{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/sflovers/109",
    "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it.  Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.",
    "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'"
  },
  "archive": "sflovers",
  "thread": {
    "id": 109,
    "subject": "A perspective on Wolfe's New sun series. (Was tiny reviews..)",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "1993-01-20T21:36:33+00:00",
    "last": "1993-01-20T21:36:33+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<sflovers-v18-86-12@digest.sf-lovers>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Toshi Takeuchi",
        "address": "tt at wag.caltech.edu"
      },
      "date": "1993-01-20T21:36:33+00:00",
      "subject": "A perspective on Wolfe's New sun series. (Was tiny reviews..)",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I certainly didn't enjoy the New Sun material for its content or \"point\".\nThis series (IMO) is a wonderful literary work.  The writing carries you\nalong and brings you into the world of Urth.\n\nThe story is somewhat bland if not mundane.  However, Wolfe's writing makes\nyou believe that Severian is a real person with real concerns.\n\nIndeed, many people will think the book is boring.  I thought the Shadow of\nthe Torturer was boring when I first read it.  However, I read the book too\nfast.  His writing doesn't really flow unless you read it a little more\nslowly.\n\nI think the series is masterful.  In my opinion, if you read the work and\nwere disappointed in the story or \"point\" of the work, then I think you are\nmissing the beauty of the series.\n\nThe beauty arises from the ability to bring characters like Severian to\nlife and make their silly concerns and problems real problems that we can\nrelate to and understand...\n\nmaxson at cerl.uiuc.edu (K R Maxson) writes:"
        },
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 1,
          "text": "The New Sun material is an attempt to weave a Wolfesque story into the\ntapestry of commercial fantasy and science fiction.  I think it is done\nrather slickly, but that much of the current SF market would rather bypass\nbooks that aren't reassuringly shallow and don't spell out the point for\nthe reader by the end.  (Personally I feel that if the writer can sum up\nhis or her thesis in a few sentences at the end of the book, the book\nshould have only been a few sentences and save the gloss.  If a book\ndoesn't make me think at least as much as walking in the woods does, I'd\njust as soon walk in the woods.)"
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "The \"gloss\" is what makes the work.  It is eloquent and real.  I don't\ncare about the thesis of the work.  It's actually pretty trivial...\n\nToshi"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}