So I just finished rereading Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, and it occurred to me that there are a lot of striking parallels between Severian in Shadow of the Torturer and Jon Snow in George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.
(By the way, if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, check out my awesome interview with George R. R. Martin on the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.)
Belongs to fraternal order who dress in black, are much diminished from former days, and who follow ancient rituals whose origin and purpose is forgotten. | Belongs to fraternal order who dress in black, are much diminished from former days, and who follow ancient rituals whose origin and purpose is forgotten. |
Must travel north to seek adventure beyond a giant wall, called the Wall. | Must travel north to seek adventure beyond a giant wall, called the Wall. |
Is counseled by blind Maester Aemon. | Is counseled by near-blind Master Palaemon. |
Doesn’t know who his mother is. | Doesn’t know who his parents are. |
Breaks his vows by attempting to desert. The head of his order shows unexpected leniency and gives him a totally badass sword, Longclaw. | Breaks his vows by offering mercy to a prisoner. The head of his order shows unexpected leniency and gives him a totally badass sword, Teminus Est. |
Becomes ruler of earth and travels into space to face judgment by angelic beings who might restore life to the dying sun. |
siznax says
this is exactly the kind of data that would be useful for your “Pandora for fiction” idea. will be noodling over that for some time. a mechanical turk for editors might be a good start. could use isfdb as an input vector.
Felix says
Good thought, was thinking exactly the same for a long time now. I think it’s very likely true, deliberate or half-deliberate.
Felix says
You could also count among the similarities the “women-stories” and becoming at least a leading official after very unstraightforward paths.
Felix says
In principle they’re both based on their “iconic” appearance and their corresponding role. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to assume that that is part of the starting point for GRRM. Even if it’s completely coincidental, I can almost not imagine that GRRM didn’t at least play with it on occasion. Only Jon Snow is a sane hero-figure…