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Thats a great article Nick. I like the way you linked 5th Head with the Sun books. Even though I've read half-a-dozen similar retrospectives of Wolfe's work, this one seemed quit…
10 Apr 2002, 14:24
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Could this be that he's following Silkhorn, who is using his Neighbor-given ability to find paths through bushes? Although it's possible that this works because the trees are movi…
08 Apr 2002, 19:55
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I missed that detail. Do you have a reference? By "related to the Neighbors" are you refering to the Narrator's ability to walk between them, or that they are both lifeforms of t…
28 Mar 2002, 17:08
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Thanks! From that page: Shakespeare wrote 17 comedies. Beethoven wrote 17 quartets. The age of the universe is about 10^17 seconds. There are 17 muscles in the tongue. The Japan…
27 Mar 2002, 17:26
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Heh. Googling Discordians and 17 found this quote: The crazies aside, though, it's the utterly boring, uncreative people who see a stupid theme and latch on then run it into the …
27 Mar 2002, 17:18
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From that obit: --- Thousands of fans have seen his cartoons, but I suspect that only a few have seen his wood carvings. Perhaps the most remarkable is a cane decorated with leaves…
22 Mar 2002, 20:45
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I'm sorry. I had the impression that you and some of the other folks on the list had read a lot of these stories in magazines or elsewhere and might have a favorite to recommend. …
21 Mar 2002, 17:57
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Aw, c'mon, mantis. Surely you don't need a list to recommend a few of Wolfe's better uncollected short works that are worth tracking down? -Rostrum…
21 Mar 2002, 16:46
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This is probably forshadowing Silk trying to replace his own painful memories with those of Horn's. -Rostrum…
19 Mar 2002, 13:05
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I think you mean Urth is saltier than Blue? Isn't that just because the dying sun means more water is frozen in the polar caps, thus the ocean salt is more concentrated? You almo…
19 Mar 2002, 01:44
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But every version of the Blue=Ushas theory I've seen at least admits a very long time between Severian and the Short Sun Books (long enough for Neighbor civilization to rise and fa…
12 Mar 2002, 15:48
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My take on it is this: Horn is completely dead at the end (Silk says, "in some sense, I killed their father"). This is why Silk is reluctant to intrude on Nettle saying goodbye t…
07 Mar 2002, 15:38
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I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it's not clear whether Thecla kills herself of her own volition to avoid further torment, or if by taking the knife she is allow…
05 Mar 2002, 15:42
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Yet they continue to act against the Autarchy and to try to prevent Severian from bringing the New Sun. Here we get into deep philosophical/theological waters. This is like sayin…
05 Mar 2002, 00:43
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I read this to mean that Typhon's astronomers hadn't even detected the black hole's effects, that they were telling him about the sun's normal life-cycle as a star, until it was to…
04 Mar 2002, 13:02
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The universe has moved, but it's not moving faster than light, which it would have to in order to be able to see the old red sun in the sky of Blue. I think the only way you can …
27 Feb 2002, 13:17
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I thought it was a typo for "scarred." -Rostrum…
22 Feb 2002, 20:37
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I've mentioned before another way in which the Long Sun books remind me of the book of Acts. Acts is written in third person for the first 75% of the book, then it suddenly shifts…
19 Feb 2002, 20:48
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I think "the girl" there is the concubine the Rajan escaped with. I agree, that sentence does lend itself to sinister interpretation. I don't think the narrator is an inhumu, but…
19 Feb 2002, 13:54
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Yet another problem with this theory. When the narrator and Hoof and Jahlee travel to Green and visit Sinew's city, they go out to the lander where Horn died and retrieve the Neig…
19 Feb 2002, 13:50
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I don't think the inhumu soul-stealing works that way. For one thing, there's no other evidence of an inhumu gaining memories (or even much personality) from the person he/she's…
19 Feb 2002, 13:26
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I kind of like this idea; it's not much harder to swollow than Mucor's powers or the Narrator's dream travelling. But if you're saying Horn-in-Silk really did have a dream about J…
18 Feb 2002, 12:56
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Silk's body may not used to eating much. Remember in _Nightside_ where couple fried tomatoes, and apple, and a crust of bread are a mouth-watering feast? That was when he was a p…
13 Feb 2002, 16:11
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I realized after I wrote this that I'm including a few spoilers from Return to the Whorl. So read at your own risk. The inhumi become human when they are transported because they…
12 Feb 2002, 14:28
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The more I see those terms, 'Silk' and 'Silkhorn,' the more I think they're backwards. We oughta use 'Silkhorn' for the character named "Silk" in the Long Sun books since he's a m…
09 Feb 2002, 20:07
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Also, Apollo vs. the Wind makes me think of Severian vs. Typhon ("typhoon") -Rostrum…
07 Feb 2002, 13:16
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I think that reading is way too allegorical. Maybe Vodalus represents Wolfe's belief that many (most?) revolutionaries fight to seize power for themselves rather than for any sort…
06 Feb 2002, 19:30
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It seems possible to me that Wolfe's treatment of sex may be related to Christian doctines about sexuality. The main orthodox understanding of sex seems to be that though sex is a…
05 Feb 2002, 15:53
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Wolfe has other symbolic things going on, but what Horn is saying is that they can only go so far with derivative technology (like the hybrid corn seed). They are trying to use te…
01 Feb 2002, 20:12
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Am I the only one who can't get used to that? Also, please go easy on saying "back in 2001" until I get used to not having a flying car. -Rostrum…
01 Feb 2002, 16:23
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He was. That's what I mean. Simply being Autarch of the Commonwealth doesn't automatically mean you have found favor with the Hierodules. You also have to be worthy in some sens…
01 Feb 2002, 15:02
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SS is also holographic, but I don't think Horn talks about genetics because plants are the key. Hybrids are the key. Silk and Horn must be combined to get the benefits of hybrid …
31 Jan 2002, 17:07
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Since the first have of RTW is reconstructed by Hoof, Hide, et. al. from what Silk told them about what happened on the whorl, it wouldn't be surprising for them to have a few of t…
30 Jan 2002, 18:37
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To me, all that quote says is that the war is so far away, and the enemy so comparatively weak, that the Commonwealth can fight with an army of volunteers. If the enemy were stron…
30 Jan 2002, 15:58
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This is a post I composed and mailed right when the list went dead last month. I'll understand if no-one wants to continue this conversation... Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 11:05:34 -0…
29 Jan 2002, 20:01
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Problems with this theory: 1. Horn is able to leave his body for Silk's because the Neighbors specifically offer him that opportunity (and maybe because he's wearing a magic ring…
09 Jan 2002, 14:13
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One of the appendices to the BOTNS has a note on distances. I seem to remember that the author of the appendices just says "league" is hard to pin down from Severian's text. -Ros…
09 Jan 2002, 13:49
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Maybe. On re-reading OBW, I thought the reason for going on about hybrid vigor is because it's thematically related to the Horn/Silk hybrid. -Rostrum…
09 Jan 2002, 13:38
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Does the claw give power to anyone but Severian? (I guess you can still make the comparison if you say only Severian has the stature to use the claw's power, but it doesn't fit qu…
08 Jan 2002, 15:30
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In addition to your interesting connections, the strego is an excuse for Incanto to explain the difference between believing in ghosts, believing in witches, and believing in witch…
02 Jan 2002, 20:30
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No. Wolfe isn't saying Brooks is good. He's criticizing those who slam Brooks for being a Tolkien ripoff. Wolfe wants more Tolkien ripoffs and claims to be a Tolkien ripoff hims…
02 Jan 2002, 20:24
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Having seen lots of praise for Pratchett on the internet, I gave "Small Gods" a try but found it so hamhanded and unfunny that I could barely skim it. I flipped around reading a f…
10 Dec 2001, 17:16
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I'd vote for just one list, but if you're going to divide the list this way, I think the most natural cut-off point would be "when it's available in paperback." -Rostrum, a Wolfe …
07 Dec 2001, 16:37
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Not too surprising Wolfe would have strong opinions on this subject. Just about every book he writes has a war in it. The only exceptions I can think of are Peace (heh.), Free L…
03 Dec 2001, 13:35
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Haven't read Waif yet, but is it possible Jesus's story of the Good Samaritan is relevant? In response to the command "Love your neighbor," Jesus is asked, "But who is my neighbor…
30 Nov 2001, 14:26
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That seems like it would be just right to me. I was under the impression that Qudditch is a caractature of sports by someone who doesn't like them. -Rostrum…
16 Nov 2001, 13:23
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Which should make you wonder about the differences between Wolfe's version and Horn's... -Rostrum…
31 Oct 2001, 19:05
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I'm pretty sure it's in the beginning of Blue, when Horn's on the ship leaving home just before getting attacked by the Leatherskin.…
30 Oct 2001, 13:13
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They're pretty poor, and the old man didn't seem too happy that his wife was sharing with Silk. My impression was that he was afraid Silk would try to sneak back and steal from th…
16 Oct 2001, 10:44
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I don't have anything to add. I just thought this was an interesting interpretation. It's jarring to think of the Chinese Pillow as a bad thing since the second chance it offers …
10 Sep 2001, 09:30
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