_Urth_: Superflous?

Dan'l:

Oh, it certainly was unfair, I just have a penchant for irreverence. It's a great scene, and it moved me immensely the first time I read it, but I guess it's true what they say: familiarity breeds contempt.

It's been years. The power comes from the White Fountain, I seem to recall, but I cannot recall whether it is specific to the Conciliator or not. I'm stil curious about the "Sev-as-aquastor" angle.

I partly agree with you. It was an excellent book, taken on it's own merits, but, although I always felt that Severian was the Conciliator somehow, I found his on-screen turn as the Conciliator to be quite underwhelming. I just expected more. He carreer as Conciliator lasted for, 1 day, was it? Still, I really enjoyed the Hierogrammates, the explication of Apu-Punchau and the re-enactment of Dr. Talos's play. To sum, I'd be willing to trade Urth for an extra Latro book, but it's still Wolfe in top form.

To me UotNS stands as tall as its predecessors -- different, but intellectually delightful and emotionally satisfying in its own ways. The Yesod sequences, the cleverness of the testing on and off the ship, and the fabulous imagery throughout are second to none; the desperately aimless nature of Severian's wanderings post-apocalypse typify "anticlimax". The "Conciliator career sequence" was a fascinating speculation on how a towering legend can grow from a small seed. Whatever your final conclusion about it is, hearty food for thought. There are weaker points to be sure, things drag in places, but the strengths more than overwhelm them.