Jemppu’s Reviews > The Urth of the New Sun > Status Update

"Though you may walk into a house at one door and walk out at the other, you do not know all the secrets of that house."

Life.

"Whether thinking myself indestructible or already destroyed, I cannot say".

Indeed. Often feels just the same, doesn't it.

The ponderings about the nature of Zak and about animal trades are quite interesting. But that some animals like scorpions and poisonous snakes can be called 'evil'? Surely, how they act is all in their nature to survive. Perhaps this is just another example of 'lost in translation', or the definition of 'evil' quite loose (though, if that's the case, shouldn't the whole of nature then be said to be equally 'evil'?).

I'm loving the enormity of the star-faring ship.

Also, am I just imagining, or does Wolfe seem somewhat more comfortable with toying with Severian's 'dual sex' than he did in the original series? It's very subdued still, but there seems to be a bit of subtle teasing to him/her staring at 'men', presumably measuring them with Thecla's eyes (or his own), as well as more all around antrogyny / undefined genders abound.

"I'm not offended, I'm delighted! It's the greatest of privileges for me to see how you live when you live as you wish."

This might be Severian at his sweetest since when Little Severian hung around.

"She looked at me commiseratingly, her eyes as large, as dark, and as soft as any cow's."

*trololol*

"Now I seemed to myself like a ghost, or rather a man of paper, a fit husband for the paper women I had colored and paraded as a child."

Curious offhand insight into Severian's youth. The boys at the monastery of executioners played with paper dolls?