Digest urth.v028.n174 The Urth list — 3 messages, 3 voices, 03 Apr 2000 https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/2178 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. ============================================================================== Nil_Ultra — 03 Apr 2000, 00:13 Ok, that deserves crucifiction, though I will agree that Urth of the new sun is certainly the best part of the book of the new sun, it is heresy to say that the book of the new sun is inferior to the long sun. The long sun series does have more value in the traditional sf/fantasy plotline of being really clear about what the plot is and the good guys vs bad guys theme, but the lack of that was what I think really made Book of The New Sun unique; it is not a fantasy story, it is like reality merged with the text of some lost holy book. I will be the first to agree that the Book of the New Sun is not for everyone, but do not call it inferior until you understand it. -Rob -----Original Message----- > From: Redhaven1 at aol.com > Subject: Long Sun vs. New Sun > Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 21:53:23 EST > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Please don't crucify me. . . > > I got started on Wolfe when I was sick in the hospital. My parents > offered to pick up some books to help pass the time and I suggested a book > I > had heard of called The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. The only Wolfe > books Border's had were the last two books of the Long Sun series. Frankly, > I'm glad it was these two or I wouldn't be posting on this list today. I > loved Calde and Exodus and immediately began to try to read all the Wolfe > books I could find. I ordered the Book of the New Sun as a single volumn > from the book club I was in. Upon reading it I was extremely > dissappointed. > I didn't think it was near as good as the Long Sun. To me, it seemed like > a > strange, disjointed fairy-tale that kinda wanted to be sci-fi. I admit, > the > mood of the entire work was beautifully haunting, and when I get arround to > reading it a second time I'll probably find a hundered things I missed, but > in my view New Sun was the worst, Urth of the New Sun was little better, > and > Long Sun was best. Short Sun is shaping up to be the best yet. Well, > that's > my two bits. I just felt I had to defend the Long Sun, because it's what > got > me hooked. If I had started on New Sun, I don't think I'd be a Wolfe fan. > > -Steve > > > --------------- MESSAGE urth.v028.n174.3 --------------- > > From: Inire > Subject: Re: (urth) Wolfe does Star Trek > Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 23:42:22 -0800 (PST) > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > > > --- Nicholas Gevers wrote: > > For news of GW's next series--a New Sun/Star Trek > > crossover starting with HE'S DEAD, SEVERIAN > giggling> > > --see > today's "Locus Online Buys Simon & Schuster" entry > on > LOCUS ONLINE (www.locusmag.com). > Oh > lord, THAT was a rich one! ;-D And the sad thing is, > nobody in RL that I know would know What The HELL I > was talking about if I said that! A great joke, > wasted. > > Kudos to Locus! > > ===== > Jeff "My dice hate me!" Miller ICQ# 57242517 > > "The idea of verifying facts about the world through controlled repetition > seems alien to just about everyone with the _possible_ exception of Fr > Inire, and he's a bug-eyed space monster. . ."-Jim Henley, on the URTH list > > Gaming to keep War out of RealTime! '82 GS650G > Specify Type Of Goat > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > http://im.yahoo.com > > > --------------- END urth.v028.n174 --------------- works ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jack and Melissa Holcomb — 03 Apr 2000, 02:38 follows, by subject match Nil_Ultra Whoa, cowboy. Look, Rob, you're absolutely entitled to your opinion, but then, so is Jeff. What's more, Jeff was pretty careful about framing every criticism he made of New Sun as his own reaction -- "for me" and so forth, ya see? -- and not as gospel truth (or gospel truth's inverse, heresy). Don't jump all over him, tell him to shut up, and imply that he doesn't understand the book, just because he expressed his opinion about it. That's just damn rude. And so far I've been so impressed with the congeniality of this list. And for the record, I dig BotNS best, although Urth is optional. And I would agree that the Soldier books are the second-best thing Wolfe's written. Jack > Ok, that deserves crucifiction, though I will agree that Urth of the new > sun > is certainly the best part of the book of the new sun, it is heresy to > say > that the book of the new sun is inferior to the long sun. The long sun > series does have more value in the traditional sf/fantasy plotline of > being > really clear about what the plot is and the good guys vs bad guys theme, > but the lack of that was what I think really made Book of The New Sun > unique; it is not a fantasy story, it is like reality merged with the > text > of some lost holy book. I will be the first to agree that the Book of the > New Sun is not for everyone, but do not call it inferior until you > understand it. > > -Rob > -----Original Message----- > > From: Redhaven1 at aol.com > > Subject: Long Sun vs. New Sun > > Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 21:53:23 EST > > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > > > Please don't crucify me. . . > > > > I got started on Wolfe when I was sick in the hospital. My parents > > offered to pick up some books to help pass the time and I suggested a > > book > > I > > had heard of called The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. The only > > Wolfe > > books Border's had were the last two books of the Long Sun series. > Frankly, > I'm glad it was these two or I wouldn't be posting on this list today. I > loved Calde and Exodus and immediately began to try to read all the Wolfe > books I could find. I ordered the Book of the New Sun as a single volumn > from the book club I was in. Upon reading it I was extremely > dissappointed. > > I didn't think it was near as good as the Long Sun. To me, it seemed > > like > > a > > strange, disjointed fairy-tale that kinda wanted to be sci-fi. I admit, > > the > > mood of the entire work was beautifully haunting, and when I get arround > > to > > reading it a second time I'll probably find a hundered things I missed, > > but > > in my view New Sun was the worst, Urth of the New Sun was little better, > > and > > Long Sun was best. Short Sun is shaping up to be the best yet. Well, > > that's > > my two bits. I just felt I had to defend the Long Sun, because it's what > > got > > me hooked. If I had started on New Sun, I don't think I'd be a Wolfe > > fan. > > > > -Steve > > > > > > --------------- MESSAGE urth.v028.n174.3 --------------- > > > > From: Inire > > Subject: Re: (urth) Wolfe does Star Trek > > Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 23:42:22 -0800 (PST) > > MIME-Version: 1.0 > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > > > > > > > --- Nicholas Gevers wrote: > > > For news of GW's next series--a New Sun/Star Trek > > > crossover starting with HE'S DEAD, SEVERIAN > > > giggling> > > > > --see > > today's "Locus Online Buys Simon & Schuster" entry > > on > > LOCUS ONLINE (www.locusmag.com). > > Oh > > lord, THAT was a rich one! ;-D And the sad thing is, > > nobody in RL that I know would know What The HELL I > > was talking about if I said that! A great joke, > > wasted. > > > > Kudos to Locus! > > > > ===== > > Jeff "My dice hate me!" Miller ICQ# 57242517 > > > > "The idea of verifying facts about the world through controlled > > repetition > > seems alien to just about everyone with the _possible_ exception of Fr > > Inire, and he's a bug-eyed space monster. . ."-Jim Henley, on the URTH > > list > > > > Gaming to keep War out of RealTime! '82 GS650G > > Specify Type Of Goat > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > > http://im.yahoo.com > > > > > > --------------- END urth.v028.n174 --------------- > works ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alice Turner — 03 Apr 2000, 20:48 follows, by subject match Jack and Melissa Holcomb > Welcome (and a peacepipe) to Steve, who wrote: > Please don't crucify me. . . > > I got started on Wolfe when I was sick in the hospital. My parents > offered to pick up some books to help pass the time and I suggested a book I > had heard of called The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. The only Wolfe > books Border's had were the last two books of the Long Sun series. Frankly, > I'm glad it was these two or I wouldn't be posting on this list today. I > loved Calde and Exodus and immediately began to try to read all the Wolfe > books I could find. I ordered the Book of the New Sun as a single volumn > from the book club I was in. Upon reading it I was extremely dissappointed. > I didn't think it was near as good as the Long Sun. To me, it seemed like a > strange, disjointed fairy-tale that kinda wanted to be sci-fi. I admit, the > mood of the entire work was beautifully haunting, and when I get arround to > reading it a second time I'll probably find a hundered things I missed, but > in my view New Sun was the worst, Urth of the New Sun was little better, and > Long Sun was best. Short Sun is shaping up to be the best yet. Well, that's > my two bits. I just felt I had to defend the Long Sun, because it's what got > me hooked. If I had started on New Sun, I don't think I'd be a Wolfe fan. You're certainly entitled to think this way--and it's nice for LS to have a defender! What absolutely floors me, though, is that you were able to come in on the middle of the series and enjoy it thoroughly. So much for my defense of elegant plotting! -alga ------------------------------------------------------------------------------