Andy

(No real spoilers, but that might depend on your sensitivity level.)

So I have started (re)reading Urth of the New Sun, the sequel to Book of the New Sun. As mentioned in previous posts, I started a reread of New Sun to read alongside the Shelved by Genre podcast. However, I got way to caught up in things, and am now obviously way ahead.

I am really excited to be back into this one, as I think it is the one I have the least memory of from the entire 12 book Solar Cycle series. Right off the bat, I am appreciating that it's introducing more cosmology, a bit more of a traditional sci-fi look and feel, and bringing Severian's style right back to the front. I don't think focusing on the world building in the way it does is as compelling as how things are presented in BotNS, but it is still fun to see Wolfe take a crack at it in this way.

And while it's only a small scene, I just love the way the Hierodules are presented again in this one. I can't quite explain it, but the way they interact with Severian has always been so memorable and interesting to me.

I actually don't remember much about where all this one goes. I know in very broad strokes what journey is covered in this book, but I really don't remember in much detail what characters, places, etc. are involved. Seems like we'll be hearing a good bit about Tzadkiel if no one else.

I do have some other books I want to get to reading, but I'm going to try to really absorb this one on this read. BotNS looms so largely and clearly in my mind, and I would like Urth to be a part of that picture too.

He's actually pretty (ahem) Lame.

The Shelved by Genre podcast inspired me to do a re-read of Book of the New Sun. I thought I would maybe follow along with them and read something else on the side. Well, that didn't work out so much, as I have been too caught up in it and have read far ahead at this point.

This morning before work, I began The Citadel of the Autarch.

I think what I have forgotten most over the course of reading these isn't so much the details such as characters or plot events, but mainly about when in the narrative different things are introduced. For example, I could have sworn the named Hierodules (Ossipago, Barbatus, & Famulimus) were introduced much earlier. I thought they appeared in Claw in the House Absolute for some reason. Idk. Many such things like that as I've been reading.

Another thing that has struck me over the course of re-reading these, having since read Long Sun & Short Sun and some other Wolfe stuff, is how much Wolfe really seems to be primarily occupied with a few core ideas or themes over the course of his entire bibliography. It's kind of astonishing to go back to New Sun and see the same thematic threads reintroduced that you've been reading about in all these other books too. The man is absolutely obsessed with self-identity (not so much in the categorical sense, but in the sense of self-conception/self-perception), truth as it moves through different layers of communication, memory (e.g. Severian = "perfect" memory, Latro = "no" memory), religion obviously, symbols, narrative in general... explorations of all of these are pretty much present throughout all of his works.

I think I will just read through Urth b/c that's where Shelved by Genre is stopping. I am interested to see what they say about Urth, since I think at least one has said they don't like Urth. But anyway there is too much other stuff I want to read, I don't want to commit to a full Long Sun + Short Sun re-read at this point.

Okay, so I completed Citadel of the Autarch on my lunch break. Turns out I had also forgotten what events were in Citadel vs what were in Urth of the New Sun.

No spoilers or anything, but I am pretty happy with how this one plays out overall, especially once we get back in touch with the Autarchy proper. (Don't think that's a spoiler, since the whole BotNS is framed as being written from Severian's perspective as Autarch at time of writing.)

I'm glad that the Ranged Touch guys took this one on b/c it was nice to have an impetus to re-read. I know I am way ahead of the podcast, but I think I'll just keep the momentum rolling into Urth and close it out, indulging my reminiscent curiosity instead of attempting to first read something else distractedly.

Currently I am listening to the following ones with good regularity:

• Shift F1 I try to keep very current on this one since it is related to current events in motorsports. If I get behind, old episodes quickly become irrelevant. I am somewhat surprised at how it has remained somewhat... basic? ... through its run over the years. I have been watching F1 since about 2012-13 (somewhere in there), and having more folks talking about it with the rise of Drive to Survive has been great.
• A More Civilized Age Feels like everyone who would enjoy this one already knows about it. At first I listened mainly to get their takes on the movies they covered, but eventually it overcame my inertia and I did watch through all of The Clone Wars. I had pretty much foresworn Star Wars after Rise of Skywalker, but Andor did kind of get me back in. Feeling kind of like a mark about the whole thing, but at least the podcast is interesting despite the material they cover not being so compelling all the time.
• Shelved by Genre Finally a Book of the New Sun podcast that hits on the cylinders I've always hoped for. All the other players in this space (Alzabo Soup, Re-Reading Wolfe, etc) are all way to granular and want to take apart the books page by page. You don't have to do that to have meaningful and interesting conversations about the works. In fact, I think those ones run out of interesting things to say because of some responsibility to cover absolutely everything. Nice to have one that is willing to work through the books at a more reasonable and faster clip, discussing what really makes the books interesting without getting caught up in every detail.
• This Machine Kills I have cycled through different "political" or serious podcasts through the years. This is the one currently holding my attention, as I like Ed Ongweso Jr.'s perspective on a lot of things, and Jathan Sadowski also brings good focus to everything. Despite working in the "tech" industry broadly, I have long been skeptical of the industry and most things it produces. In fact, I credit working in it with helping me to develop a strong sense of what is cool vs useful vs frivolous vs dangerous. It is tough to find coworkers to share that skepticism with, especially in a remote environment where conversation doesn't really happen organically. This podcast has captured me because it is having conversations that it feels like I sometimes can't.

Some others that I go to when I have time or a gap:

• Blowback Usually I will just wait for an entire season to be out and then slowly work through this one.
• Nostalgia Trap This used to be much better, and there were a great variety of guests and topics that were covered. Over the past couple years, it seems like the host (David Parsons) has been struggling to maintain that same variety. Lots of repeat guests, and the breadth of topics seems to be narrowing quite a bit. In fairness, I have been paying less attention to it, so maybe the conversations are good, but at this point I've lost interest. Every so often there is an episode description that catches my eye though.
• Delete Your Account I think as my personal politics have solidified a bit more (for better or worse) I have found the utility of this type of podcast to be lower for me. They speak with lots of people with lots of worthy causes, and I do feel bad that I don't have interest in all of them. But to some extent, they are covering lots of the same problems of which I already have awareness. And there was lots of coverage of "online" stuff too, which I have been trying to steer away from in my podcasts.

Anyway, I am probably not in the market for any more podcasts at this time. Four is already a lot to keep up with for me, as my schedule doesn't have a commute, and I prefer to listen to music when I work. But I never know when I will drop off one or lose interest as my interests change over time.