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From: ccrrick@ucdavis.UUCP (Rick)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun (Spoilers possible)
Message-ID: <168@ucdavis.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Feb-86 22:40:11 EST
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.168
Posted: Sat Feb  8 22:40:11 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Feb-86 14:08:33 EST
References: <194@analog.UUCP> <3840005@csd2.UUCP> <11683@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <1090@watmath.UUCP>
Organization: Cafe' Americain
Lines: 38

I have read _The_Shadow_of_the_Torturer_, (first volume of
_The_Book_of_the_New_Sun), but in almost a year have yet to continue
with the rest of the book.  In general, I found the writing murky and
the tale rather disconnected.  I found that I learned very little of
the political system, social classes, economic systems or even recent
history.  This failure of Wolfe's to adequately inform varies directly
with my failure to be interested in his tale.

This seems to me to be particularly true in a story like this where so
many of the characters seem to be insane and therefore take actions
that appear illogical:  Master Palaemon gives an extremely valuable
sword to a man who never seemed to interest him and who ought to be
sentenced to death.  Agia and Agilus are insanely greedy, consider the
bizarre excuses Agilus gives in the prison cell when he argues to be
spared.  The boatman is in a crazed state and Dorcas suffers from
amnesia.  The rationality of Dr. Talos, Baldanders and the stuttering
man seem questionable to me as well.

I understand that Wolfe wrote this book while employed at another job
and typically wrote during the early morning hours, shortly after
having awakened.  This probably accounts for the dreamlike nature of
the work, which many people seem to admire highly.  I am less than
enthusiastic about it; on the other hand, only reading the first book
is probably tantamount to turning off Beethoven's 5th symphony in the
middle of the second movement in terms of being fair to the author's
complete message...  But on the first hand, the author has the
responsibility to make the first story accessible enough that the
others will be read...  In time, I may re-read the first book and give
it another chance...

One thing that intrigues me is the theory that Severian has lived this
life before and that all the events depicted have been experienced by
Severian not once, but twice.  Anyone have any thoughts or theories on
this?  What made someone think of this rather unique thought in
the first place?  What evidence is there for it?
-- 
				--rick heli
				... {ucbvax,lll-crg}!ucdavis!ccrrick