From: ansible@cix.co.uk (David Langford)
Subject: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v010.n104
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 21:42 +0100 (BST)


Adam Stephanides <adamsteph@earthlink.net> exfoliated:

> 1) On p. 126 Horn refers to the burials alive of inhumi practiced in
> Gaon as "inhumations."  I don't know whether this is an actual word
> meaning "burials alive" or a coinage by Wolfe on analogy with
> "exhumation."  Either way it's a pun, if a grim one.

Inhumations, and the transitive verb "to inhume", are part of the 
professional jargon of Terry Pratchett's Discworld guild of assassins.  
Hey, maybe Gene Wolfe's a Pratchett fan! Certainly John Clute has 
suggested that Pratchett is a Wolfe fan, on the basis of parallels between 
=Small Gods= and =The Book of the New Sun=....

Dave

David Langford
ansible@cix.co.uk | http://www.ansible.co.uk/

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