The style of Viriconium reminds me of A Confederacy of Dunces with place (Viriconium in this case New Orleans in aCoD) creating a vivid structure and scenery from which moments of pure wit emanate. Maybe once I've read more Wolfe I'll see more connections, but I think Wolfe's and Harrison's constructions are quite different. I also think that Viriconium ascribes to my favorite orthodoxy - chaos - which I believe Wolfe avoids except to pat it on the head and tell it it's cute. I'd say it's most like Severian's engagement with The Last House in the sense of an order that follows, but has its own cadence also of a type with the trek with Agia through the Botanic Gardens. This is a note I wrote to a friend who was Viriconium curious: If you are seeking an escape then this is not the book for you. There are small dark places one must only crawl through with bright feathers bunched in your tight fist and there are hills from the tops of which can be seen nearly everything there is to be seen. Much in Viriconium is the same as it is here.
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