CASTLEVIEW and TWK
The Urth list — 2 messages, 2 voices, 18 May 2007
https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/4830

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Roy C. Lackey — 18 May 2007, 06:08

My recent reading of CASTLEVIEW forced me to appreciate for the first time
just how many points of correspondence there are between it and TWK. It's
hard to imagine that the former didn't have some influence on the writing of
the latter, and I wonder if one book can be used to inform the understanding
of the other. Of course, I don't have the answer, but maybe it would help to
point out some similarities.

In both books we have a young Arthurian figure whose name isn't revealed
until the end and who hails from modern America. There is a certain
disconnect from an older, absent brother. We have Odin and Sleipnir, the
Wild Hunt and mention of the Green Man. We have fairies and a fairy world
that can be blundered into, and a young, regal, immortal fairy woman of
uncertain loyalties. We have a talking cat. A big dog. Blood sucking
females. An ambulance on a highway. Ghosts. Giants. A castle in the sky. The
mingling of Norse and Arthurian material.

The older book takes place mostly on the American side of the indistinct
boundary with Faerie, the newer on the other side. For whatever that's all
worth.

-Roy

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Craig Brewer — 18 May 2007, 18:46
  in reply to Roy C. Lackey

You beat me to my next post (which I was saving until
I finished _Wizard_ again).

I haven't yet decided how strong the connection
between the books might actually be. At the very
least, we're seeing something about how Wolfe deals
with Arthuriana/Faerie/Norse-ness in fundamental ways.
But if nothing else, the description of the castles is
more than similar and, I think, more than a casual
reworking of an older motif.

And, of course, I want to know if anyone in Castleview
was named Ormsby. Or Ben.

--Craig

> --- "Roy C. Lackey" <rclackey at stic.net> wrote:
> My recent reading of CASTLEVIEW forced me to
> appreciate for the first time
> just how many points of correspondence there are
> between it and TWK. It's
> hard to imagine that the former didn't have some
> influence on the writing of
> the latter, and I wonder if one book can be used to
> inform the understanding
> of the other. Of course, I don't have the answer,
> but maybe it would help to
> point out some similarities.
> 
> In both books we have a young Arthurian figure whose
> name isn't revealed
> until the end and who hails from modern America.
> There is a certain
> disconnect from an older, absent brother. We have
> Odin and Sleipnir, the
> Wild Hunt and mention of the Green Man. We have
> fairies and a fairy world
> that can be blundered into, and a young, regal,
> immortal fairy woman of
> uncertain loyalties. We have a talking cat. A big
> dog. Blood sucking
> females. An ambulance on a highway. Ghosts. Giants.
> A castle in the sky. The
> mingling of Norse and Arthurian material.
> 
> The older book takes place mostly on the American
> side of the indistinct
> boundary with Faerie, the newer on the other side.
> For whatever that's all
> worth.
> 
> -Roy
> 
> _______________________________________________

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