Wolfe, "Book of the New Sun"

Aaron Humphrey · 10 Aug 1992, 17:01 · from sf-lovers.1992.mbox

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From: aaron at space.ualberta.ca (Aaron Humphrey)
Subject: Re: Wolfe, "Book of the New Sun"
Date: 10 Aug 92 17:01:28 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v17-411-13 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V17 #411
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-17b

>>The language: all words *are used correctly* if your idea of "correct"
>>allows obsolete words and obsolete usages. There are no made-up words.
>>Period.
>
>Really?  I have been unable to find any reference to the (marvelous) word
>``logophage'', which appears somewhere in _Shadow_.  The meaning should be
>obvious to anyone who understands Greek roots, of course, but charming as
>this coinage is, I find it difficult (though not impossible) to believe
>that it is not original with Wolfe.

I had assumed in Duncan's "Man of His Word" books that he had made up the
word anthropophage, until I encountered it in some other context as
referring to a childhood bogeyman.  So don't be so sure...

>My impression was that there *were* made-up words, but that all such words
>(as above) were derived from common Greek or Latin roots, and presented in
>a way that made their meaning obvious from context.  I seem to remember
>(though it's been several years) that there were quite a few words which I
>could not find even in the OED.  However, I always found these words easy
>to understand - the obscure words that *did* give me trouble invariably
>*were* in the dictionary.

The one word in the New Sun books (disclaimer:I've only read the first two)
that gave me trouble was athame, which I'd also encountered in the game
nethack and never found in any dictionary.  (I didn't try the OED,
however.)  I found out from someone else that it's a magician's silvered
dagger...

Aaron V. Humphrey
Canadian Network For Space Research
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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