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Apocryphal
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Fascinating. The jump in narration also threw me for a loop, and I could not recall for the life of me who Jonas was (he was introduced only on the second to last page of the previous book as a 'stranger', but was given his name once on that page.) …
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@clash_bowley I'm sorry to hear that :-(
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@clash_bowley This matches my previous understanding, but much of the thinking on this has changed. You might find this resource interesting - though I warn it's a dry read: From Caledonia to Pictland; Scotland to 795 The follow up volume (From Pi…
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They also invented mobile libraries, to my knowledge. But we are talking about pre-Scottish Scotland, here. The picts didn't leave any writings - we don't even know what language they spoke. And if you wanted to go the route of alternate history, th…
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Hi Barner - This is all great grist for the mill, so thanks very much! One thing I'm curious about, though: In your previous reply, you asked: (Quote) What is the distinction between religious and secular in Tibetan culture? Who are the secular le…
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(Quote) OK, I'll try to unpack that a little. At the beginning I was talking about what inspired the thouught, so that's firmly grounded in my reading of Scottish history. In the second part, I want to explore how this might be applied to a gaming s…
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FYI - I noticed next week is scheduled as a break, then all the next 5 clusters through to the end of June are 3 chapters each. LEXICON: (Quote) We've seen asimis and orichalks before, but aes are new, I think. Aes: Possibly here meaning a nugget …
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Rocky and Bullwinkle for Talos and Baldanders, no?
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Severian: a young Telly Savalas Dr. Talos: Allan Corduner Baldanders: Rory McCann (The Hound from Game of Thrones), though I could buy Ron Perlman in that role Thecla: Amy Bailey Agia: Natalie Dormer Dorcas; A young Uma Thurman
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If Dr Talos was anything like Robin Williams, it wouldn't matter if anybody else could act.
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Interesting! That mercedes Bowley review... something about that name... and noted she doesn't capitalize her first name either - must be related to you! The author bio credits his younger brother with the inspiration. Would that be you?
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That's a very interesting observation and not one I made. Severian said he had never seen the woman before and I took that at face value, but your take is much more interesting and, yes, gruesome. Near the end of the last chapter, Severian says: &q…
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Antofagasto is on the coast of Chile at the tropic of Capricorn, though nothing about that map really seems to correspond to the real location. But a lot can change in 5Billion years, I imagine.
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We don't have May book - there didn't seem to be much enthusiasm or consensus around what to read next, and with the Slow Read I thought maybe people were feeling saturated, so I didn't press it.
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This map is on the wikipedia page, and seems to have been included in an edition at one point. It puts Nessus somewhere near the Peru/Chile border - perhaps Nazca = Nessus. No river called Gyol or similar, but certainly plenty of possible cataracts …
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LEXICON (Quote) Cynocephalus: You probably already know this is a dog-headed man of medieval and older myth. St Christopher, patron saint of travellers, was sometimes said to be a cynocephalus. There's much speculation that the myth arose from the …
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Interesting sounding book! So this is the first SF novel, then, and not Frankenstein? Wikipedia calls it a 'precursor to SF' which seems like a weird choice of words.
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I actually did notice the Agia slipped the claw into his pocket in the temple, but what completely eluded me was that the claw had the power of Resurrection, which I know because you guys pointed it out LOL. So, yes, much is revealed here. Dorcas c…
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In my reading I felt there was more to Aldo just being a precursor copy of Yoda. For one thing, his use of psionics is different from Hiero or the Unclean, which suggests he represents a power that isn't cleanly within the Good (i.e. Metz) camp or t…
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I felt the opposite - that the latter parts of the book were better than the first. For me the first part was a little dull, mostly tramping about, then occasionally pausing with the hair standing on end, then more tramping, and finally a monstrous …
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Interesting analysis, thanks.
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Mutated by handwavium.
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It's possible that Toronto is the city Lanier had in mind for the lost city, though if that's the case its in the wrong place on the map. It's probably the closest existing big city to the 'lost city' on the map, though. If the lost city is some ima…
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(Quote) LOL - actually, I explored that for a time, too, before finding a meaning for Sennet. The latter portion of this book definitely evokes game pieces being moved about.
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LEXICON (Quote) Medoc: easily inferred, a wine-growing region north of Bordeaux. Not one I'd heard of before. (Quote) Lechwes and waterbucks: also easily inferred - these are both African antelopes. (Quote) Xenagie & Dimarchi: Almost all the …
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I purchased the follow-up volume when I picked up the first, so I'm willing to give it a go sometime. If it were me writing, I suppose I'd either continue to follow Hiero, maybe taking him further inside the Unclean (where he can really be outside …
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I strongly believe it's not just a happy coincidence. But I'm really curious about how closely Lanier stuck to Cambell's structure. Despite the fact that I listened to The Hero With a Thousand Faces earlier this year, I just couldn't say - I didn't …
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Astutely observed. The book predates RPGs, but is listed by Gary Gygax as one of his inspirations, and quite possibly this a source for that idea. The mental aspects might be one inspiration for D&D psionics. If I was going to gamify this, I'd …
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Aldo's ascribed motivation as people who wanted to rebuild society by recapturing old technology was realistic. However, the actual unclean we met didn't really seem bear any resemblance to the people Aldo described. The people we actually met were …
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Here again, it's a yes and no, I think. The climate is warmer - palms and palmettos are described everywhere, even north of Lake Superior. That seems reasonable. If there was a nuclear war 5000 years ago, one presumes a nuclear winter might have se…