it as "Old Norse," but then that made it seem as if: Urth had been "terraformed" (itself a questionable notion) by the same civilizatio…
29 Mar 1999, 18:25
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Mitchell A. Bailey, CONSTELLATIONS OF URTH'S SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Amphisbaena (III, ch. 14) the Cross (III, ch. 18; V, ch. 49) the Crotali (V, ch. 49) the Eight (IV, ch. 25) Great …
25 Mar 1999, 21:23
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"New York Review of Science Fiction" No. 128 (April, 1999) has a piece written by a Robert Borski about Severian's grandmother(s). (Crafty Robert Borski sneaks up on us, publishes…
22 Mar 1999, 20:15
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Just for kicks: Rather than an "either/or" situation ("either they are chant caught OR there is time travel involved"), experiment with the idea of an "and" situation ("some, but …
18 Mar 1999, 16:59
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Wombat, Context: notes in a letter. Source: a letter received by me in February. Names: a letter written by Gene Wolfe. Maybe I'm telling stories out of school, I don't know! (A…
17 Mar 1999, 02:30
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"Pocketsful of Diamonds" (a story?) STRANGE TRAVELERS (the next collection) Gene Wolfe is writing "a medieval fantasy [length?] somewhat along the lines of THE DEVIL IN A FOREST" …
16 Mar 1999, 23:49
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Y., Yes, LEXICON URTHUS is still in print, hundreds of copies left, I'm sitting on a box of them right now (okay, I made up that last part--the nearest box is in the next room). …
25 Feb 1999, 17:55
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From LEXICON URTHUS, p. 46: "_Occult: `Madregot' is a kabbalistic term for `levels of mystic ascent,' according to Epstein (_Kabbalah_, Shambhala, 1988, glossary." =mantis=…
25 Feb 1999, 15:42
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To bring the "Gilligan" thread back to the "Beatles" thread that spawned it ("Get Back," as it were--or close enough for relaxed fit stadards), to close the circle like Ouroboros "…
22 Feb 1999, 17:31
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Well maybe it was "Bean" Wolfe, after all! (see also: 5HC dedication page) =mantis=…
15 Feb 1999, 17:27
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Tony Ellis, Right, there is no proof that Sev1 failed. But I think there is a sense of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"--and since Sev2 has been opitimized, then it stands to re…
11 Feb 1999, 15:03
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I've finally gotten around to answering the questions of Adam Stephanides, briefly and lamely. Since I had promised to post them, here, before I attempted to answer them, I might …
09 Feb 1999, 19:30
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Patrick, Now, now! You can't just say that "Nova Express" has a "wonderful review of the Long Sun Books" and leave it at that. After all! You have strong opinions! You've read…
01 Feb 1999, 19:05
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William H. Ansley, No pressure, but once you've "completed" your work on "Eyeflash," you can mine another Wolfe-does-Oz by annotating FREE LIVE FREE. (Are there any other direct …
30 Jan 1999, 16:40
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Go, Ansley, go! =mantis=…
29 Jan 1999, 05:38
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Here's a thought--maybe a committee (a "FAQulty," if you will) could begin the process of whipping up a FAQ ("Frequently Asked Questions" and the Answers to Them) for a book by Gen…
25 Jan 1999, 18:09
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And another thing-- !!Official Change of Address!! Yes, that's right. You want Lexicons, copies of "Vance Space," booklets in the "AE&," "LS," and/or "NS" series, please write t…
17 Jan 1999, 00:26
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!!Official Change of Address!! Yes, that's right. You want Lexicons, copies of "Vance Space," booklets in the "AE&," "LS," and/or "NS" series, please write to: Sirius Fiction P.…
17 Jan 1999, 00:26
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Uh-oh, the Log Squad is on to us! An ultraquick note to bring others up to speed on THE BLACK GRAIL. This is a book firmly in the tradition of THE DYING EARTH. It was published …
16 Jan 1999, 19:20
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Hey! I got a copy of "Nova Express" vol. 5, no. 1. The interview is good! The piece on THE BOOK OF THE LONG SUN is by a person I've never heard of (itself probably a good thing-…
24 Dec 1998, 16:18
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Damien Broderick, I don't know the story "Children's Hour" at all. Somebody around here must. Thanks again for writing up that Suzanne piece! It was a fun read and who knows, m…
24 Dec 1998, 04:24
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Tusk, Thanks for the info--I'd heard something about it and was just about to ask whether anybody had seen it, if it was available yet, etc. My next questions have to do with inf…
20 Dec 1998, 17:30
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ATTENTION! ATTENTION! If you ordered one or more booklets from Sirius Fiction over a month ago and haven't gotten them yet, please send me e-mail giving the details. M.Driussi@g…
18 Dec 1998, 16:09
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Rostrum, CASTLE OF DAYS is an omnibus of BOOK OF DAYS (short stories) and CASTLE OF THE OTTER (all about TBOTNS) and a third section of scattered non-fiction, some previously unpu…
17 Dec 1998, 16:25
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LETTERS HOME is about Gene Wolfe's experience in the Korean War, made up of the letters he wrote to his mother. BIBLIOMEN is another case of Cheap Street (expensive) versus Bryan …
17 Dec 1998, 06:18
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Rostrum, You asked about the most efficient way to get all of Wolfe's short stories and novellas. I'm not sure I understand, exactly--are you worried about overlapping stories in…
17 Dec 1998, 02:12
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Vizcacha, Re: Agia's off-the-cuff time span, my favorite answer so far is that this is a number she heard from Hethor--not necessarily the time of the Conciliator, but the time of…
16 Dec 1998, 20:54
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As my last ditch defense, I'll blame it all on John Crowley's (award winning?) "Great Work of Time": "She told how in those same years the European powers who confronted each othe…
30 Nov 1998, 18:32
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Wombat, Interesting datapoint on "terminus est." Doh! Maybe the paring knife forged by Jovinian was "Consummatum Est"? <g> Matthew Freestone, Thank you very much for your expe…
29 Nov 1998, 18:39
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Wow, go away for a few days and come back to find lots of stuff! Now that's a happy thing. First off, a long overdue report on WFC98. I'll start with details and maybe later I'l…
27 Nov 1998, 23:00
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Matthew Freestone and Gordon Brain, Re: Marble Arch(es), inscriptions, Hyde Park. I'm curious what clues might be on the arch(es), but it is probably too much work for too little…
25 Nov 1998, 01:57
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Paul, This seems the time for my recent thoughts on the "absurdity" of certain units at the battle front. I know this is something you keep turning over, the tallman riding dwarf…
25 Nov 1998, 00:45
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Ack! I should've know that Paul Duggan would be the one to know "Fading Suns"! Good points, too, btw. But under "active interstellar empire" we should list the qualifiers: "Urth…
24 Nov 1998, 02:25
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Tangentially related to the "Elephant & Castle" thread . . . Hey, can anybody help me answer this question: I'm looking for a Latin inscription on a marble arch, probably either …
21 Nov 1998, 22:51
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Kieran Mullen and Derek Bell, Eek! Re: selling copies of the manuscript. Well, probably not kosher, unless it was somehow "at photocopy cost" and "for the purposes of playtestin…
21 Nov 1998, 00:45
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Wombat, Ah, "Tales of the Arabian Nights" in limbo. I guess it happens a lot, but I really wish it didn't happen to my projects and things I'm looking for. Selfish of me, I know…
20 Nov 1998, 18:06
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Wombat, Re: "Tales of Arabian Nights" game, coincidentally that is a product I've been looking for (the West End Games version)! (I saw it once, but it slipped through my fingers…
20 Nov 1998, 03:52
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Wombat (and Kieran Mullen), The short answer is that if "GURPS Book of the New Sun" was out, I'd tell you--believe me, I'd tell you. It is not out yet, nor is it slated for publi…
20 Nov 1998, 00:24
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This seems like a good time to mention that there are three new booklets available right now: "Additions, Errata, &cetera: volume 3" (1998) is the final booklet of notes, weighing…
18 Nov 1998, 23:52
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This seems like a good time to mention that the new "LS" booklet is available right now: "LS-2: Languages of the Long Sun Whorl" (1998) covers all the slang, cant, jargon, and for…
18 Nov 1998, 23:52
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Spectacled Bear, "Elephant and Castle"? <blank> No, I don't get it. But alas! So often is the case. =mantis=…
18 Nov 1998, 23:51
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Raster, Re: "by noyade" and chapter 29 of THE SWORD OF THE LICTOR. Say more . . . seems to me that chapter 30 might be closer to "by noyade" (i.e., the fate of Severian's captors…
09 Nov 1998, 23:14
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