Babbie, a Destrier?

Adam Thornton · 12 Jan 2010, 01:52 · from 2010-January.txt.gz

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From: adam at io.com (Adam Thornton)
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:52:15 -0600
Subject: (urth) Babbie, a Destrier?
In-Reply-To: <COL121-W529E01AE5C638F58B3E8F8E66D0 at phx.gbl>
References: <COL121-W1087EB35CE5A79EBB8F070E66E0 at phx.gbl>,
	<521973.33126.qm at web180204.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
	<COL121-W529E01AE5C638F58B3E8F8E66D0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4B4BD5CF.9070708 at io.com>

Tom Hopkins wrote:
>
> My problem with this is that in Appendix of Shadow of the Claw, Wolfe 
> is acting as the translator rather than the writer himself. He only 
> knows the facts provided by Severian, and if Destriers were to have 8 
> legs it may be something he were to take for granted, as for him it 
> would be commonplace and known by nearly all; and therefore fail to 
> mention. With animals throughout the books he rarely describes them in 
> depth, merely by name as he assumes we would know what they are. I 
> feel this could be another such case, or maybe merely something Gene 
> Wolfe decided to elaborate on later in another series as nothing 
> contradicts it in the original text.
>

My objection is that down this road lies the Vernor Vinge madness of the 
cheery little hobbit-type aliens with the gootfy names actually
turning out to be GROTESQUE SPACE SPIDERS.

Adam

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