Help offset server costs by donating. This is totally optional. Any overages will go to library fines or new books.
NeilNjae
About
- Username
- NeilNjae
- Joined
- Visits
- 1,880
- Last Active
- Roles
- Member
Comments
-
I got 8.
-
(Quote) Good observation. It's almost as if Severian is starting to think of the consequences of his actions, and what he should do with the Claw. Maybe there's yet hope that he'll become an actual human being! (Quote) Is it the presence of the Cla…
-
I've not read the book, but have seen the Russian film. I'd be happy to have it as a monthly pick. OTOH, maybe it's better not to have a monthly pick that some have read and others have bounced off.
-
There's probably more going on with Dorcas than just her being upset that Severian has a job to do. I don't know what, but could it be connected to the ritual at the end of the last book? Severian's speech was one of self-justification. Is this a s…
-
Sounds like a good idea!
-
(Quote) Perhaps you can! I have trouble with keeping track of characters in books at the best of times, so that's what works for me. It also means I finish the book with an R-map ready to go for the next campaign I'm running.
-
Tips for reading Ross Macdonald books The books are very tightly plotted, with just about everything on the page being relevant in some way. Also, the books aren't so much a "whodunnit" or even a "whydunnit", but the investigato…
-
I'm now utterly convinced that Severian is being controlled by someone or something. He has to be, in order to always be at exactly the right place at the right time. As for Severian's personality, I frankly don't care at this point. Thecla's psyhi…
-
(Quote) Ross Macdonald's books are very good, but they're not light reading. I keep a sheet of paper with me while I'm reading them, to draw up the relationship map as I go. It's the only way I can keep straight all the characters and their connecti…
-
The Chill is about 290 pages, City of Brass about 500 pages.
-
I've no objection to Far Spaceports. But if you want other suggestions, how about The Chill by Ross Macdonald? An American detective novel, kind of in the line of the hardboiled detectives of Hammett and Chandler, but much more psychological and co…
-
(Quote) Yes, he's just incredibly full of himself with just about no empathy for anyone else. A massively unsympathetic character. (Quote) It's clear that the undine wanted to meet Severian. The "coinincidence" part was that she was trapp…
-
It's nice to see that Severian's reputation is affecting how others treat him, in that Baldanders suspected that Severian wanted to kill Baldanders despite Severian's protestations. The whole meeting with the undine smacked of being a coincidence t…
-
Sorry for being a bit late on this, but I was away last week. Severian's rape of Jolenta was very uncomfortable reading, even if she didn't seem to really care about it afterwards. There is something very broken about her. It also didn't seem much …
-
(Quote) Wow! I can feel the waves of eager anticipation from all the way over here! :-)
-
(Quote) Is "Father Inire" a person, or is it now some kind of title, passed on from person to person to give some semblance of continuity? And all this talk about Severian meeting the Autarch makes it pretty plain that almost everything w…
-
I'm with @clash_bowley : all I got from these chapters was Severain wandering through a palace, meeting strange people and not much happening. I'd love to hear the thoughts of @RichardAbbott and @dr_mitch about these chapters!
-
Interesting that the Claw didn't heal Jonas. And what do we think covered Jonas in the slime? Was is some attacker, or was it an effect of his earlier injury? Jonas's method of departure was good. I agree with @RichardAbbott : we'll see Jonas again…
-
(Quote) I agree: fascinating. How would someone turn it into a gameable situation, though? A lot of it is routine, and I'm not sure how you'd translate the day-to-day business of civil engineering into interesting game sessions. I'd love to hear peo…
-
As I mentioned in the other thread, The One Ring looks like a perfect match for the journeys and adventures in the wilderness. The way it handles travel and fatigue makes for a great backdrop to the adventures and encounters that take place along th…
-
This was the first Innes book I can remember, but I have a vague recollection of reading others of his in my youth. Can't remember if I did, or what books they may have been. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one! A cracking good read, and the pace kep…
-
There's also that the other two torturer-fanboys have been chasing Severian for a while and are desperate to be with him. That's more than just being a torturer fanboy. What do they know about Severian?
-
(Quote) Not a lot, it must be said. While Wolfe writes entertainingly enough, things are not exactly moving quickly in the book. The contrast in pace between this book and The Land God Gave to Cain is rather marked.
-
Two thirds of the way through. Enjoying it so far!
-
(Quote) Yes, I got the impression that it was the flesh of the corpse that "primed" the alzabo (Quote) I'm not so sure that the cannibalism was as much as a taboo for Severian as it is for us readers. He was revulsed for a moment in the f…
-
If found the exposition of motives was a useful recap. And after all that time searching for Vodalus and pledging to follow him, Severian's first independent act is to tell us that he won't fulfil Vodalus's command. I wonder why? I was also amused …
-
Another observation about the worldbuilding. When Severian is lost in his memories, he mentions recalling being "leather-winged steed," but the rest of the paragraph makes little sense. I'm not sure if the destrier he rode to the cave actu…
-
Yes, not a huge surprise about Agia being behind the note. A couple of things of note. One is that for someone with basically no combat training, Severian is very handy in a fight. He does a good job of fighting off the man-apes in the cave, takes …
-
I'm afraid I'll skip that one. I'd heard lots of good things about it, tried to get into it, but got rather bored. The first third is nothing more than a bunch of nice people being nice to each other, and it seems the rest of the book is much the sa…
-
I'm with @RichardAbbott : I like that Severian is taking the initiative and setting out to achieve things. Yes, they're stupid decisions, but at least he's acting rather than reacting. I'm looking forward to finding out who owns the destrier he sto…