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So BOTNS was brought up in the PS5 thread as “the dark souls of books” and I was IMMEDIATELY intrigued. after reading a bit about it online I’ve ordered the first half and I’m excited to dig in on Wednesday. I’ve heard it’s a bit obtuse and difficult but I usually skew towards weighty tomes by the likes of Joyce or Pynchon so I think I’ll be able to handle it alright Should be fun! Will post thoughts here.
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Feb 7, 2022 08:25
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:47 |
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Currently sippin an IPA called batsquatch chillin with the boys in the necropolis
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Feb 11, 2022 04:51
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So I'm almost at the end of book 2 of BOTS. I'm not really sure how to feel about it. I enjoy piecing together parts of the world, it's history, it's culture, how it's structured socially, how things came to be the way they are over the vast magnitude of time. I enjoy Wolfe's writing. I enjoy the mash up of grand sci-fi and fantasy. Overall, it's a good time. But I just have no idea if I am "doing this right", I guess? Every tangential misadventure, every chance encounter Severian has, seems like it holds some kind of vague significance to the entire plot, and I just have no clue what actually matters. Significant characters come and go, events go entirely unexplained, there seem to be at least like 3 or 4 prophecies and fore-tellings it's impossible to tell which are important, the main character frequently has major hallucinatory experiences... It has all become a bit muddled. Like Jonas reveals he's a Robot and disappears into space-time or something and I don't even remember Severian having a reaction. Was that important? Was it not important? Severian seems entirely indifferent. This is just one of several plot beats that seems like it is "major" to the reader, but Severian seems to pass over them with complete silence and indifference. Which has a disorienting effect on the reader, imo. I'm enjoying the ride, and looking forward to books 3/4, which I have sitting on the shelf. I guess I just hope to start having some "ah-hahs" somewhere along this journey here. At this point there have been many more questions then answers. Which I guess I knew I was signing up for. Edit: I will also say I feel like I am terrible at this juncture at identifying when Severian is being "unreliable" or outright lying. I have pledged to myself to be much more vigilant about criticizing his narrative, but at this moment I don't even know why he'd be lying or whose narrative he would be attempting to counter. I suppose this lens on the novel is going to develop after completion and upon a theoretical second reading. hobbez fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 00:50
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moonmazed posted:i wish people didn't make so much hay of the "unreliable narrator" thing, it's less that and more that severian remembers everything but isn't very smart so he doesn't connect events that would provide more clarity Well this is good to know! You can’t really encounter conversation about the book without hearing about the unreliable narrator component, so I definitely think it gets kind of played up to be some huge reveal or something
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Jun 22, 2022 02:22
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moonmazed posted:the dude was raised in a torture spaceship with a bunch of old men and he thinks "animal husbandry" means marrying animals, he is very poorly socialized Woah spoiler tags please. I didn’t think his behavior was that horrendous until the scene in the boat where he basically seems to rape Jolenta Like cringe and misogynistic as gently caress but not fully despicable or evil It’s likely I’m forgetting a thing or two however
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Jun 22, 2022 03:03
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moonmazed posted:sorry, that stuff is early on nso i thought it was ok Just playin with ya bud I don’t mind at all. It’s about the journey, not the destination! But yeah the idea of interstellar travel really is only just being introduced into the book by the end of book 2 at least in my reading
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Jun 22, 2022 03:53
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Gaius Marius posted:Sev straight up calls the doors a bulkhead at one point When you’re getting hit over the head with obtuse language every page this is easy to overlook! I wouldn’t say it’s exactly hitting you in the face. I appreciate this subtle hint by Wolfe though, very cool
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Jun 22, 2022 03:55
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Ben Nerevarine posted:bonus points for deciphering the description of the old painting in the library as Buzz Aldrin on the moon drat ok you guys are getting me hype gonna finish claw tonight let’s gooooo
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Jun 22, 2022 04:23
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I am still slowly creeping through BOTNS. I am in graduate school, so my pace is slow, but I’m on vacation now and hoping to make good progress into part four. I just wanted to say, in sword of the lictor holy poo poo that one chapter where Severian is dangled by the guy with two heads from the eyes of the mountain and ends up killing the dude by punching the dead head in the face? Fuuuuck that was awesome. Probably my favorite scene in the book so far. So many little nuanced details pointing to what was going to happen, all culminating in a super satisfying moment. Only sad because that character was pretty fun and he came and went in a blink. Not really sure how he fits into things in the grand scheme either, but drat… Wolf can write himself a SCENE! That whole section was just a lot of fun. Seems significant that Severian is subtly starting to realize his power, and the significance of the claw in his possession… Sorry if this doesn’t make a ton of sense, phone posting, but I just had to share those couple of chapters were just…. 
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Aug 25, 2022 00:23
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Nearly done with my first read through of BOTNS. I’m ready for more. Is it recommended to progress to Urth of the New Sun next, or proceed to Book of the Long Sun?
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Feb 17, 2024 22:57
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:47 |
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Gaius Marius posted:Rereading the tetralogy then Urth then long/short then consulting the analysis and discourse is the best way to understand the whole of the work for yourself without being led down any strange paths. I appreciate this. To be honest, before Citadel of the Autarch, I hadn’t really planned to proceed further in the solar cycle. But I’ve become increasingly interested in learning more about this universe and story. It may have “clicked”. I have had enough questions answered that I’m feeling rewarded, but enough linger that I want to go further. Previously, I’d thought even Wolfe fans felt anything past BOTNS in the solar cycle was inferior to BOTNS. I always hear these books are super rewarding in the rereading. I had thought this only applied to a rereading of BOTNS, that rereading BOTNS alone was sufficient, but it seems like proceeding to read the whole solar cycle will unlock rewards that would pay dividends upon rereading BOTNS. I guess, to sum up, I feel invested enough in BOTNS to want to enjoy the rereading experience with a new lens. Previously, I thought this would just entail two reads of BOTNS in sequence. Concluding citadel, however, I think it’s probably worthwhile to proceed through the whole series, and upon completion of that consider lapping back through BOTNS
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Feb 17, 2024 23:39
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