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dr_mitch
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* The Stone Sky (N.K. Jemisin) Conclusion of the Broken Earth trilogy. It's excellent, a highly appropriate conclusion, and unremittingly bleak. It's revealed why the world is how it is - in a way, there's science fiction element here as much as fan…
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I did like the two masks of the cacogens. And it seems they know Severian will become Autarch? But yes, it's something where the significance escapes me. And yes, next week is the end of book 3. Nearly 3/4 of the way there. Who wants to organise …
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I do think Severian has an inflated self-image. I don't think it's author wish-fulfilment (which is the impression I get from Conan, and which completely turned me off).
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Time travel was essentially someone's consciousness travelling back to the time a suitably vivid memory in their past. That exact point in time. No physical movement, just them going back to literally relive that memory - and their following life. S…
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I remember really liking Brave New World, but it must be twenty years or so since I've read it.
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One things I like about the book club is that it gets me reading things I wouldn't normally read. Sometimes the choice of book doesn't work for me, sometimes it's fun but nothing enduring, and occasionally it's something I find fantastic or the star…
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One thought on violence in the story, which wasn't obvious to me while reading, but this discussion has brought it out. At no point was violence or killing an actual solution to the problem. Sometimes it seemed to be, and made things better for a…
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When it comes to RPG settings, I want not exactly originality but freshness. For example, the One Ring is a fresh take on Middle Earth, and is the first RPG that takes it away from D&Dish tropes- it's seeing it directly rather than through a D&…
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@Apocryphal there are three themes that speak to me in particular in Mythic Babylon, and I think we brought out to explore. (1) Culture. It's role and meaning in life, and how different cultures clash and complement each other (eg: city and noma…
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(Quote) That's something I truly consider to be corporate. For multiple reasons I have a cringe reaction to this, and vague sense of embarrassment.
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Somewhat relevant to the link, I didn't find the book unemotional; there was a strong emotional core and drive to it. It's more that it read to me as "everyman" type characters reacting to extreme situations - which as @NeilNjae says is a …
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I have one thought. The novel was about people, but they seemed more collections of experiences than personalities, especially for the major ones. For example, with the cop, I had a great sense for what he went through, but not what he was like. I …
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The ending wasn't all that good, but not terrible. It didn't ruin the book for me. I've read books with worse endings. Most Stephen King novels for instance. In terms of RPGs, I get frustrated with campaigns that just sort of peter out rather than …
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I suspect the multi-media and branching into TV element was there because the author already had work adapted for television (Wayward Pines, though I've neither read nor seen it). As for gaming and the indie element, I'm not sure I distinguish betw…
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The social concerns in the book were there, but treated lightly. The big theme was abuse of science and technology, and how to close Pandora's box once opened. There are definitely parallels with nuclear weapons, and the question of a "good&quo…
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Generally, in terms of narrative structure for tension, the freedom of gaming with everyone contributing means the central narrative has to be quite straightforward, for me at least. Flashbacks are fun though, whether for character moments or in som…
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I really enjoyed this one. In terms of sheer enjoyment, it's one of my favourite book club reads. It felt a little like a Michael Crichton story at first, but much better written. And finished in two days, although with a break between the first thi…
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And some thoughts and points to call out here: Severian now says the person he was when younger is no more. He's a gestalt of Severian and Thecla. Severian boasting to the reader about how many women he's made love to. He's not grown that much. T…
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32 - 34. Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien). And I'm counting it for three books. It was interesting to revisit more rapidly after the previous slow read. As usual I got something out of it and enjoyed the experience. 35. Recursion (Blake Crouch)…
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I suspect the "father of monsters" thing is the relevant part of the ancient Greek Typhon myth to consider. And @NeilNjae that's an interesting comparison to make with Great Expectations. Especially as Pip is not exactly a sympathetic p…
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I liked the horror note of the grafted head, and Piaton mouthing almost helplessly - but enough to give Severian instructions. I think it's also relevant that Typhon could have given a warning and saved little Severian but chose not to. As for Seve…
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I liked the Typhon episode.
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Not finished yet, but so far I'm really enjoying this one. I should be finished in time for the questions. Wahey!
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Ah yes, Teilhard de Chardin's concepts feature heavily in Julian May's Saga of the Exiles and Milieu Trilogy. That's where I first came across them. But I hadn't thought about de Chardin in the context of Book of the New Sun.
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My first thought is that he's someone from that old TV series, The Prisoner.
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You're both right...I read the creature as being a notule, but it's something different. The Conciliator feels very like post space-age Christ. Not the same as Jesus, but the same figure for a different era of history (and done infinitely more subt…
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To be fair, at every instance so far, Severian has more than justified your distrust and dislike. With every seemingly benevolent act, I can't help wondering what awful thing he's going to do next. It's going to take a lot to rise above that, and ma…
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(Quote) You're right- my mistake. Chapter 19 was a more natural break point. Oh well. Only chapters 21 to 23 for the next instalment. More particular comments people have homed in on. There are some chilling implications regarding the zoanthropes.…
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Sorry for not getting back to this. I didn't have the capacity to read the book, though I still intend to and will say something later, when everyone else has forgotten. ;) As for relation maps in gaming, I tend to find them okay as a memory aid (a…
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Maybe I've just got used to being harsh on Severian after the last book!