Tag Archives: musician

Musician Protagonists in (S)F, pt.14

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TITLE: The Nightmare

AUTHOR: Lars Kepler

YEAR: 2010

IS THIS SF?
No, doesn’t even pretend to be (see parenthesis in post title).

PJE SYNOPSIS
Number 2 in the Joona Linna series. Murders are committed, Joona pieces them together, much witty dialogue and fast-paced action ensues—well written and well pieced together, good believable characters.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
not Joona, but YES to Alex Riesen, plays the violin and savant-like seems to know everything about it, ever. He was forced to be a musician by his parents, which adds a ring of truth to his character. Though, by his own admission, he doesn’t necessarily practice, and hasn’t played in thirty years. Knows his music by ear, by touch, by history, etc.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
I’ve included this book in an otherwise SF review series because the musician character is exceptional. Alex Riesen is the newly-appointed chair of a board that oversees munitions supplies and shipments from Sweden. He feels a lot of pressure, but knows in his heart-of-hearts that something’s not right and as such he doesn’t give in. He shows character and steadfastness in the face of dealings with illegitimate businessmen when people previously in his position have not been able to do so. As a result he prevents a highly disagreeable international situation. His skills as a musician, and thus as a guide and teacher or the violin, allow him to delay and add a layer of confusion to the otherwise violent conclusion of the book. Also, he’s able to date a photograph (the crucial piece of evidence…) by studying the hand positions of the string quartet in the background…!!!

RECOMMENDED?
YES—well done overall, with lots of music and musical references throughout. The original Swedish title of the book translates as “The Paganini Contracts”

© 2020 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, pt.7

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TITLE: The Glass Harmonica
AUTHOR: Louise Marley
YEAR: 2000

IS THIS SF?
YES—a bit in the future (2018) advances in medical technology, transportation, large-scale live-stream broadcasting. concert-hall projections and sound manipulation as a kind of medical therapy.

PJE SYNOPSIS
There are two young women who play the glass harmonica, Eilish (early teens?) who works with Benjamin Franklin in developing and promoting the instrument in London, 1760s, and Erin (mid-20s?) who plays a modern version of the instrument professionally to much acclaim, often playing compositions by her brother in the U.S. and England, 2018.  In the 1760s Eilish goes mad and dies, most likely due to lead poisoning.  She then ‘haunts’ the Erin, who then tries to figure out who the girl from the 1760s was.  At the same time, Erin’s brother Charlie, tries to cure his paralyzed legs via new aural therapy, where patients align psycho-acoustic beats to stimulate the body to rejuvenate damaged nerves.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
YES, great musical descriptions regarding technique, dynamics, harmonies, ensemble skills, tempi, etc., mostly though Erin’s narrative.  Eilish has a good memory for tunes, advises Franklin regarding intonation, and also teaches a professional harpsichordist how to play the glass harmonica.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
It’s all about the vibrations, stupid.  They account for the glass harmonica ethereal tone, (which was long rumored to drive people to madness if exposed to it for too long), how Eilish is able to haunt Erin, and how Charlie is eventually able to heal.  Plus being a musician opens differing doors for each of the protagonists—Eilish goes from being a impoverished waif to a respected member of Franklin’s household, while Erin can fly across the Atlantic at will, get access to different concert halls and gets a chance to play what we suppose if Eilish’s instrument though it is part of a museum exhibit.

RECOMMENDED?
YES, though listed in my library as “Young-Adult” this was quite an engaging read, well-written, well-aced, well-researched

© 2016 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, pt.6

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TITLE: Year Zero
AUTHOR: Rob Reid
YEAR: 2012

IS THIS SF?
YES—Essentially an alien contact story, with interfering aliens and their technology, methods of instantly moving from one part of the galaxy to another, life-like holographic projections, aliens of strange design and proportions, etc.

PJE SYNOPSIS
The re-hashed idea that Aliens are overwhelmed by the Music of Earth, but the twist for this plot is that they owe us Royalties for billions of unliscensed plays throughout the perpetuity of the known universe.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
No, there are no musician-protagonists, though bands and tunes of varying degrees of popularity are referenced. The protagonist is name Nick Carter.  The two alien interlopers are named Carly and Frampton, if that helps

WHY A MUSICIAN?
Musicians are the generators of the commodity in question, and as such are not to be given a place in the story.

RECOMMENDED?
NO, though parts are funny, it reads largely as a thought-experiment for intellectual-property lawyers, full of the requisite inside jokes and navel-gazings, and as such can be skipped. Michael Gruber’s The Book of Air and Shadows is much more successful, and entertaining, in this regard. Though promoted as such, the humor and absurdity of this book come nowhere near the levels and zaniness of Douglas Adams.

© 2016 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, part 4

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TITLE: Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grille
AUTHOR: Steven Brust
YEAR: 1990

IS THIS SF?
YES—explosions, atomic  bombs, epidemiology, non-terrestrial colonization, time travel, etc.  There is also a Wild-West feel to the book, with most of the action (murders, bomb threats, shoot-outs, expository dialogue) being centered around the bar and its patrons. This is also reflected in the throwback weapons that the bar-folk arm themselves with, including revolvers, rifles, knives, etc.  As an additional anachronism, the bar-band specializes in Irish music!

PJE SYNOPSIS
Goodguys from the future devise a means to go back in time to try and find the rationale behind nuclear decimation of colonies by the Badguys.  The means is a bar that uses “hasn’t it always been there?” technology to blend in to the environs so the crew (and the house musicians) can both blend in and investigate.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
YES-Protagonist plays the banjo, describes usages of different chords and scales, talks with others about instrumentation, phrase lengths, adjustments in vocal harmonies and tempos.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
In terms of the unfolding of the plot, it’s good to have non-task specific people (compared to cooks, bartenders, etc.) with lots of free time in your group, allowing time and opportunity for socialization, intermingling, investigating, getting out into the local environs. Additionally, the musicians also attract other musicians as a kind of first contact. Eventually the Goodguys even grabb one from the Badguys when the shit starts to hit the fan. SPOILER: it turns out the our narrator-musician happens to be the lynchpin of the whole mission, in other words, the musician is actually the brains behind the scenes.

RECOMMENDED?
YES—Well writen, good use of characters, plot intrigue.  The writing has that 80s / 90s feel to it; not really cyberpunk, not really hard SF, not really post-PKD, and the action is pretty spread out, so a lot of the novel is people hanging out, playing music, making conversation, developing relationships, etc. This a good thing, as it acts as a foil for the last third of the novel where things start to get intense.

© 2015 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, pt. 3

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TITLE: Soul Music
AUTHOR: Terry Pratchett
YEAR: 1994

IS THIS SF?
If by ‘S’ you mean ‘Science’ then no, but if you mean ‘Speculative’ then yes.  Pratchett’s DiscWorld is a stripped down version of our own, allowing him to superimpose select aspects of our world over his own, with much irony and hilarity ensuing.

PJE SYNOPSIS
This book is too intricate to blogly-summarize it well.   The protagonist, Imp Y Celyn, is a harpist who works hard, yet dreams of making it Big Time.  He does achieve the big time, but seemingly only for magical reasons (such is the modis operandi of the DiscWorld novels) and spends the bulk of the novel trying to understand what he’s doing or how things are happening.  The magic attracts the attention of Death’s granddaughter, etc.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
YES-then-KINDA-then-REALLY NO!!!  Protagonist starts as an actual musician (harpist) who gains stardom not by his efforts but rather via a magical guitar which unwittingly propels him to rock stardom. At the end of the book he has forgotten everything and is now an apprentice to the local fish and chips seller.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
Having a musician become a music-dumb rock star deepens the irony quite severely.  Do stars have talent? What is it that makes them stars? Who makes them stars?  What does it mean  to be a star?  Do you need talent to be a star?  Does talent get in the way of being a start?  Do you have the star-making talent to be a star?

RECOMMENDED?
YES—Funny, apt, valid, witty—the arc of the love story is great! There’s just not much music going on, but in this ironic take on music industry, itinerant musicians and superstardom, that’s pretty much the point—the music gets lost in the hype…

© 2014 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, pt.2—Erich Zann

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TITLE: Music of Erich Zann (available here)
AUTHOR: H.P. Lovecraft
YEAR: 1922

PJE SYNOPSIS
A perpetually poor student in Paris finds an affordable residence in a part of the city that doesn’t actually exist, but seemed to for a short while. While living on the fifth floor, he hears music, eerie music, disconcerting music, coming from the sixth floor and wants to find out more.  He meets Erich Zann who plays viol(!).  By day/evening Zann plays for theater orchestras, but by night/early morning plays music for an audience beyond……..  When our poor student meets EZ, says he wants to meet/listen, EZ humors him at first with some typical classics. Student is curious about the other music, EZ sends him away, mortified to know that student has been eavesdropping. EZ later relents, allowing student to witness him playing the “music” for something not of this world/time/space/cosmic psychology.  Student flees in horror, tries to return, but can never find the neighborhood ever again.

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
Yes!
1) EZ plays viol for crying out loud!  Though HPL did not know much about music, we are given the impression that he is technically proficient, musically knowledgeable, etc.
2) Despite constant playing and practicing, EZ can still only afford to live in the cheapest parts of town
3) EZ hates to know that other people are listening to him when he is not performing.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
Music is the most ephemeral of the arts, and HPL takes that to a further extreme—ephemeral to the point of supernatural.

CONCLUSIONS?
As with most HPL, the narrator is a unwitting-observer, so the reader is not sure what it is exactly that EZ is doing, or where he’s getting his music from.  One wonders if he is attempting to communicate with the beyond through music, or if he’s taking dictation for new ideas, though his reticence does not lend itself towards the latter.  One could read this short story as a play on the adage “Music soothes the savage beast”.

RECOMMENDED?
Yes.  HPL called this one of his favorites, and it does have a certain flavor and pacing that stands out from the rest of his oeuvre. Short and crisp, psychologically compelling enough to be a gateway to the rest of HPL’s work.

© 2014 Peter J. Evans, theorist

Protagonist Musicians in SF, pt. 1

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TITLE: We Who Are About To…
AUTHOR: Joanna Russ
YEAR: 1975

PJE SYNOPSIS
The protagonist is a musicologist who just happens to be female.  Due to an accident to the faster-than-light-speed drive, a ship is forced to land on an uninhabited planet millions of light years from anywhere. Protagonist suggests that doom is inevitable, while other passengers suggest attempting ‘colonization’. Protagonist is on the side of pragmatism: though things seem OK for now, air, water, plants could be partially poisonous—-days are too long, weather too dry for cultivation, etc. Among the other passengers are a family with a teenage daughter (Lori), a jock, a ‘professor of ideas’, and two younger women, one of whom is en route to military training.  Add to that, the protagonist hordes pharmaceuticals and micro-weaponry, and goes to great lengths to conceal these, so that even when she is found out and thoroughly searched some of her stash remains undiscovered. This, along with some ‘code-speak’ she attempts with the trainee, suggests that she might be an undercover agent of some sort. Without  totally giving it away, let’s just say her viewpoint prevails in the end (for those who have read this book, please note the irony…)

REALLY A MUSICIAN?
YES! Protagonist claims to be a scholar of John Dowland in particular and Late Renaissance/Early Baroque in general. In the early parts of the book she sings songs (including some by Dowland) around the camp-fire, to help calm the child etc.

WHY A MUSICIAN?
Protagonist spends much time in a dark and secluded cave, so obviously a musician would be be able to handle that duty… Protagonist is also equipped with a voice-activated recorder, enabling her to archive the plight. Additionally she often speaks derogatorily to the professor of ideas, contrasting her own practical approach with his idealistic approach, which is actually a quite remarkable statement regarding the study of music (which itself is often considered a-practical).  Additionally, she is also well-rounded, often quoting poetry and history, making her an ideal archivist for the group.  Also typically for a trained musician, she shows the requisite amount of disdain. Oddly enough when Lori says she wants to be a composer, the protagonist does not jump at this opportunity to teach or encourage, probably because of her pragmatism regarding the living situation.  The protagonist’s relationship with Lori is one of the few quasi-connective relationships she has with any of the group.

CONCLUSIONS?
All in all, the Protagonist is a musician inasmuch as she is the archetypal Storyteller, sharing songs and shaping histories about the current group and others long gone. She is also the one person in the group able to read celestial/solar activity in terms of day lengths and seasonal transitions.

RECOMMENDED?
YES—Good read, lots to chew on… and on…

© 2014 Peter J. Evans, theorist