From: "Timothy Reilly" <treilly@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v010.n095
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 12:55:09 +1000

Re the recent discussions prompted by my post on whether the Long Sun series
is worth it or not, it's nice to see that there is a respectable body of
opinion at both extremes.  However for my part I did NOT enjoy reading the
series (which I did once, but with care and assistance from external sources
as I mentioned).  Therefore I am NOT going to reread it, let alone do so
five times a la Patrick O'Leary.  (Martin Amis apparently said in his youth
on TV of one of his early novels that it had to be reread to be understood;
his father Kingsley wrote to a friend "Well then HE'S FAILED hasn't he").
I've reread TBNS (and other good Wolfe) several times, but that was for
pleasure, not duty.

I say this not to (I hope) labour the point, but because Alice Turner wrote:

>My initial response to the LS series was not dissimilar; it seemed like a
YA novel to me. But as I got into it, first with mantis and then with >this
group, I began to take a pecular pleasure in the plotting. It's put together
like a jigsaw puzzle. Ask yourself how the insurrection started, >how and
why Viron went to war, and how it is that Silk is chosen as the rebels'
calde. There's nothing in the least accidental about it. Just >about the
only really spontaneous act in the book is Silk's wild decision to leap over
Blood's wall, and his ending up in Hyacinth's >bedroom. From there on, he is
being manipulated nearly every step of the way. In fact, you could put his
manipulation even earlier, as the >Outsider is also manipulating him. Try
making a chart of the various factions in and around Viron and figure out
who is working for whom. >It's fascinating. And one single person (not a
god) puts the whole unwieldy structure in motion. I won't tell you who that
is, but you can >figure it out by keeping track of motivations and
opportunities.

Alice, please do tell all.  I'm not up to working it out myself, and as I
said I don't intend to try in future.  Same for you Patrick.


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