From: "Jeremy W. Crampton" <jcrampto@gmu.edu>
Subject: (urth) Re: Digest urth.v028.n152
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 12:32:50 

>> From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis@sirius.com>
>
>> Now alga, granted you don't like PEACE, nor FREE LIVE FREE, nor THERE ARE
>> DOORS, nor PANDORA, nor CASTLEVIEW.  
>
>Correct. And you can toss in THE DEVIL IN A FOREST.

How about the Soldier series?

Personally they're the most impressive to me (boring personal opinion but
there ya go). After Vol I of New Sun, natch. 

Okay I'll give one reason: Wolfe shows the social construction of belief
(in the fine tradition of most skiffy, eg PKD, Ballard, Priest etc. The
latter's The Affirmation is a classic example). Particularly religious
belief of course. One of the central scenes in the Soldier books is the
human sacrifice one, where Mother Ge talks about how for other people she
is yet young, and that how when we stop believing in them the gods
disappear, ie they are human-dependent.** There's also all GW's talk of how
he is showing society as the Greeks really saw it, ie meeting gods on the
way back from Marathon (Fennel Fields). Where are these gods now? Long time
passing...

**didn't Terry Pratchett also do this? What was it; Small Gods?

best,
--
Jeremy W. Crampton		http://geog.gmu.edu/gess/people/jwc.html
Geography and Earth Science [MS1E2]
George Mason University
Fairfax Va. 22030-4444
(703) 993-1210

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/