(urth) The Sorcerer's House Questions (*Major Spoilers*)

[James Wynn]

On my second read, I think Bax always intended to replace George from
the start. Right from letter #2, he gives George precise directions to
the house. I think that at that time, he intended for George to show
up there so he could murder him. He definitely implies in the letter
that he is capable of murder.

Incidentally, I'm more convinced the supernatural stuff is real. Bax
inheriting a house is too coincidental otherwise. And you don't
attempt to pull a con with "My house is full of faeries (unless you
are dealing with someone inclined to believe it).

J.

On Sat, Apr 17, 2010 at 7:03 PM,  <brunians at brunians.org> wrote:
>
> As I say, I get the impression that Bax lies a lot, but not about the
> supernatural stuff.
>
> .
>
>
>
>>>So maybe the question with Bax is whether or not his ability to tell a
>>> wonderful,
>>>compelling, puzzling story (which is, of course, also Wolfe's talent) is
>>> innocent or
>>>dangerous? From that angle, it seems like one of the "big issues" with
>>> TSH is the
>>>relationship between fantasy and dishonesty. That seems like a perfectly
>>> appropriate
>>>theme for a writer who has always maintained that fantasy is one of the
>>> best ways to
>>>deal with the "really real" -- why shouldn't he write a story that
>>> explicitly explores the
>>>other side of that coin?
>>
>> I just think the story is lame if the whole thing is a fabrication of
>> Bax's, because --after all-- it already IS a fabrication by Wolfe. It
>> would be like saying everything in the Latro novels was a product of
>> Latro's deranged state due to his wound. It makes trying to understand
>> the "contrived" story to be moot, because any inconsistencies can be
>> marked up to shoddy story-telling. We're already facing the problems
>> of possible plot-holes anyway. If we treat the story as a work by Bax
>> instead of Wolfe, what is the value of that? Shall we investigate the
>> quality of Bax's novel instead? I certainly hope this is not true. I'm
>> not re-reading it as though this is the case, because I don't think
>> I'm up to analyzing two novels at once.
>>
>> J.
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