Subject: (whorl) A question

From: James Stewart <james.stewart at worldnet.att.net>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 20:07:21 +0000

[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

All of this talk of Exodus now is making me desperate to read it, but
before I do I need to know something. Do I need to invest the time in
rereading the first books before this one will make any sense?

By the way, I keep on noticing that GW is praising Lamarkism. He is
off-base here, but is this a possible list topic?

_____________________________________________
James A. Stewart

james.stewart at worldnet.att.net 
or
jstewart at cougar.colstate.cc.oh.us

Questions or problems to whorl-owner at lists.best.com

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From: revjack at radix.net <revjack at radix.net>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 03:07:40 +0000

On Mon, 20 Jan 1997 20:07:21 -0500, James Stewart wrote:

: 
: [Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]
: 
: All of this talk of Exodus now is making me desperate to read it, but
: before I do I need to know something. Do I need to invest the time in
: rereading the first books before this one will make any sense?

I found that it buttoned things up quite nicely, and that it made a
bit more sense (was less opaque) than the previous books.
 
: By the way, I keep on noticing that GW is praising Lamarkism. He is
: off-base here, but is this a possible list topic?

Depends. What's Lamarkism?
_________________
revjack at radix.net

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From: Fernando Q. Gouvea <fqgouvea at colby.edu>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 21:35:08 +0000

**** On Mon, 20 Jan 1997 20:07:21 -0500, James Stewart <james.stewart at worldnet.att.net> said:

James> All of this talk of Exodus now is making me desperate to read it,
James> but before I do I need to know something. Do I need to invest the
James> time in rereading the first books before this one will make any
James> sense?

I certainly did reread the first three books; it's very helpful. Given the
long gap between the third and fourth books, it's easy to forget too many
of those important details.

-- 

Fernando Q. Gouvea			
Chair, Dept. of Math & CS		Editor, MAA Online
Colby College				http://www.maa.org
fqgouvea at colby.edu			fqgouvea at maa.org
==========================================================

In Boston, it is illegal to hold frog-jumping contests in nightclubs.

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From: James Stewart <james.stewart at worldnet.att.net>
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 23:45:12 +0000

At 02:35 AM 1/21/97 +0000, Fernando Q. Gouvea wrote:
>**** On Mon, 20 Jan 1997 20:07:21 -0500, James Stewart
>of those important details.

Well, now I have my reading set forth for me for the next month or so.

I have to reread the first two books, the third, and then the forth. 

By the way, there is a possible half-assed justification for Lamarck based
upon Gary Wills "Wisdom of the Genes," but that is very off-topic.

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From: Doug Eigsti <douge at nti.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 10:51:57 +0000

> rereading the first books before this one will make any sense?

	Our local reading group, The Fictionados, decided it would be 
wise to reread the first three books before trying to tackle EXODUS. The 
two year gap being the main reason. Wolfe is brutal to readers who forget 
critical details. I am now in LAKE and am finding the experience much 
richer and more satisfying. I was still trying to learn the rules of the 
Whorl on the first pass. Now I can dig deeper and delve into some of the 
fun mysteries Wolfe has buried. Some of the comments on this archive are 
driving me to read EXODUS but I know that a careful reading of the 
precursors will pay off when I get there. I am reading all the "spoilers" 
posted. Wolfe has never been about what happens next. Getting there is 
the fun.

=Doug Eigsti=
douge at nti.com

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From: Derek Bell <dbell at maths.tcd.ie>
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 20:05:47 +0000

In message <199701210234.SAA03234 at lists1.best.com>, "Fernando Q. Gouvea" writes
>of those important details.

	I did so too, for the same reason. Maybe I read the books too
quickly the first time, but the characters, particularly the sybils
seemed more vivid the second time around. Of course, some of the
character traits are very distinct, such as Maytera Rose's
judgemental temperament.

	Derek