In the first entry of "The New Sun" series, a character

>>8303627
>What does this mean, did I miss something? What is this new sun?
It isn't made clear for a while, as it's an inherent part of Severian's world and he's not writing for people completely unfamiliar with it. In general with the series, I think it adds to the experience to connect the dots yourself. Here it is if you want to spoil yourself, but I encourage you not to: the new sun is literally a new sun. The old sun is dying because a black hole has been placed in its center. Severian is attempting to convince outside powers to remove this black hole and rejuvenate the sun.

A watch is 3 hours.

>>8303637
not OP, but isn't this something you only really discover in Urth of the New Sun?

btw I thought that book was fantastic, odd that it's never mentioned with BoTNS

"Hey we are going to sleep. You take first watch - we'll trade in about four hours"

>>8303728
It's not as explicitly stated in Urth, but it can be inferred that the sun is decaying in a way that isn't natural for a star. It's mentioned in an elusive, mystically religious manner in CotC. But it's described in a way that requires context of a black hole's mechanics to understand.

>>8303627
The coming of the new sun is much like the return of Christ. The new sun coming and renewing the old sun is the prophecy of Urth's religion.

>>8303925
Severian is also the New Sun who is a symbol of Christ, but not Christ himself.

Alright thanks for all the answers.

I kind of assumed you had to connect the dots, I enjoy his writing style.

Why was the black hole put in the sun in the first place?

Would I enjoy Wolfe if my favourite fantasy authors are Martin, Tolkien, Bakker, and Sanderson?

>>8304760
No.
>>8304754
To bring forth a new man who will be good enough to create the Hieros who will continue existing in the next cyclical universe.
Or something like that.

>>8304760
No, you'll just come here and whine about how pretentious it is and the words you didn't understand

>>8304772
>>8304777

Those are my favourite fantasy authors, my favourite authors in general are Dostoevsky, Faulkner, Tolstoy, Hemingway, and Cormac McCarthy. I rarely use the word pretentious as a critique; it's overused and reductive.

I'm gathering Wolfe is more literary than usual fantasy then? I only know his name from seeing him on lists of fantasy books.

>>8304790
It's primarily literary, fantasy influence in it is mostly in how certain events are structured, but it's very modernist in style and very classical in the core attempt at telling a story about God, morality, symbols and such.
Analogous to Dante in many ways.

>>8304798
That actually sounds right up my alley. I'll give it a shot.

>>8304772
Bad logic, you might as well say the big bang is the reason off the black hole. Where's aramini when you need him

>>8304820
He told me that.
Phrased it better of course.

>>8304820
That's what I also got from reading JUST Botns and urth.
Something something new man, new era, new shits and giggles, punishment for mankind unless mankind proves that it's worthy mumbo jumbo

What was up with the prostitutes posing as the chatelaines? Why was that one prostitute acting like Theacla?

>>8305038
Finish the novel

File: 0320-got.jpg (221KB, 3000x1669px) Image search: [Google]

221KB, 3000x1669px

>>8305038
reminded me of this

>>8304840
Oh yes he no doubt says something similar, you just made it sound incredibly vapid.

>>8304754
in the height of its glory, mankind had coursed the stars and subjugated and destroyed the life they met. The creatures that were risen from the hieros, the hierogrammates and their creations, the hierodules, have come to see if humanity has redeemed itself at all by seeking out justice - and the token of this is if the enemies of the new sun will actually fight for him, in preserving cosmic justice. Alas, like all true apotheosis, the physical chaff must be cast aside, and man must ascend to something more, for new life to be engendered in the heart of that vacuous all consuming darkness, no doubt a metaphor for death and gravid, burgeoning life supplanting it, though one is necessary for the other to fill the vacuum. Death is necessary to rise up. [spoilers] et ecce homo.

>>8305092
rather flubbed that end spoiler tag. You shall know me by my wisdom and pervasive technological incompetence.

>>8305098
That's all and well, you clearly know quite a bit more than what many of the so called Wolfe fans are only able to meme about. I actually farked up a spoiler within spoiler formatting not too long ago, when I pieced Peace with New Sun.

I'm stuck at work so I can't goodpost about it right now. On the plus side, I'm quitting soon, but I don't know if that means I'll stay around 4chan.

>>8304790
Wolfe was primarily influenced by Faulkner, Proust, Borges, Nabokov (and others, depending on the book). I think you'll enjoy reading his novels.