From: "Timothy Reilly" <treilly@ozemail.com.au>
Subject: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v012.n100
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 16:30:45 +1000

My two cents worth:

I also found RTTW unsatisfying, but then I'd found IGJ a big let down from
OBW too.  Without repeating the problems, I refer to Alan Lloyd's excellent
post in whorl.v012.n049 and alga's subsequent commentary.  IGJ iirc
introduced all the astral travel nonsense, and also seemed to involve
something of a failure of the imagination concerning Green (where precious
little time ultimately ended up being spent by the book).  RTTW lacked the
lyricism of both OBW and (to a lesser extent) IGJ and for me was too full of
the juvenilia of the LS series.

One issue Mr Lloyd raised (I think) which I do want to specifically second
is ALL THE TYPOS.  These were bad in earlier volumes, but RTTW was
ridiculous ("Hounded nodded" etc).  What sort of editing is this?  It
certainly doesn't indicate respect for the readers - or the author.  It's
not as if Tor couldn't ask one of the members of this list to cast an eagle
eye over a draft.

On this point perhaps, one question (to add to the litany).  At p 360,
"Father" is quoted as saying of Typhon's daughter Scylla: "the daughter who
had pledged herself in secret to one of the sea gods of the Short Sun Whorl
that would in time become our Red Sun Whorl".  What is he talking about?
She pledged herself as I understand to a god of the Red Sun Whorl, but it
can't be just a simple typo as how does the Short Sun Whorl become in time
the (indeed "our") Red Sun Whorl?  They are two different places after all
(I think!).

Anyway I don't know if this is a typo or what.  Next page (p 361) we have
"In Oreb she searched this whorl for nearly half a year, finding nothing
better ["than" presumably is missing - another typo] one or two landers with
their glasses half intact".  A bit later same page "He was a little ["man"
missing?] and old again".

The only explanation for all three other than them being oversights is that
it's Hoof writing.

Finally, I reiterate an earlier request for a reference to or email of
Clute's review.

Tim




*This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.
*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.moonmilk.com/whorl/
*To leave the list, send "unsubscribe" to whorl-request@lists.best.com
*If it's Wolfe but not Long Sun, please use the URTH list: urth@lists.best.com