{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/4791", "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": "urth", "thread": { "id": 4791, "subject": "Soldier of Sidon Questions", "messages": 4, "voices": 3, "first": "2007-02-27T15:49:17+00:00", "last": "2007-02-28T00:35:42+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "James Wynn", "address": "crushtv at gmail.com" }, "date": "2007-02-27T15:49:17+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Soldier of Sidon Questions", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I finally got around to buying and reading SOS. Here are some things\nthat perplexed me.\n\n1. This is now the 3rd Wolfe novel in a row where the protagonist has\na vampiric inhuman paramour who poses more or less successfully as a\nbeautiful woman. I can think of no thematic requirement (literary,\nmythological, religious, or narrative) that compels Wolfe to continuously\nrework this particular scenario.\n\nOn the same note, I was little relieved when they came to a fork in the river\nand the branches were called \"Blue and WHITE\" instead of Blue and\nGREEN.\n\n2. The dog that joins Latro at the end of the book is Set or Set's servant,\nI suppose: Set's heiroglyph is a dog. But who is the \"scarred child\"?\nAny likely candidates in Egyptian mythology?\n\n3. The titles of the Soldier series are as follows:\nSoldier of the Mist (denoting clouds and the mist of memory)\nSoldier of Arete (denoting mountains and soldierly virtues)\nSoldier of....Sidon?\n\nIs there a discernable double meaning to \"sidon\"?\n\nJ." } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "James Wynn", "address": "crushtv at gmail.com" }, "date": "2007-02-27T15:56:56+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Soldier of Sidon Questions", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "2. The dog that joins Latro at the end of the book is Set or Set's servant,\nI suppose: Set's heiroglyph is a dog. But who is the \"scarred child\"?\nAny likely candidates in Egyptian mythology?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I just got my answer to this while poking around in the glossary.\nThe scarred child is Mtoto, from whom Latro cast out the demon." } ] }, { "message_id": "<49EA9CC6-8E44-493C-A101-435F65F6AC37@gmail.com>", "from": { "name": "Transentient", "address": "transentient at gmail.com" }, "date": "2007-02-27T23:21:27+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Soldier of Sidon Questions", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Feb 27, 2007, at 10:49 AM, James Wynn wrote:\nI finally got around to buying and reading SOS. Here are some things\nthat perplexed me.\n\n1. This is now the 3rd Wolfe novel in a row where the protagonist has\na vampiric inhuman paramour who poses more or less successfully as a\nbeautiful woman. I can think of no thematic requirement (literary,\nmythological, religious, or narrative) that compels Wolfe to \ncontinuously\nrework this particular scenario." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "This is obviously the influence of modern gangsta rap on Wolfe's \nwriting. \"Bitches ain't s*** but hos and tricks,\" Snoop Doggy Dog. \nHmm. Interesting coincidence with the names, don't you think?" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "David Duffy", "address": "david.duffy at qimr.edu.au" }, "date": "2007-02-28T00:35:42+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Soldier of Sidon Questions", "in_reply_to": "<49EA9CC6-8E44-493C-A101-435F65F6AC37@gmail.com>", "reply_link": "header", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": " On Feb 27, 2007, at 10:49 AM, James Wynn wrote:\n1. This is now the 3rd Wolfe novel in a row where the protagonist has\na vampiric inhuman paramour who poses more or less successfully as a\nbeautiful woman. I can think of no thematic requirement (literary,\nmythological, religious, or narrative) that compels Wolfe to\ncontinuously rework this particular scenario." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "The \"British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt\", which I am perusing to try\nand work out what the McGuffin-scroll could be, says (presumably\nstraight-faced):\n\n\"Many of the [Egyptian] goddesses, however, could also present the more\nnegative, destructive aspects of womanhood, in the form of the EYE OF RA, the\ndaughter of the sun-god sent to persecute the human race.\"\n\nI think Wolfe likes looking at traditional devils, starting with Lilith, and\nat vampires. From the Greeks onwards, there are female vampires (more\nvicious than the male :)).\n\nI have posted about the trinities that appear in several books, usually two\nmales and a female.\n\n\nDavid Duffy." }, { "kind": "sig", "depth": 0, "text": "| David Duffy (MBBS PhD) ,-_|\\\n| email: davidD at qimr.edu.au ph: INT+61+7+3362-0217 fax: -0101 / *\n| Epidemiology Unit, Queensland Institute of Medical Research \\_,-._/\n| 300 Herston Rd, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia GPG 4D0B994A v" } ] } ] }