Help offset server costs by donating. This is totally optional. Any overages will go to library fines or new books.
RichardAbbott
About
- Username
- RichardAbbott
- Joined
- Visits
- 6,372
- Last Active
- Roles
- Member, Administrator, Moderator
- Games I like
- Sundry, mostly board
- Books I like
- Science fiction, fantasy, some historical fiction
Comments
-
I felt that these chapters, especially the last, contained something of the core of what Gene Wolfe wanted to say - I've read them twice so far and will probably read again before commenting properly :smile:
-
Happily I spotted the Theseus reference :smile: And the best bit about the Jonas reveal was surely the description of the means of transport. Presumably Jonas will return in a future chapter / book, and at that stage we will learn a bit more about …
-
> @Apocryphal said: > I would have liked if the Innu had played more of a role in the story. One Amazon reviewer I read complained about the racism in the book toward the natives and the French, which I didn’t notice at all. There was one use…
-
(Quote) This is an interesting one, I think after doing some research. I think there are two bits: 1) "The land of Cain" - I'm not convinced that this has any direct connection. Genesis 4 has Cain saying to God after his punishment has be…
-
@Apocryphal the gold theme was a curious one... I guessed early on that this was the secret of Lion Lake, but in the end nothing much was made of it. Sure, there were the huge nuggets just lying around when our intrepid explorers got there, but then…
-
First, I liked it. Definitely. Some more detail on that. Yes, it was my first Innes novel. I thought the strongest point was the presentation of character - necessarily almost all male because of context, so it was light on female input, but I foun…
-
Not really a question I can answer very well. I did like the way that the terrain was unpredictable and implacable - I suspect that those who live there see that at least in some seasons it has a stark beauty, but that didn't really emerge here, onl…
-
(Quote) This is a point about which theologians debate greatly ("infinite are the arguments of mages..."). A Hebrew Bible prophecy (in Malachi) indicates that Elijah will be a forerunner before the Messiah. Now, in Christian terms, John th…
-
There was also a chapter called The Shadow of the Torturer in the book of that name... perhaps a theme? The prison is surely metaphorical as well as literal... humanity as a whole seems to be effectively a prisoner on Urth, and is as resigned to th…
-
(Quote) Your comment made me think a lot about the possible connection to communion (Eucharist or Mass in Catholic terms, which I presume Gene Wolfe would think in). In many ways the consumption of Thecla (whether her real body or not) is indeed a p…
-
Just finished it on a long train ride this morning (appropriately enough). Enjoyed it and looking forward to the discussion :smile:
-
Severian still has mixed motives, "'I have to do an errand for Vodalus'... I had no intention of performing it". I took the representation of Thecla that was eaten not to be her actual flesh (as I think you imply, @dr_mitch ) but rather…
-
(Quote) And presumably etymologically related to words for fire, as in pyromania or pyrotechnics
-
(Quote) Yes, totally agree. It is more (I think) a form of active recapitulation than memory in the ordinary sense. As happened just before he was seized by Vodalus's men, he can easily become lost in the reliving and then find it hard to reorient b…
-
> @Michael_S_Miller said: > FWIW, I listened to the audiobook, which is really excellent. I'll be rereading it in ebook in preparation for the discussion, so I'm curious if the format will make an impact. I have backed away from audiobooks…
-
Another great set of chapters for getting us into the deep mythology of Urth... "I who had been blind before understood why it was that Abaia had sent me this dream, and had sought to enlist me in the great and final war of Urth". But als…
-
(Quote) Aha, I should probably cultivate odd mutterings like "fool of a Took" as well...
-
(Quote) Nothing so clever...
-
Thanks @clash_bowley I'll put the review out and about. Apologies for the bold text in one of the paragraphs - it was supposed to be just a marker line for the end of the review proper, but I suppose that counts as some kind of mark-down signal :(
-
(Quote) It's a good question :smile: Having thought about it off and on during the day, I have the following ideas: * I think the language is more direct - you haven't needed to provide nearly so much by way of explanatory notes about weird words i…
-
And I should have said, if it's not obvious, that I am really enjoying book 2. It seems to me that Wolfe has hit his stride with the story in terms of language and pace, and it really feels as though we (and Severian) are getting somewhere... his li…
-
I do agree that he is far too easily inclined to take the letter seriously... perhaps thinking with some part of his body other than his brain?! But taking a step back, I do feel that Gene Wolfe is capturing something important here. In the first…
-
Splendid :smile: I'd be in for sure.
-
(Quote) Earlier on in that same thread @Michael_S_Miller said "Hmm. May and June are usually pretty busy for me at work. I guess I could take July. Don't want to commit to a book just yet, though." Is The Land God Gave to Cain agreed then…
-
(Quote) The specific issues at Whitby were ones that nowadays we would probably consider to be incidental ones (or, being generous, test cases) - the date of Easter, the proper way for monks' hair to be done, etc. At a guess, any folk at the time wh…
-
Someone recommended The Farfarers to me years ago but I never got around to reading it. Maybe it's time to rectify that?
-
> @dr_mitch said: > > As for the religious angle, there's two things I'd want to consider. The first of these is how the religions epitomise their cultures. It strikes me there's three religions- or rather, two branches of the same rel…
-
I've never read any Innes and am very happy to join in
-
I'd like it if someone did it but you've only just put up with my choice :smile:
-
> @clash_bowley said: > @RichardAbbott said: > I get the impression that this is basically how (at least at present) he handles all of his relationships, especially with women. While with them, they are idolised, but when not there t…