Questions tagged [gene-wolfe]
Gene Wolfe is known for his dense, allusive prose. He is probably best known for his science fantasy Solar Cycle, comprising The Book of the New Sun, Urth of the New Sun, The Book of the Long Sun, and The Book of the Short Sun.
12
questions
4
votes
1
answer
118
views
In "The Rubber Bend", what is the significance of Dr Dodson's lover being called his 'daughter'?
"The Rubber Bend" is a Gene Wolfe short story which parodies Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
It first appeared in Universe 5 and also appears in Storeys from the Old Hotel.
The detective's ...
- 331
6
votes
1
answer
541
views
Meaning of V.R.T. in "The Fifth Head of Cerberus"
"The Fifth Head of Cerberus" is a set of three inter-twined novellas by Gene Wolfe. The final novella is called V.R.T. and is told in a mosaic fashion, dealing with the adjudication of John ...
- 61.8k
19
votes
1
answer
1k
views
"The Hero as Werwolf": why that spelling for werewolf?
"The Hero as Werwolf" is a short story by Gene Wolfe. Quoting the synopsis from here:
It [sic] the late 21st century, humanity has evolved into a master race with some people left behind. ...
- 134k
5
votes
1
answer
155
views
Is the Sante Croix officer actually Number Five's brother?
The Fifth Head of Cerberus is a fantastically subtle trilogy of novellas by Gene Wolfe, in which many connections and inferences are never spelled out explicitly and left to be made only by the astute ...
- 134k
10
votes
2
answers
801
views
What are all the "easter eggs" from earlier times that are recognizable to readers of Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun?
One thing I noticed after finishing The Book of the New Sun is that early in the narrative Wolfe has included several places where the reader familiar with current human culture and technology can ...
- 838
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are the Autochthons?
In The Book of the New Sun there are many variations of humans and other life forms. There are regular humans, ape-men and Zoanthrops, and probably some other variations. However while the ...
- 22.9k
2
votes
0
answers
225
views
Was Gene Wolfe the first to use the animal-plant-mineral naming convention
In The Book of the Long Sun, Gene Wolfe uses the convention that male characters are named for animals or things derived from animals, female characters are named for plants or things derived from ...
- 785
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did Gene Wolfe make up any words for The Book of the New Sun?
I've read that Gene Wolfe strove to not make up any words in The Book of the New Sun. The book uses a lot of strange words that at first glance seem made up, but are actually archaic or non-English ...
- 16.3k
4
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Suggested reading order for the Solar Cycle by Gene Wolfe
What's the suggested reading order for the Solar Cycle by Gene Wolfe?
Usually I read series by publication order, but I'm confused about the various collections and omnibuses. I see that Tor.com is ...
- 16.3k
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Gene Wolfe's Solar Cycle: Relationship of New Sun series to Long and Short?
What is the connection between Severian's story and Silk's?
The Book of the Long Sun starts in a place seemingly unconnected to The Book of the New Sun. Is Severian the god Pas? Was the Long Sun ...
- 53
6
votes
1
answer
443
views
What do the Footnotes in Gene Wolfe's 'The Urth of the New Sun' refer to?
I just finished reading Gene Wolfe's 'The Urth of the New Sun'. Several times throughout the book, I noticed at the bottom of the page what appears to be a footnote reference. It looked like this:
...
- 71
8
votes
1
answer
646
views
Is the Whorl also the Universal Transport in the Solar Cycle by Gene Wolfe?
In the Solar Cycle, by Gene Wolfe, is it possible that the Worldship, the Whorl, used as locale of The Book of the Long Sun is also the universe hopping ship that Severian uses as a transport to ...
- 7,323