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And there is a great hidden reference (of course!) to T.S. Eliot: "You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! That corpse you planted last year in your garden, Had it begun to sp…
09 Nov 2011, 15:20
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In BoTNS the existence of a translator is assumed (who can choose some notions of our time to translate difficult concepts of Severian's Urth). What about other books of the Sun …
07 Nov 2011, 18:35
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To me, the green moon of Urth was a result of some "geo-engineering" (or, rather, luna-forming) in the period of maximal technological development of humanity. An atmosphere was …
07 Nov 2011, 16:20
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It means (IMHO) that in a good book (and in its interpretation) there is an hierarchy of ideas. If all are equally genial they cancel each other, and overall impression is poor. …
04 Nov 2011, 19:40
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To me (IMHO) Gerry's inference looks much more convincing and closer to the text, let's be fair. "Silver screen" is (or at least was in 70-es) a commonplace speaking about the tel…
04 Nov 2011, 19:11
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Frankly, I think that before discussing the theories about "masculinity" of Hyacinth it would be useful to think about the causes of her death. To me it looks like some nasty gyna…
04 Nov 2011, 11:56
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I mostly agree with the idea, but what human sacrifice by Baldanders do you mean? For Baldanders, it is scientific research, even if he takes some humans to open and may forget t…
03 Nov 2011, 19:32
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In fact, while "artistic illusion" in BoTNS (or coherence of details) is extraordinary, it is not perfect, and I don't think we should try to get all "scientific" consequences. …
02 Nov 2011, 17:05
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Was it discussed before that "Cumaean" is probably just the Cumaean Sybil from Earth (or her "projection")? Sergei…
28 Oct 2011, 14:37
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I don't think that "Quasar" was possibly a name for the Ship (Tzadkiel's ship). It sounds to me a name from some sort of "space opera", fit for spaceships from technocratic era. B…
27 Oct 2011, 17:34
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The ships in the citadel are landers - it is noticed several times during the visits of Horn/Silk. They cannot go to the stars. They may remain from the epoch when humankind trave…
26 Oct 2011, 16:34
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What about the epoch when humankind travelled to the Stars? Vodalus wants to restore it. Hardly possible if there was always just one ship. Sergei…
26 Oct 2011, 15:55
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I would like to repeat that my approach to interpretation is different, I believe there is a network of analogies, of cross references in the text, rather than strong causal conne…
26 Oct 2011, 14:47
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I think I've been answering Lee, but I cut off upper part of the message.…
25 Oct 2011, 17:08
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From "Seven sermons to the dead" by C. G. Jung (I've seen it in the appendix to Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung, Vintage Books, 1961.). I cannot quote all, but I think…
25 Oct 2011, 17:02
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I disagree with your disagreement - What you tell about their emotions are only guesses - like Odilo may guess something about Inire. Very abstract, very approximative, like emot…
25 Oct 2011, 16:33
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I don't think so - just one more element like "Kim" pointing to something very old. Sergei…
25 Oct 2011, 16:13
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Lee, you comment something I didn't say. I didn't discuss whether an alien can or can not have human emotions. I said that in the BoTNS and UoTNS ( in the text!) no discernible hu…
25 Oct 2011, 11:35
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Why? We know nothing about the emotions of the shaman, for example. Sergei…
24 Oct 2011, 18:48
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I think it is mentioned several times in BoTNS that FI is an alien. Of course you need not trust there "rumours" inside the book. Each time we meet Hethor his character is immedi…
24 Oct 2011, 18:46
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About Dorcas sitting in a window. As far as I remember, a) she was sitting after she was married b) it was a shop window, i.e. - ground floor c) it was in Nessus, at that time, a…
24 Oct 2011, 18:34
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24 Oct 2011, 18:13
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I like more this view - it makes sense if you remember how often Hethor is referred to as an "old sailor", how he is afraid to be recognized by Jonas. There are small details that …
24 Oct 2011, 18:03
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I find this post interesting. I have to think about it. Sergei…
24 Oct 2011, 12:15
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What I don't like in these theories, it is the complete disregard to Gene Wolfe many times proclaimed Christian message. Is he lying when he says that he is a Catholic? Is he in f…
24 Oct 2011, 12:07
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Dear Ryan, I see the flaw in the theory that the boatman is Inire because the it was suggested before that Inire has some diabolic aspects (the authors of this theory tried to ide…
23 Oct 2011, 18:18
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I am not against theories as such - I posted this because a) I had a feeling that much more people are attacking Gerry than agree with him (and I rather agree - I do not speak ab…
23 Oct 2011, 17:21
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Dear Ryan, I only told that I mostly agree with Gerry (and quoted him). I think that more balance between generating theories and verifying them would be good. I don't think it i…
23 Oct 2011, 16:47
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Just one remark: The medieval Christian mystics (Meister Eckhart, Ruysbroeck) often told that God is "creative void" or "creative darkness" or even "creative nothingness" - I a…
23 Oct 2011, 15:51
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I would like to say a few words as well - I mostly agree with Gerry when I look and wonder at the endless discussions where (almost) everybody tries to push forward his own theor…
23 Oct 2011, 15:29
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We may discuss the importance of the interviews (and of course they are important) but GW is very daring for a catholic (in dogmatic sense), and plays with very dangerous themes …
15 Oct 2011, 19:49
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Did Gene Wolfe ever mention the book called "The circus of Dr. Lao"? It's a curious book, first published in 1935 by Charles G. Finney. I recently got a second edition - Universi…
14 Oct 2011, 16:54
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If you got interested in the links between Urth and our world - please, answer this: how the Chrasmological writings were composed? Yes, we know "within the book" that Typhon/Pas o…
14 Oct 2011, 11:48
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My personal opinion is that 1) It is related to the idea that for the final resurrection and Last Judgement the soul must be reunited with the body. For this purpose, by the way, t…
12 Oct 2011, 13:36
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Remarks: a) the problem of relations between humans and "cattle" obviously deeply interests GW - all the speaking animals in the "Long Sun", the question of the many-generation p…
20 Sep 2011, 14:28
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Exactly! And look how Wolfe uses it. In his book it is part of "historical lecture" by Gurloes, so, it is a token of immense depth of time. It is woven into the subtle fabrics of…
09 Aug 2011, 16:55
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(by error I have sent unfinished message) This is the completed version - Dear Jeff, I didn' t write that the heroes (or anti-heroes) - Covenant and Elric - were repulsive to me.…
08 Aug 2011, 17:11
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Dear Jeff, I didn' t write that the heroes (or anti-heroes) - Covenant and Elric - were repulsive to me. I wrote that the books were (their authors writing style). I don't rememb…
07 Aug 2011, 12:20
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Dear members - I didn't vote (just missed the vote), but I am puzzled by the fact that two of the books sometimes chosen (Thomas Covenant and Elric) were truly repulsive to me. I …
04 Aug 2011, 21:02
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I made some computations (simplified) and it seems to me that indeed GW does not pay too much attention either to physics or to chronology. Very roughly, with constant acceleratio…
02 Jun 2011, 17:38
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I also agree. I think also that when you look up from the field against the sun the transport, as usually an object against the Sun seems much darker. What seems to me strange - su…
02 Jun 2011, 17:26
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By the way, I don't remember any mention of a fuel used by landers. They depend for AI part on "cards" (much like chips nowadays) but... Does any of the personages say/ask/wonder a…
31 May 2011, 18:29
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Moses made Jews wander 40 years through Sinai. If you take the shortest way, it is at most a few hundred kilometres. What makes you think that the Whorl had taken the shortest pat…
31 May 2011, 15:00
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Maybe it's my error, but it was some very similar title mentioned by Wolfe, I will try to find what it was exactly. More special books by Hawking appeared earlier, I've read Hawkin…
29 May 2011, 20:14
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You say it is not obvious - let me quote Wolfe (from "Return to the Whorl", chapter "He took me with him" - written by Hoof -) "The Red Sun was rising behind us, and the old falli…
29 May 2011, 18:53
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Dear Gerry, please, have a look at Red Giants (final stage of evolution of sun-like stars). Obviously, the sun in the "BotNS" entered this stage - the atmosphere of the star bec…
28 May 2011, 20:51
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*Charles I* (/Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Marie von Habsburg-Lothringen/, English <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language>: /Charles Francis Joseph Louis H…
26 May 2011, 16:20
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Ymar had contacts with Yesod and hierogrammates - he could very well be taken forward in time before he become an autarch? Or after his visit to Yesod? As to Typhon - he was a ru…
26 May 2011, 15:31
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Chronology of Urth seems to me extremely interesting. To add to our discussion some more elements/questions: Silk/Horn "spirits" travel to Urth when Severian is an apprentice. A…
25 May 2011, 21:16
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I certainly respect your point of view but I am not convinced - Best regards Sergei…
25 May 2011, 19:42
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