TITLE: Space Opera
AUTHOR: Jack Vance
YEAR: 1965

IS THIS SF?
Yes, aliens come to visit Earth, and likewise, we go to visit them.  Technology, spaceships, etc.

PJE SYNOPSIS/TEASER
A meditation on the adage that ‘musical is the universal language’, where the universal part is taken literally.  This is paired with the concept that ‘Opera’ is the highest form of High Art, etc.  Thus, if we can communicate with aliens, then Opera should be the medium.

REALLY MUSICIANS?
YES-singers sing, instrumentalists instrumentulate, conductors conduct.  Complaints are issued regarding singing, playing, costume changing.  Feels like real musicians.

WHY MUSICIANS?
To perform the operas.  The main characters seem to be the various producers and impresarios, the ones who actually provide and ‘make’ the taste.  Thus they are also the ones mainly involved in the debates and cross-world inter-civilization ideas-passing.  Of course, the aliens have their own art forms with which they are trying to convey as the universal communicator.  Of course nothing works, and in the end a kind of slapstick wins out—lowest common denominator stuff tends to be more universal…

RECOMMENDED?
YES-ish—Funny, witty—there’s not much plot per se, just explorations of the central conceit.  It all feels like a gaint set-up for the ending punchline.  But fun!

© 2023 Peter J. Evans, theorist

TITLE: The Chimes

AUTHOR: Anna Smaill

YEAR: 2017

IS THIS SF? Hmmm, yes?  Framed as a dystopian London at some time, but not enough clarity from the characters, as immersed as they are.  Not much science in this one, but speculation on the ‘power’ of music to sway, to control, to destroy, to corrupt…

PJE SYNOPSIS  The world’s gone bad, and no one can remember anything unless they can ‘fetish’ their memory to an object or a self-made injury.  Somehow, a group of people can remember and pass down ‘tunes’, and/or can perceive the memories of others.  Then they can try to set the world right by destroying a carillon made of palladium which some people are also trying to collect pieces of upon pain of death.  Oh, and everybody speaks in solfège, but orally and in terms of hand gestures.

REALLY MUSIC?  WHAT ABOUT MUSICIANS?  People of all classes and situations gather to sing along with the carillon.  Solfège is spoken and gestured, music is mentioned as being composed by the elite.  Syncopation, inversion, rising/falling, are all noticed by the narrator.  The music has a ‘hey, it’s there’ quality, so it’s not dissected.  Certain tones and patterns seem to cause great discomfort, from “don’t sing that here” to “destroy the world”…  Not sure about this one.

WHY A MUSICIAN?  The narrator uses music as a mnemonic carrier of information, but isn’t quite sure of a lot of it.  He can find memories and turn them into a sonic narrative, a process shared with his friend/companion Lucien.  Lucien can sense palladium and use his voice to project his followers where to find it in the abandoned subterranean passageways of London.  Lucien it turns out was born into a caste of musicians who control the world, outcast, and then brought back and can with a few day’s worth of practice become a carillon-er of extraordinary caliber.  Lucien is also blind. 

FURTHER  PJE COMMENTARY  Solfège is a language, imbued with meaning and memory, but it’s not a detailed one.  In this book it’s practiced more rigorously and spoken fluently by the cognoscenti caste, who seem distant, aloof, mean, measured and ruthless.  Is this a commentary on undergraduate musicianship and ear-training?  Are people with perfect pitch and easier recall part of a different class?

RECOMMENDED? Hmm—-a novel of interesting ideas, but I feel it falls short in terms of plot and action-framing, and it’s not-so-interesting in-and-of itself.  Literally a lot of the action is in the dark.  Additionally, the character you follow along throughout the novel turns out to be the main side-character (?) so the investment of time into understanding them doesn’t feel like it pays off.  Also, it ends quite abruptly, without addressing the main plot motivations.  Success?  Failure?  A good volley towards the appreciation of a sidelined non-hero?

© 2023 Peter J. Evans, theorist