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My view: There is a place for courtesy, and a place for plainspeak. Just like there is a place for biting your tongue, and a place for tough love. My other view: We don’t get to c…
30 Jan 2020, 18:56
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These (New Sun) questions comes from an old neighbor of Gene's who now resides outside NYC... - Is Agia a robot? A retired sex toy? Hethor's poppet? - He dreams of marionettes. H…
18 Dec 2012, 14:05
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Honestly, I'd rather see a Gene Wolfe documentary in the style of Errol Morris. The documentary would need to be convincing, and full of useful memoir-style anecdotes, but ultimat…
28 Nov 2012, 15:03
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See, I always took the "symbols invented us" line to do more with basic human instincts (ie. faith, love, sin, greed, the vices and virtues, etc.). Take the token given to a soldi…
27 Nov 2012, 02:07
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Agree. I favor thorn as crown of thorns if we are going biblical. Not buying the fang parallel personally. ...ryan Sent from my iPhone…
03 Nov 2012, 03:56
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Something like you suggest would certainly be easy to claim credit for, Dave! ...ryan…
03 Aug 2012, 13:07
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A Song of Ice and Fire is a series I have read in full, and love for reasons entirely separate from Wolfe's. I think I love GRRM's work for its overt narrative slickness. I felt in…
01 Aug 2012, 18:36
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Dave, Thanks for the response. I just wanted to call out one bit... YOU WROTE: "I'm very inclined to agree with you, but at the same time it seems valid to wonder exactly how sel…
01 Aug 2012, 18:15
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Dave, I was not inferring your critique was lofty, in case I gave you that impression. I was referring more to the earlier passion on this thread, and felt that we (as a collectiv…
01 Aug 2012, 13:18
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Since a few posters were giving varying amounts of weight to these predictions and letting it color their impression of him, the place my observation was hoping to get us was actua…
01 Aug 2012, 12:41
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David, Personally, I took the whole essay as a bit of a lark on the part of Mr. Wolfe. I did like how he associated each finger with a facet of our human nature, though, then used…
01 Aug 2012, 05:07
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Man, what a lively LOST debate we have going on here. I wonder if Gene has watched the show. Is it not possible, however, that the purgatory thing still has legs and that Jack was…
06 Apr 2012, 18:49
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This may very well be. But let me string together all of the descriptions I could find and just share my perception. Before I do, however, has anyone else commented on the fact tha…
28 Dec 2011, 05:38
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So Jeff, is it your opinion that Rudesind is not short? I'm confused. I mean, I get the flaws you pointed out but did you have a counter view? Sorry. ...ryan…
27 Dec 2011, 21:55
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Why would one sit on a "step" ladder, let alone do so while actively cleaning a painting? To me: 1. Rudesind is standing on a step ladder; and 2. Severian thinking he at first see…
27 Dec 2011, 16:05
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My suspicion is that America may have a balanced budget before there is a streamlined Urth compendium. I think the trusty old search-for-keyword, followed by minutes-and-minutes o…
22 Nov 2011, 17:26
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I have literally deleted over 100 emails entitled Babbiecorn... for this very reason, Mo. There is a thin but important line between passionate discourse and slanderous rhetoric, …
22 Nov 2011, 15:47
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Correct me if I am wrong, but Severian states that there is a cyclical nature to the universe, with each cycle a refinement of its predecessor, though nearly identical. ...ryan…
01 Nov 2011, 12:23
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Well I guess the question is where do you end your digging? For me, the rabbit hole is there to dive into. Where you come out and what you've found down there may vary from person …
24 Oct 2011, 17:41
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- Might this suggest that Ultan is Severian's grandfather on the maternal side (Catherine's father), while the boatman is his grandfather on the paternal side (Ouen's father)? Sorr…
24 Oct 2011, 05:58
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I don't think anybody disputes the substance to the visible story, but on its own, Severian's hero quest is not "best sci fi series of all time" material, sorry to say. It is the s…
24 Oct 2011, 00:01
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Gerry, I have no problem with your beliefs and opinions. In fact, I have a harder time believing Inire is the boatman. That mystery is revealed in the text when Severian realizes D…
23 Oct 2011, 22:25
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Andrew, I have to disagree again. I think that the story functions on a few levels. There is clearly the hero quest which is most accessible on the surface. The page turning eleme…
23 Oct 2011, 20:22
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So why was the friend of Thecla so frightened by Inire when he shows her his mirrors (a creepily staged scene if ever there was one) if he did not have a somewhat diabolical reputa…
23 Oct 2011, 19:05
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- But who gets to decide which are which, Gerry? Sergio, for instance, doesn't like Inire as boatman because it reminds him more of Roman Polanski than Gene Wolfe. Who is to define…
23 Oct 2011, 18:04
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I just mean that a half baked theory or a start of a theory is just as valid to posit on this list than a fully thought through fact checked cross referenced five year theory is. …
23 Oct 2011, 16:59
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Well if people weren't always appearing masked, in disguise, or spying on Severian, then I'd see where you are coming from. Wolfe's works most definitely ARE puzzles to be solved.…
23 Oct 2011, 16:35
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I was under the impression Palaemon was potentially Ossipago. Some have made a case for: Inire is Shaman is Ossipago is Boatman is Fechin is Hethor is... Why I like Inire as play…
22 Oct 2011, 00:32
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To that end, does it ever rain on Urth? I'm trying to remember. Something about a Thecla memory with puddles stands out maybe?…
21 Oct 2011, 23:42
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This may sound radical, but is there ANY chance that Inire could be the offspring of Apheta and Severian? I suppose the story arc of multiple cycles of Severian getting closer to …
21 Oct 2011, 12:19
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I also think he presents contextual clues, thens expects the reader to participate in solving mysteries. For instance, Talos casting a glamor on Jolenta, Severian making a narrati…
19 Oct 2011, 23:49
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Do you include Triskele in the series of tests? I believe that is the first time Severian enacts a resurrection, though he has already been rescued from death at least once (at Gyo…
15 Oct 2011, 20:48
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But Lee, as with the moon man painting, Severian the Autarch may not even know what it was. Same goes for his encounters with people he should recognize. However, we do see that i…
13 Oct 2011, 14:39
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I am a paranoid reader who thinks Fechin is Inire, for one. And as the one who built the botanical gardens, inire's wizardly predisposition suggest a mastery of the corridors, and…
13 Oct 2011, 13:19
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I had also made a case for Inire's time travel twinning, which conversely allowed Severian to be Conciliator, Apu Punchau, etc. After all, both he and Severian (and Hethor, for exa…
12 Oct 2011, 23:52
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Totally agree about Diamond Age. The Nell story was absolutely terrific, as was the world building. But then somehow Hackworth ends up in a ritual masturbation in some submarine tu…
05 Aug 2011, 16:28
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I was going to suggest Bomb Voyage from The Incredibles. Just Kidding. Although I think you'll find film villains more close to what Antonio was asking about, since the medium ten…
05 Aug 2011, 16:22
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Nancy Kress is another very gifted female SF writer, I'm not sure if she was mentioned yet or not. ?ryan…
03 Aug 2011, 15:39
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I'm really not sure if there exists a more succinct summarization of the legend of Wolfe than in the above quotation. I also bet you would get an agreement from Mr. Wolfe himself o…
26 May 2011, 15:45
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Don't get me going on the puppet metaphor here, I have strong suspicions there are marionette strings all throughout this story, some hidden better than others. It justifies the c…
17 May 2011, 17:47
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Also, if you take the lochage at his word, the hordes are likely hard to control and often met with similar discipline to what Severian nearly encountered at the bartizan. Fortunat…
17 May 2011, 17:45
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I think Gerry just signed himself up as VFX Supervisor for the film!! Love it. :) ...ryan…
29 Apr 2011, 02:04
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And yet, when interviewed about An Evil Guest, Gene became strongly emotional and choked up when expressing how Cassie stole the book out from under Chase and proclaimed,"This is M…
09 Mar 2011, 15:01
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Lee, it's not a waste of time. More than one of us are reading, even if we don't all join the discussion. :) Anyone supporting their suspicions with citation should be commended a…
27 Jan 2011, 15:02
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You have some fun and intriguing observations here. I would have liked to have seen Inire as a part of all of this. He seems far too omnipresent and obtuse to be ignored. Also, Se…
26 Jan 2011, 05:54
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Ouch! Why so harsh? Is Berman Swedish? Hehh. ...ryan…
22 Jan 2011, 01:43
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I would argue she usually forgets she has a breast exposed and covers it up only after the fact out of courtesy or recognition. And for the record to others on here, I didn't mean…
21 Jan 2011, 00:24
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Yes, she has breasts, and hips, this is true. She also has an abnormally deep, unmistakable timbre in her voice. She also has chestnut hair which likes to fleck to gold under the …
20 Jan 2011, 21:33
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. . AGIA DESCRIPTIONS: "With her upturned nose and strangely tilted eyes, she looked so much like her brother I felt sure they were twins, but the slender figure and delicate fea…
20 Jan 2011, 20:18
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Why would an Ascian spy wear a mask that makes them look tilt-eyed? ...ryan…
20 Jan 2011, 19:58
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