Hunting the WeerWolfe

Mantis, I've just finished rereading Peace, and I'd like to take on some of your Peace mysteries. 1. What is the situation of the narrator? He's dead. Although why a ghost would consult a doctor for advice on what to do or not to do for a stroke is still a mystery to me. The fact that Weer is dead is supported by Wolfe in his interview with Jim Jordan. Weer is the "...soul of the dead man seeking now in all the chambers under the vault of the skull its old resting places." 2. Did Weer murder some/most/all of the characters in Peace? You've lost me there. Other than Bobbie Black and the mysterious kid in the freezer, do you have any evidence for others? Any thoughts on who the ghost in the freezer might be? 3. What is the name of the town? I've only noticed Cassionsville and/or Cassonsville. Have I missed others? 4. Was Sherry Gold pregnant at the doctor's office? Does she have the baby, or is she killed? We know that Sherry is dead, Weer tells us that she died the day before he had his stroke (pg. 14). Are you suggesting that Weer killed Sherry because she was pregnant, which then caused his stroke? I don't know, I'd need some more evidence before I subscribe to that. We also know that Margaret Lorn/Price has an appointment to see the doctor, which implies that she is also dead. Killed because she married another? Hmmm... Maybe you've got something there. 5. What is "The Book of Gold" in Peace? I'm not sure what you're asking here. Weer's Canadian axe, perhaps? Now I've got to add some mysteries of my own: 6. Why is Julius Smart "...actually the central character of this book"? 7. How did Weer become president of Smart's company? Vance

Reply: Item #0568605 from URTH at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET00# Vance, I haven't re-read PEACE recently, these are just things off the top of my head that I recall PEACE-niks going on about, over and through. (I have been reading some interesting PEACE articles, though--check the "New York Review of Science Fiction" on-line index if you're interested in recent developments in this department.) Right, Weer is dead. Nutria gave that one away right off <g>. Supposedly Weer's been disturbed ("awakened," "sent a haunting") by the blowing over of his grave tree. Re: murders. Well there's Bobbie Black and the freezer kid, for sure. But some readers have gone on to look at the next tier of likely candidates: Librarian Lois (gold fever), Aunt Olivia ("if she were hit by a car, the town's creative intellect would die" line), Sherry (avoid scandal/blackmail), and so on until it seems that practically the whole town is on the roster. Then there is the curious fate of Weer's father--what happened to him? The odd rant against hunters (and that Weer's father was a hunter) suggests to some that Weer may have killed his father in a "hunting accident." And, to continue this thread into a FIFTH HEAD manner, that Weer did some jail time for this (or maybe another murder). Re: names of town. Right, at least those two. In "The Changeling" it is "Cassonsville," fwiw. Re: book of Gold, I was asking about biblio(s) from Mr. Gold. But within the context of Urth's "Book of Gold." Hey, isn't anybody else going to talk about PEACE around here? =mantis=