Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?

Lee Berman · 15 Dec 2011, 19:03 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:03:56 -0500
Subject: (urth) Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?
Message-ID: <SNT123-W50A9FF8908A2C4EB5FA2CACFA30 at phx.gbl>

>Gerry Quinn: Certainly there are fairy-tale elements.  But we are also 
>left in no doubt about the deep-future background against which these tropes 
>must be interpreted.  The logic of fairy-tales will be of limited application.

Heh. Well, I give you points for consistency, Gerry. As always, you see the
young beauty in the optical illusion and ignore and/or dismiss the old crone.
http://www.illusionspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/hand-painted-optical-illusion-23.jpg

The "limited application" is all in your head. There is probably an anti-Gerry somewhere
who thinks the futuristic science aspects of the story are of "limited application".
Regardless of personal bias, the fact remains that both elements are intrinsic and
essential aspects of the book. There is no basis for diminishing either of them
except for an individual reader's likes and dislikes.

> Craig Brewer: ..overall reaction was that many of the
> sections seemed like they were intentionally recalling and then
> undercutting his idea of genre "stereotypes" (...) It's not the ultimate
>  classification that's important, but the trick of disrupting
> expectations.

>Antonio: I think you said it all.

I tend to agree.  

If we include UotNS as an equal partner, I think the part of BotNS  which most disrupts the 
typical sword/socerery aspect is the Flood. In what other work does the hero go through all 
his trials and tribulations to save the world only to have the whole thing get washed away. 
(semi-inadvertently by Severian's command, no less)

The Bible (and Christ) are not typically a part of S & S. Like Tolkein and Lewis, Wolfe is a 
Christian writer.  Why is his work so different from theirs? (I have some ideas but I'd like 
to hear those of others).

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