(urth) Palgrave History of Science Fiction (Eric Bourland)

[Eric Bourland]

Dear Paul,

I do not know if I am on the right list, but I hope I am. I did not mean 
to offend, and I know that shrill scolding accomplishes nothing. The 
matter is close to my heart. I have friends who have died and family 
affected and I got heated up. My apologies to Robert and to the list for 
my outburst.

To respond (perhaps) more usefully to the interesting points that Robert 
raised:

1) The James B. Jordan material is interesting, and I always appreciate 
an excuse to read Revelations again. My main reservation about Cassie's 
being pregnant is, who's the father? If it were Reis or Chase, then I 
think she would have lost the baby while she was stranded on the island. 
And that would be a terrible thing, and if it were true within the 
precincts of the story, I think . . . I just think this . . . Wolfe 
would have alluded to this terrible loss. To lose a child is a terrible, 
terrible thing.

And I do not think Cassie was pregnant when she was rescued from the island.

Know how I know?  Madame Pavlatos would have known and she would have 
said something.

1a) It's been a couple of years since I read the book and if I have 
facts mixed up, please do correct me.

2) >>>Is she being fattened up for sacrifice?

Somehow I think not. It just goes against the idea of the story. I 
invoke no textual evidence. The idea feels wrong. Just my two cents. 
With Reis, there has been sacrifice enough.

3) There is no mention of morning sickness, or none that I can tell. She 
is busy spearing fish on that island where she was dropped, then going 
to Woldercan. While mourning the man whom she actually loves.

3a) She loves Reis. Not Chase, but Reis. Yet she is going to Woldercan, 
to be with Chase and perhaps for other reasons. I find this fascinating 
and undefinable. If she is somehow impregnated with the spawn of the 
Storm God, maybe she wants to move that spawn away from earth and onto 
another world, except that is a psychopathic action that I do not think 
Cassie would do.

4) I think it is possible to overanalyze a lot of this. I think Wolfe 
means well for his readers and wants first to entertain. I think he did 
An Evil Guest mostly for fun. I can tell he was having a great time when 
he wrote it.

5) It's also a very ambitious novel developed with an economy that only 
a master writer can impose.

6) I am really quite mentally crackers, which requires a lot of personal 
energy and time, so I am sure I am missing a lot, and I am sure there is 
a lot I can learn from your ideas about Wolfe and AEG.

7) I'll have to go back and read the Dunwich Horror now, too.

Wishing you the best while cackling at that mad shadow over there and 
remaining your

Eric


On 3/19/2018 4:02 PM, Paul Rydeen wrote:
> Are you sure you're on the right list???
>
> -----Original Message-----
>>> If Cassie were pregnant and felt I needed to know about it, then she
> (Wolfe) would tell me.
>
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-- 
Eric Bourland
eb at hwaet.com
https://www.hwaet.com