(urth) Typhon & Whorl

Andy Robertson andywrobertson at clara.co.uk
Sat Dec 22 07:02:48 PST 2007


Pedro Pereira writes: 

> 
> I do agree that wolfe is very well read comparing to the majority of writers these days. Still, he is not perfect and far as the geology part of things go, I find many inconsistencies. 

Maybe it's time to reiterate something I am sure we all already understand 


Writers rarely know exactly what they are going to create when they start 
out in a story. 

Like most really devoted artists, Wolfe writes whatever his internal muse 
dictates and then plasters enough "machinery" around it to create a 
plausible suspension of disbelief. 

Thus, the state of the Sun in the New Sun books can not be justified 
scientifically. It's actually a "Dying Earth" type sun like that in Clark 
Ashton Smith or The Night Land.   It's not explainable by real physics. 

Thus, the Long Sun books started as in a completely different universe from 
the New Sun.   Typhon popped up and the whole Long Sun connection was 
retconned subsequently. 

Fundamentally science fiction is **not** based on science, whatever analysts 
of the genre try to pretend.  It's a sub-class of wonder tale that uses 
science, not magic, as bullshit/excuse/enabler: nothing more. 

Scientific inconsistencies are inevitable and, really, irrelevant.  Unless 
they are just stupid and graceless.  Which Wolfe is not. 


I'm not posting this because I think it will be news to anyone, but because 
we need to be regularly reminded. 

 - hartshorn 

 

http://www.thenightland.co.uk 

01273-488272 / 0777-214-9545 





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