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dr_mitch
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- dr_mitch
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Comments
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Thank-you hugely for the lexicon entries. The number of unusual words doesn't die down as we advance;
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I do think Severian is in the process of changing because of Thecla. I also agree that this sequence of chapters and contrasts, both in tone symbolically through light levels, through fire and water, and through stories being told, was effective.
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Often the skipping over things seems to involve something Severian is unwilling to "relive" as his memory requires because it's too painful. Maybe what he sees as his second and final betrayal of the torturers falls into that category. I'm…
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On the gap...there's a flashback to what happened a few chapters on (we'll get to it next week), between the meeting with the Archon and fleeing the grounds.
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I think all we've got is that he's said he's a torturer no more, and basically fled to do the healing. He's not yet helped Cyriaca in any way. Maybe he won't. Also unresolved is the matter of the murders in Thrax, why it's seen as so dangerous for …
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I'm slow. Might not even make 50 books this year. 31: The Obelisk Gate (N.K. Jemisin). The next part in the Broken Earth trilogy, and just as wonderful, dark, and clever as the first book. Things are well set-up for the final part, which I'll certa…
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Absolutely fine with me.
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(Quote) It would be a bit naughty to roll a d20 in BRP though.
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I score.... 3! Yep, just like an RPG session.
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I liked Pride of Chanur. :) The Name of the Wind thing was before my time.
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Actually I may take you up on that. Do you have anything of the wall near Haltwhistle?
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Yes- Severian hasn't considered that element of things at all, and that is interesting-- and shows the limitations of his thinking. He's not yet developed much of a notion of ethics. I agree there's almost certainly more going on with Dorcas. We…
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Very true. We don't all agree, and that's a good thing when it comes down to it.
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Four so far, including the quickstart. The plan is to have around 15 to 20 (not all by me).
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Yes, I think this is a great idea. Also in on the rotation. One day I'll pick something club members actually like.
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I have as it happened run a Trail of Cthulhu scenario or two set in the Lake District...
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Very cool. And Hadrian's Wall features in the latest adventure for Liminal.
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Wonderful thoughts and a fine walk. I'll have to do it myself before I get too decrepid. On tidal estuaries I grew up in a village on Southampton water, an estuary which due to its shape and the Isle of Wight gets a double high tide. As in twice …
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Yes- I think the memories of the dead just persist for a short while in ordinary cases. Severian's memory makes him not an ordinary case. Actually, I now wonder whether merging with the dead, if Severian does it again and integrates is, is something…
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I think that's a key point- can Severian transcend his upbringing? What about how others see him? So far for every step forward there's been a step or two backwards, making him a rather unpleasant character.
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29: Claw of the Conciliator (Gene Wolfe). Part two of the Book of the New Sun in our slow read. At times it was wonderful. At times it was difficult. But I'm looking forward to continuing. 30: The Nightmare Stacks (Charles Stross). The next one of …
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I wonder if one of the witches might have previously been seen in the Botanical Gardens. Another thought occurs- Thecla is one of the main characters of this book, in one way or another. And since he took on her memories, Severian has changed. He…
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Google has a lot to answer for. I'm happy with The Chill.
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25-28: More Expanse Novellas: The Churn, God's of Risk, Strange Dogs, and The Vital Abyss. Compelling reads, fairly light in some ways, but surprisingly good. I was a bit lost when I ran out of them.
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> @NeilNjae said: > I'm afraid I'll skip that one. I'd heard lots of good things about it, tried to get into it, but got rather bored. The first third is nothing more than a bunch of nice people being nice to each other, and it seems the rest…
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> @RichardAbbott said: > Just as you start to think that Severian is becoming sensitive and admirable, he does something shocking or repellent. > Yes- the last three chapters had me starting almost to like him. But now...well, we'll …
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I've not read much in the way of non-RPG books lately (I'm trying to get my RPG unread book pile down and I'm now in single figures...but it's slow work reading it all rather than skimming though I can skim over game stats bits). So lately there'…
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I found Severian's reuinion with Dorcas surprisingly touching, and rather tragic. The tragedy was that although his resurrection of Dorcas was unwitting, he really did her no favours. She's traumatised, and it doesn't look like there's any cure. And…
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I liked the sense of landscape, the landscape itself as adversity. There's lessons there in my One Ring game, and the landscape here is savage enough it reminds me of an ill-fated trip into the cold desert landscape of Angmar my characters undertook…
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I liked it though at times I found it a slog. The best bit, as others have said, was the sense of place about it- the Labrador landscape and that part of Canada in general. I also enjoyed the fact that the narrator kept going in deeper. It's definit…