-
The main problem with this theory (as with the Borski version you allude to) is one of logistics. I know of no river conduit anywhere near the Piteous Gate. It required an afternoo…
24 May 2006, 18:15
-
It's in the Appendix to CITADEL. -Roy…
24 May 2006, 06:40
-
And in a follow-up: But I don't see the point of this, but this is the text in question: "The misty light of the moon, the younger sister's kiss upon the face of her dying elder…
24 May 2006, 06:36
-
Cacogen is a derogatory general term used on Urth to indicate all non-human aliens. Not all cacogens belong to the same species. Not all "holy slaves" need belong to the same speci…
23 May 2006, 17:34
-
Regardless of how they personally cope with their temporal backwardness when interacting with normal people, the fact remains, as I pointed out about a week ago in the "Baldanders"…
23 May 2006, 08:34
-
I have been known to inveigh against buffet-style theorizing myself, but it is usually a waste of time. People tend to see what they want to see. Meanwhile, carry on! Who was that…
23 May 2006, 06:34
-
Fwiw, according to M.A.-D. in LEXICON URTHUS, "The number seventeen alludes to the Soviet politburo, which typically had seventeen members (eleven to twelve full members and six to…
19 May 2006, 04:43
-
I agree that Baldanders was just a man, at least to start with. On the last day of Urth, Severian saw him and thought he "was grown too large for me to think him human ever again, …
19 May 2006, 00:39
-
Because they live counterclockwise. That meeting at the castle was supposed to be, from their point of view, the last with Severian -- and would have been if Wolfe hadn't written U…
18 May 2006, 21:47
-
"Yellowish" is the term Severian uses, by which I assume he means blond. This was old hat, even before the clone wars. I do hope you're not going *there*. <g> -Roy…
18 May 2006, 20:22
-
And in a follow-up post, b sharp wrote: [snip] [snip] Just for the record, Robert did not miss the giant baby in the castle. In fact, his discussion of that child forms the conc…
16 May 2006, 22:44
-
Different people have differing thresholds of credulity. <g> Is that how it's going to be done -- summarizing posts? Let me spell out my concerns, which are primarily related to t…
15 May 2006, 18:17
-
What is fictive fact and what is theory -- and who decides? Is it a fact that Weer is dead, or that Dorcas is Severian's grandmother? These two cases are not that controversial; co…
10 May 2006, 06:58
-
He must be thinking of a long paragraph in chapter XXX of CLAW, when Severian was thinking of his childhood visit to the witches' tower, where he first saw Merryn. His description …
07 May 2006, 06:11
-
The above passages prove only that the Matachin Tower was a spaceship. More than once in the Urth cycle Severian dreams/imagines the old spaceships blasting off into space. Somewhe…
06 May 2006, 18:40
-
but I remember nothing to indicate the whole Citadel being a massive ship on par with the Quasar, rather than Nessus old space port.<< That is correct. The Citadel was the old spa…
05 May 2006, 19:00
-
Did you mean Jonas? I don't recall Hethor ever using a Wellerism. Miles, of course, did. So did Gunnie. (18) As did the old moonraker captain near the end of CITADEL, so that type …
03 May 2006, 08:51
-
I'm thinking of a different dog fight in the Sun Cycle, but I'm so glad someone who isn't me pointed this out. <g> -Roy…
02 May 2006, 20:16
-
That's very interesting. I've never heard that before, and it never occurred to me. Or are you equating Hethor with Purn? Care to elaborate? -Roy…
02 May 2006, 05:47
-
Jeff answered your question, so, just because those flood waters had to have been muddy anyway, I should point out that Juturna is inconsistent. That is, though her stint as lifegu…
29 Apr 2006, 06:17
-
Maybe I worded it clumsily. I was saying that there is no reason the undines' future knowledge doesn't extend *past* the flood, since, based on the fact that the Gyoll drowning inc…
28 Apr 2006, 18:20
-
Greetings, Rex Fwiw, and speaking in general terms, I think you got it right. I don't think there's much room for doubt that the sun was wounded in Typhon's era. That's why he me…
26 Apr 2006, 19:26
-
Your post broke off mid-word. Where's the rest of it? -Roy…
08 Apr 2006, 18:11
-
Excuse me, but these speculations on the relativistic effects of acceleration on the _Whorl_ have nothing to do with the astral travels Dan'l mentioned. Silkhorn did his traveling …
06 Apr 2006, 07:52
-
Andrew stated his case in his original post, so I won't bother to quote it all; just lend him some support. Btw, it is nowhere indicated in the books that the ability to breath und…
06 Apr 2006, 07:06
-
In the passage in question (CLAW, XXII), Severian remarks on Baldanders' slow speech and "dull eyes". He also writes, "I found it impossible to be angry with this dim, gentle giant…
25 Feb 2006, 20:22
-
Too late, I remembered that Saltus was on the river and Thrax was near its headwaters. -Roy…
25 Feb 2006, 07:59
-
You must be referring to the brief exchange Sev had with Baldanders after escaping from the antechamber. It was only then that we learned that Baldanders had been with Sev "in the …
25 Feb 2006, 07:19
-
I agree with what Aquastor said, and Crush had earlier implied much the same. Book one ended with a cliff-hanger. Readers expected to find out what happened in the next installment…
24 Feb 2006, 08:49
-
And that's part of the reason why what happened that morning at the Gate was so unusual. The large volume of travelers waiting to exit the city when the gates opened each morning i…
23 Feb 2006, 08:21
-
The question of what happened at the Piteous Gate has, indeed, been the subject of sometimes heated debate here over the years. So far as I recall, however, Mr. Ellis is in the min…
22 Feb 2006, 07:08
-
Then we are largely in agreement that the Hierogrammate's actions were religiously motivated. The only real difference is whether or not they in fact had the Increate's ear, so to …
30 Jan 2006, 07:18
-
I have to quibble with the Gnostic view of the cosmology of TWK that hartshorn and others have championed. I don't see it that way because I don't think it satisfies the most impor…
15 Dec 2005, 09:03
-
That's the answer I was looking for and the direction I wanted to take this thread. People seem to accept the idea that the inhabitants of Kleos are in fact angels of one stripe or…
13 Dec 2005, 06:56
-
I took the bit about humans being "raised" up from animals as just a nod to Darwin. As for this upward evolution of humans and Aelf ever nearer to the High God that you propose, i…
10 Dec 2005, 20:56
-
It would surprise the hell out of me for Able to even get to Kleos, much less be a hero there. As hartshorn said in another context, Able is a knight not a saint. Just who would a …
07 Dec 2005, 20:52
-
I'm not offended in the least; I doubt that anyone here is. -Roy…
07 Dec 2005, 07:36
-
Uri and Baki *should* have been gods to Garsecg, but the worship seems to have gone the other way. Btw, if the Aelf had little (if any) hope of sanguinary salvation, the dragons we…
07 Dec 2005, 07:31
-
I've said as much, twice, including the first post in this thread. But Disiri's lot is unique; the rest of the Aelf remain soulless. Her uniqueness is furthered by the fact that Ab…
06 Dec 2005, 19:45
-
It was not my deduction that the Aelf have no eternal existence; it's a textual given. In the scene where Toug healed Baki, Able said the Aelf were long-lived, and goes on to say: …
05 Dec 2005, 18:44
-
I've about exhausted this topic, but wanted to make one more observation. Able, while still a stripling, didn't like the way he was treated by Svon. The clash of personalities lea…
03 Dec 2005, 17:59
-
You are, of course, quite right. And I was staring right at the title of the story and didn't realize the obvious. But what was Able's point in telling Leort the story? And how di…
01 Dec 2005, 20:10
-
Able's original shield was plain green. He doesn't actually use the designation "Green Knight" when he relates his little story to Leort, but that's clearly the story. And Able doe…
01 Dec 2005, 09:17
-
Able lost a wrestling match with an ogre, not a real fight; he elected to use no weapons. I don't know why Org wanted to stay around Able, unless he was feeling grateful for Able h…
01 Dec 2005, 08:56
-
My point, above, was to establish that "Trial by Combat" was, indeed, incorporated into TWK. See below. I don't know whether or not Able believed in the doctrine of might makes ri…
01 Dec 2005, 02:26
-
The captain did not believe that Able was a knight, and said so. (K, 109) Able retorted, "You'd be smart to act as if you had [heard of him]." That is a not very subtle threat. The…
28 Nov 2005, 08:51
-
Correct. Page 56. He also says that his "authority" is now of Skai, not Mythgarthr. -Roy…
28 Nov 2005, 08:50
-
***************************** "Oh, you Overcyns! Get up, please. I didn't mean to keep you kneeling in the snow. Rise." I did, and her soft hand found mine. "I feel you're …
27 Nov 2005, 20:21
-
The title of Chapter 32 of WIZARD is, "Trial By Arms". From page 386, Able speaking first: ********************* "You have to let me do this, Your Majesty. I've worn your favor…
27 Nov 2005, 08:21
-
The text immediately continues: "I said no. 'I won't wait for them. How long before we get to port?'" Note that Able said that he wouldn't wait because he was determined to im…
26 Nov 2005, 08:46
Urth Net