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Ray_Otus
About
- Username
- Ray_Otus
- Joined
- Visits
- 482
- Last Active
- Roles
- Member, Moderator
- Games I like
- Old School Essentials, Troika, Dungeon World
- Books I like
- The Hobbit, Dune, Roadside Picnic, All Creatures Great and Small, Nero Wolfe...
Comments
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Some of this mix of SF and fantasy reminds me of Silverberg's [EDIT: I meant Zelazny's] Lord of Light as well. (Quote)
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Very much reminds me of Kafka's In the Penal Colony. A worthy short story to read if you have the time. (Quote)
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What do we make of this idea that Severian may be unstuck in time? In his dreams he visits the chapel from many ages past and sees the blue sky (as opposed to the near-black sky of present day). Then he is visited by a person long dead. (Quote) [..…
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Rings somewhat true for me... though there is also self-delusion. (Quote) This food sculpture is amazing?! :) (Quote)
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Hmmm. No empathy. Yes and no. I think they love their clients, but in a very cold, dispassionate, objective (being redundant for emphasis here) manner. I am reminded of this quote from earlier: (Quote) Wolfe, Gene. Shadow & Claw: The First Half…
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I found chapters 7 and 8 interesting and poignant, but I don't feel like I have a lot to say about them. The world gets a bit more real and a little less fantastical in these chapters.
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Indeed. It would be cool if you could set your notifications further up the 'tree.'
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I read the Long Sun some years ago. Yes, it happens on a tube-shaped colony ship. People live on the inner surface and the core is a long strip of artificial light that serves as the sun. I found it to be a slog, but I would be willing to try it aga…
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For me it's established (as much as anything in this book is "established") pretty clearly when they are looking at the painting which is clearly analogous to the first man on the moon photos. I was already convinced that's what the painti…
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(Quote) I wouldn't be surprised to get a chapter on whales and/or cannibals.
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OK. I just found the path again. Slow Reads in left column, then the Book of the New Sun, then the right week. Not really that difficult. I just don't get a ping to remind me to go look.
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(Quote) It's not about that so much as notifications. I only get notifications on threads I've actually participated in. So here's how Wednesday goes. I first have to assume a new post went up, then I have to remember how to find it. For whatever re…
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(Quote) It definitely is. But I doubt The Citadel is really the Smithsonian. Because I know Urth is Earth, though, it makes me look for identifiable things.
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(Quote) Good comparison. A very decadent society to be sure.
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They keep talking about the red brick and the spires of the Citadel — it makes me think of The Smithsonian. Especially since it contains lots of art and treasures.
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Or, do it like the first one, put up an announcement in the original post.
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Good point. Let me rephrase. As standard practice can someone remember to post the "next" link in the previous week thread each Wednesday or whenever that thread goes up. LOL.
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Ch. 6 I love how focused each chapter is. The last one was "paintings," and this one is "books." :) This was cool: (Quote) And this (game-able!) bit: (Quote) I want to read: (Quote) I liked this discussion a lot: (Quote) Th…
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Ch. 5b (Quote) Yeah, buddy. Been there. Also, this sentence is a mess: (Quote)
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Ch. 5a I'm a sucker for hallways lined with paintings. It works in Harry Potter and it works here. And if you didn't recognize this one right away, you were asleep at the wheel. :) (Quote) (Image) (I couldn't find one with Urth rising in the bac…
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Thank you! As standard practice can someone remember to post the "next" link at the end of each previous week?
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Is there a post for the next section?
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@Apocryphal @Bill_White I subscribe to the idea that this is primarily fantasy set in a SF world. But it actually becomes a little more SF as you progress. It almost varies chapter by chapter. It's not an easy work to pigeonhole, which is part of th…
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What the... LOL. "Is that what you call it? The Atrium of Time? Because of the dials, I suppose." "No, the dials were put there because we call it that."
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I thought this passage was particularly lyrical (referencing his encounter with Triskele). "There are encounters that change nothing. Urth turns her aged face to the sun and he beams upon her snows; they scintillate and coruscate until each li…
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BTW. I read these once before a looooong time ago. I loved them for tone, but will admit that I just let the stuff that confused me wash over me. It's nice to be able to focus on the work in smaller chunks. Mirrors and light are a big theme that you…
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(Quote) In what way? (I have never read Gormenghast, but I'm curious.)
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Ch. 3/4: On the Clients * It's so much more awful that the torturers call their victims "clients." * Severian talks about the beast handlers taking a lion or bear sow in marriage, clarifying that it's a bond so close that they afterward…
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Sorry. These are two long. I'll boil my thoughts down more from here. Just so much good stuff here at the outset.
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Ch. 2. * "Ymar, the Almost Just." Great title. :smiley: * Wow. That bit about them cutting open pregnant women and if the child draws breath, they accept it. That's some dark stuff. * More words. Caracara: "any of various large l…