Subject: (whorl) Grasping Throne of Darkness

From: m.driussi <m.driussi at genie.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 02:50:00 +0000

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

Reply:  Item #3607705 from WHORL at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET#

Henry Rathvon,

So when are =you= going to write a critical essay on Wolfe? <g>  I'm
grinning, but I'm also serious.  Go on, do it!

There are pieces out there (tell me what you've read and I'll tell
you any others that I know of), but there's room for much much more.

You mention Borges and Nabokov, two authors whom Gene Wolfe has
praised in one or two interviews (at least).  Since they are among
his favorite, I'm sure he would be delighted that you rank him with
them.

Re: getting newcomers to read Wolfe.  Yes, proof positive that you
can lead a horse to water but you cannot force him to drink.  For a
kick you might want to look up an essay by Harold Bloom (title
escapes me . . . alga?  Do you know it?) where he writes about his
obsession with A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS by David Lindsay.  (And it is a
pretty interesting book, btw.)  Anyhow, he talks about reading copies
to pieces (!) as well as trying to get other people to read it, and
most of them having the reaction you just described happening to you.

Which is why it is very important, imho, to establish the informal
network between all Wolfe fans--this mailing list is a great example!
Stand up and be counted, talk about what you love.

Re: Wolfe isn't sf.  You know, you may not be nearly as lonely in
this idea as you might think.  Based on the experience of selling the
Lexicon, I have a developing theory that many, if not most, Wolfe
fans actually read little or no sf at all.  (Which seems somewhat
paradoxical to me--I discovered Wolfe after reading a whole lot of
Jack Vance.  Then word of mouth told me about THE BOOK OF THE NEW
SUN, which I had initially resisted for its s&m title and cover, and
then, well . . . )

So I'm curious as to other Wolfe fans, their reading tastes (whether
they read sf or not, and if not, then how on Urth did they manage to
find Gene Wolfe?!  He's hard enough to find as it is!), and how
widespread is the idea "Gene Wolfe is not an sf writer" among Wolfe
fans.

alga,

So based on the Pas no-show theophany, as well as the sudden and
increasing powers of Tartaros toward the end, you divine that the
rightful and dutiful son has ascended the throne of the Whorl?  (Pas
in Saturn-like retirement?)  Good job!  I like it.

=mantis=

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