Like RevJack, I had taken note of the name "Typhon," the tyrant who called himself Pas. For what it's worth--and I anticipate a divergence of opinion on this point--I think it's a bad idea, generally, for authors to create links between their own novels when those books could exist wholly independently. I understand the temptation to make these links. Certain authors (Cordwainer Smith, for example) have made a success of setting virtually all their stories in the same fictional universe. But does Silk's tale really need to have any connection to Severian's? I see no compelling reason for Wolfe to mix these epics, and I hope the crosslinks will remain minimal. I suppose I'm a bit of a purist in this regard. (I hasten to add that I don't at all mind resemblances to elements in the author's other work. For example, Green and Blue certainly make one think of the twin planets in "The Fifth Head of Cerberus." But I'd prefer, as a reader, that these elements remain analagous, not actually interbred. End of grumpy aside.)
--Henry Rathvon
Questions or problems to whorl-owner at lists.best.com