More Wolfe Blurbs

Iorwerth Thomas · 17 May 2005, 03:42 · from 2005-May.txt.gz

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From: iorweththomas at hotmail.com (Iorwerth Thomas)
Date: Tue May 17 03:42:00 2005
Subject: (urth) More Wolfe Blurbs
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.58.0505170810350.14173 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
Message-ID: <BAY102-F21AB2E77802C09E031029BB9160 at phx.gbl>

>From: David Duffy <David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au>
>Reply-To: The Urth Mailing List <urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
>To: The Urth Mailing List <urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
>Subject: Re: (urth) More Wolfe Blurbs
>Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 08:50:45 +1000 (EST)
>
>On Mon, 16 May 2005, John Barach wrote:
>
> > I've also discovered that this site gives a list of several (though it's 
>far from complete).  I can't say I'm familiar with any of the authors:
> >
> > * Robert Nathan, Portrait of Jennie (1940)
> > * George Turner, Drowning Towers (1987)
> > * Robert Aickman, The Model (1987)
> > * David Zindell, Neverness (1988)
> > * Paul Park, Coelestis (1993)
> > * Terry McGarry, Illumination (2001)
> >
> > Anyone read these?
> >
>
>Paul Park's _Starbridge Chronicles_ have been compared to Wolfe in the
>past, esp for the use of language -- you are halfway through _The Soldiers
>of Paradise_ (vol 1 of the trilogy) before realising "horses" are
>reptilian, and "petrol" is also edible...is was definitely influenced, I
>think, by BotNS, but goes it its' own way. Very stylish writing.
>

I'll have to keep an eye out for those; I've only read 'Coelestis', which is 
similar in theme to 5HoC - namely, how colonialism messes up both the 
colonists and the natives.  In this case, however, the natives have to be 
assimilated via drugs (so that they have a human worldview; originally they 
were all but catatonic, possibly observing a reality to which humans have no 
access) and plastic surgery.  There are also the Coelestis, the original 
'masters' of the natives, who may in fact be thoughtforms created by the 
natives in order to protect them from the invaders.  The plot focuses around 
an ambassador from Earth, who is isolated by relativistic timelag from both 
the colonists and his home planet, and an unfortunate assimilated native, 
who is kidnapped by a militant (and human-run) native rights group.  
Whereupon her drugs begin to wear off.

It's very good; I'm not sure if that summary does it justice though.  I can 
see why Wolfe likes it.

Iorwerth

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