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MeatwadIsGod posted:I don't think I'm going to read Urth of the New Sun. I read somewhere that Wolfe wanted Book of the New Sun to be one massive tome, but the publisher made him break it up to four novels. He was apparently so pissed at this that he excised sections, which explains the sudden change of setting from the Wall to Saltus between Shadow of the Torturer and Claw of the Conciliator. Not sure if that's true but if so it would make me wary of reading Urth. I've never heard that before and I don't think it's true, Wolfe leaving out big sections is just his style. It is true that New Sun was intended to be a trilogy, but the Sword/Citadel part got too long so it became a quadrilogy. The storytelling parts of Citadel were added to pad out the length after. Given that he had written the first draft of all four books before Shadow was published I don't think he was mad about it not being one volume? Source for all that is Castle of Days. Urth is good, you should read it. It's a lot different from New Sun and in typical Wolfe fashion is not really what you would expect from a New Sun sequel. Agreed that Short Sun is the best of them all.
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Apr 2, 2019 16:43
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The Long Sun is my favorite. Silk is my favorite character in pretty much any medium.
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Apr 2, 2019 16:55
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Chichevache posted:The Long Sun is my favorite. Silk is my favorite character in pretty much any medium. I love silk but still haven't managed to finish long sun. It just feels so tedious reading it after a while
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Apr 2, 2019 22:51
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Fortunately he is still the (unwitting) protag of the majority of Short Sun as well
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Apr 2, 2019 22:59
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Reading a thousand pages of boring stuff so you can read some good stuff after it is a fool’s errand. There are plenty of great books that don’t require you to slog through rubbish.
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Apr 2, 2019 23:15
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Amethyst posted:Reading a thousand pages of boring stuff so you can read some good stuff after it is a fool’s errand. There are plenty of great books that don’t require you to slog through rubbish. This is the logic of late capitalism
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Apr 3, 2019 02:02
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The Vosgian Beast posted:This is the logic of late capitalism What?
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Apr 3, 2019 06:08
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Amethyst posted:Reading a thousand pages of boring stuff so you can read some good stuff after it is a fool’s errand. There are plenty of great books that don’t require you to slog through rubbish. what's any of this have to do with Gene Wolfe
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Apr 3, 2019 17:11
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my bony fealty posted:what's any of this have to do with Gene Wolfe anilEhilated posted:Basically it's worth it to tough it out through Long Sun because Short Sun is (IMO) the best of the bunch and makes absolutely no sense without having read Long Sun first.
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Apr 3, 2019 23:24
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Long sun is v dull
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Apr 4, 2019 09:10
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naw Long Sun is a wonderful and subtle story that's a bit slow at times
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Apr 4, 2019 15:10
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I thought the alzabo soup episodes discussing fifth head of Cerberus were very good as a close reading though I didn't agree with all of their conclusions. Sucks to hear that the new sun episodes aren't as good.
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Apr 4, 2019 19:17
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how can you be sure those who say they aren't good aren't unreliable narrators
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Apr 4, 2019 19:22
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I'm not and I'll probably listen to them anyway
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Apr 4, 2019 19:25
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I'm sure some people will really like it, it just didn't do anything for me. I think I enjoy the mystery too much. Even though I know it's a sci-fi story, to me it works better as a fantasy story. I enjoy being as clueless as Severian. The enjoyment I might get from unraveling one of the mysteries (with science!) isn't as good as the feeling I read the first time I read about the Atrium of Time, or the encounter with the witches.
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Apr 4, 2019 19:33
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Been reading Endangered Species. It's interesting seeing Wolfe's stories from before the '80s as he was experimenting with different styles - for instance the Copperfield story written in a Victorian era fashion and the detective of dreams story which apes late 19th/early 20th century mystery pulp. The story I probably enjoyed most so far, though, was The HORARs of War - aside from being a good story about synthetic people used for war, it managed to cover all the themes and some of the major plot points from the first Bladerunner film several years before that movie, which amused me.
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Apr 5, 2019 02:02
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ElGroucho posted:I'm sure some people will really like it, it just didn't do anything for me. I think I enjoy the mystery too much. Even though I know it's a sci-fi story, to me it works better as a fantasy story. I enjoy being as clueless as Severian. The enjoyment I might get from unraveling one of the mysteries (with science!) isn't as good as the feeling I read the first time I read about the Atrium of Time, or the encounter with the witches. Unfortunately neither you nor I can read it for the first time again
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Apr 5, 2019 02:25
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ElGroucho posted:I'm sure some people will really like it, it just didn't do anything for me. I think I enjoy the mystery too much. Even though I know it's a sci-fi story, to me it works better as a fantasy story. I enjoy being as clueless as Severian. The enjoyment I might get from unraveling one of the mysteries (with science!) isn't as good as the feeling I read the first time I read about the Atrium of Time, or the encounter with the witches. Have you read "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny?
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Apr 5, 2019 02:35
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Amethyst posted:Have you read "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny? No, but I will now! PS: finally finished Peace, and even though I thought I was ready, I am all hosed up now and will not sleep well
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Apr 5, 2019 04:13
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I'm reading Sword of the Lictor and Typhon was such a weird, unsettling take on Satan's temptation of Christ in the desert. How swiftly Severian reacted really blew me away.
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Apr 8, 2019 15:15
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MeatwadIsGod posted:I don't think I'm going to read Urth of the New Sun. I read somewhere that Wolfe wanted Book of the New Sun to be one massive tome, but the publisher made him break it up to four novels. He was apparently so pissed at this that he excised sections, which explains the sudden change of setting from the Wall to Saltus between Shadow of the Torturer and Claw of the Conciliator. Not sure if that's true but if so it would make me wary of reading Urth. From his essays in Castle of the Otter, Wolfe originally planned BotNS as a trilogy, but vol 3 ended up significantly longer than the other two. He asked his publisher if they were cool with him doing a tetralogy so that he wouldn't have to cut things and they agreed. My understanding of Urth is that it was written as a response to questions. Wolfe being Wolfe, he felt that all of the answers provided in Urth were present or at least implied in BotNS. I enjoyed reading it because i freely admit that I am not creative or smart enough to figure out the mysteries on my own.
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Apr 12, 2019 19:43
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https://twitter.com/tordotcom/status/1117819844219547654
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Apr 15, 2019 17:14
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The unfortunate day is finally here. I'm just here to pay my respects. What an absolute Titan. We were so lucky to walk the earth at the same time as him.
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Apr 15, 2019 17:27
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Apr 15, 2019 17:39
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This is a real loving bummer.
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Apr 15, 2019 17:42
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Aww, gently caress.
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Apr 15, 2019 17:51
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gently caress.
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Apr 15, 2019 17:54
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gently caress. A fitting tribute.
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Apr 15, 2019 17:58
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Fuuuuuck. He's with Rosemary now. 
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Apr 15, 2019 18:11
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gently caress. I knew there would come a day when more than half a dozen or so new replies meant he was dead.
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Apr 15, 2019 18:14
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I literally bought A Borrowed Man yesterday at a used bookstore. This sucks.
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Apr 15, 2019 18:14
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gently caress!!
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Apr 15, 2019 18:17
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Your Gay Uncle posted:I literally bought A Borrowed Man yesterday at a used bookstore. This sucks. If only it had been a new copy
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Apr 15, 2019 18:17
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I'm doing a memorial tattoo. Help me pick a banner text for him.
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Apr 15, 2019 18:20
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Chichevache posted:I'm doing a memorial tattoo. Help me pick a banner text for him. Terminus Est Sorry
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Apr 15, 2019 18:24
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gently caress
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Apr 15, 2019 18:27
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the greatest. rest in peace, there will never be a writer quite like you.
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Apr 15, 2019 18:45
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ElGroucho posted:Terminus Est Sorry Lmao. I already got Terminus Est tattooed on my arm when I was an angsty teen. I'm planning on doing an old, anthropomorphic Grey wolf with a large moustache and glasses. I'll probably have him wearing Gene Wolfe's hat too. I'd like a banner underneath with something pithy and Wolfean. Terminus Est works, but having it twice on my body seems a bit much.
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Apr 15, 2019 18:53
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drat. Looks like my reread of the Sun books is going to be a bit more sombre. Gene Wolfe:Reliable narrator of unreliable narrators.
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Apr 15, 2019 19:08
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Apr 15, 2019 19:22
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