Little Severian, Things in Jars, and Martians

John Moar · 27 Jun 1998, 07:09 · from urth-v0015.mbox · original

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From: John Moar <jmoar at zetnet.co.uk>
Subject: (urth) Little Severian, Things in Jars, and Martians
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 98 08:09:23 +0100
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Thanks for the responses so far, although I'd still like some information=20
on the homunculus.

As for my not 'getting' the Little Severian sequence: I originally read=20
parts of tBotNS when I was far too young to understand it properly. I=20
did, however, remember how Little Severian died.

This sequence is, IMO, one of the simplest uses of shock in tBotNS, not=20
following the usual methods of foreshadowing or retrospective=20
inevitability.
Little Severian's death seems to be unusually timed, part-way between=20
leaving him a bit-player and expanding him to a secondary character. So,=20
when I reread this knowing when he would die, it fell flat.

BTW, do Big and Little Severian remind anyone else of Batman and Robin?=20
<g>

On the subjects of the rats in the library. I was reminded of something=20
in a story by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The story, _Valley of Dreams_, is the=20
sequel to _A Martian Odyssey_. In this story, the Martian Tweel, upon=20
entering a library, angrily chases away a ratlike creature which is=20
attempting to read the books stored there. This story may be rare enough=20
that this is nothing, but still...

--
James Moar

"...it represents for me all that monomaniacal fabric of argument, so
tightly woven that not even the tiniest objection or spark of light can
escape its net, in which human minds become enmeshed whenever the
subject is one in which no appeal to fact is possible" - _Sword_, Ch. 38

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