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DFu4ever posted:
This is to do with the book having been written from Severian's point of view. In the book's introduction (in the edition that I have, anyway), Wolfe speaks of three distinct levels of technology existing at that time: a basic, medieval level that would be familiar to everyone; a considerably higher level available to the aristocratic classes and certain other groups and a 'galactic' level of technology, brought to Earth from outside the Solar System. These three levels of technology roughly correspond to Severian's understanding of the world and hence, his ability to describe that world. Things like swords, torture and yes, his fuligin cloak, he is intimitely familiar with and can describe in great detail. Of the wider world and the more arcane technologies that exist in it, he knows very little and his descriptions are necessarily much more vague and incomplete. The aliens and alien technologies that he encounters are practically incomprehensible to him: he is only able to speak of them in an extremely abstract and basic fashion: "... and then I saw this weird thing that did a weird thing to some other weird things." So it comes back again to the unreliable narrator (unreliable in these cases, because he often has very little idea what he's talking about).
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Mar 2, 2013 18:27
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 20:37 |
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Loved the Soldier of the Mist series. Wolfe managed to create an elaborate fantasy world simply by insisting on the known history and archeology of the ancient Greeks.
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Apr 26, 2015 16:16
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Love the Dying Earth. It has a surface of black comedy, with horror lurking just underneath. The psychology of the characters is great too: the closeness of the end of the world has tended to leave people apathetic, incurious and callous towards the suffering of others. Must re-read the books!
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Dec 9, 2015 13:09
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For those of you struggling with Wolfe, The Devil in a Forest is a more straight-forward introduction to him. It takes place in a medieval community and isn't too hard to follow, if you're paying attention. It's like his other works but kind of easier, in a nutshell.
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Feb 15, 2019 20:34
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anilEhilated posted:Yeah. Don't give up. It might also help to know that each book of Long Sun is spoofing a different genre. Spill the goods, anilEhilated.
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Mar 1, 2019 19:58
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Severian holding forth to a depressed Dorcas about how his line of work is totally legit and necessary will never not be funny.
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Mar 30, 2019 20:29
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Lester Shy posted:How is The Devil in a Forest? It's the Wolfe book I've heard the least about, but it's got the coolest cover art. I like The Devil in a Forest! The title tells you exactly what you're going to get 
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May 2, 2019 19:34
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Yeah, Latro's a soldier who's writing down what he observes in short, direct sentences. And because his head injury deprives him of context (his memory is scrambled and he can only recall the past 24 hours), it's up to the reader to supply their own context, through careful reading of the text and their own knowledge of the era.
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May 28, 2019 08:16
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As Agia's original intention is to rob and murder Severian and her subsequent intention is just to murder Severian, her attentions aren't exactly to his advantage. As for her being a comic book villain, I think Wolfe intended her to play the role of something like a Fury, implacably pursuing vengence against Severian throughout the books. When it comes to women, Severian has a tendency to fall into: "And then we screwed and she totally loved it  ", which you really shouldn't take at face value.
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Oct 19, 2019 08:45
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Yep, Wolfe loved his 'dramatic omissions' (if that's the right phrase, I just made it up). " The ravine ended in a wall of rock. The rustles in the undergrowth behind me had ceased and now the creature that had made them quickly stood up, as a human might (although there was little enough of the human about it) and turned its eyeless gaze towards me." <chapter ends> <new chapter> "The following week, I was strolling down Main Street when I recognised Doctor Wilhelm approaching. He greeted me civily enough and immediately launched into one of his characteristic monologues, although as he continued, I perceived something rather curious..." So often in Wolfe's books, you'll get 'protagonist in peril! whoops! timeskip!'
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Jun 30, 2020 16:27
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I hate the bit in Wizard Knight when Abel rocks up on a ship, insults the captain to his face and eventually murders him and chucks him off the ship 'cos he failed to show proper respect or some poo poo and never seems particularly sorry afterwards. Wtf, Abel.
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Jun 14, 2023 22:04
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 20:37 |
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I've mostly have no idea what's going on in Wolfe novels, 'cos I'm dumb (and a lazy reader): I'm just along for the ride. I don't know how you guys come up with all this stuff like: "Obviously Corrian's digressionary journey through the shifting city echos the arc in the previous book where that protagonist (who may or may not be related to Corrian) lost his powerful faith and wandered helplessly for a time. It also contains clear references to the parable of the Prodigal Son, in that yadda yadda yadda." And I'm all: "The main dude just chopped that bad guy with his sword: cool! And now he's following a mysterious cloaked figure into a cave for some reason. Perhaps there's treasure in there!"
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Dec 19, 2023 23:17
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