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Loading... Songmaster (An Orbit book) (original 1980; edition 1981)by Orson Scott Card
Work InformationSongmaster by Orson Scott Card (1980)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Picked this up at a used book store, since I have a lovely song inspired by it on a filk recording. Boy was that ever a mistake, I hope reading it hasn't permanently destroyed the song for me. Started out thinking it would rate around 3.5 but once the story left the Songhouse, it dropped to a 3 and kept falling from there. Card is not an author I like, and I'm even less likely to read anything else by him now. Don't read this thinking it is about music. It's about a magical superpower he just chooses to call music for some reason. He clearly knows nothing about actual music or music training. Improvising wordless melodies that can control other people's emotions could actually be a cool superpower, but music is not people randomly singing at each other instead of talking or controlling rooms full of people by inventing a new song. ( ) Kidnapped at an early age, the young singer Ansset has been raised in isolation at the mystical retreat called the Songhouse. His life has been filled with music, and having only songs for companions, he develops a voice that is unlike any heard before. Ansset's voice is both a blessing and a curse, for the young Songbird can reflect all the hopes and fears his audience feels and, by magnifying their emotions, use his voice to heal--or to destroy. When it is discovered that his is the voice that the Emperor has waited decades for, Ansset is summoned to the Imperial Palace on Old Earth. Many fates rest in Ansset's hands, and his songs will soon be put to the test: either to salve the troubled conscience of a conqueror, or drive him, and the universe, into mad chaos. There was a time in my life, when I felt quite sad and broken, that I would have really loved this book. As it stands now, I find it a little too tragic, a little too maudlin and hysterical, and way too long. Bringing a overly cathartic conclusion for the main characters totally overruns the plot and characterization. Plus, for a novel all about making beautiful music, it sure doesn't feature much. Although still a good story and an enjoyable read, I liked this book a lot more when I read it in high school. My high school was very white, and probably quite homophobic. I say probably because as a fat nerd girl I was pretty much invisible, but I saw others called "fag" and bullied a lot. Since then my thoughts and awareness about homosexuality have changed immensely, for which I am grateful. In this book, the disgusting view that homosexuality is equated with pedophilia and violence is voiced by the authority figures. At the same time, the gay character is loving and sympathetic, with the main characters around him (Kyaren and Ansset) accepting of him. I like Orson Scott Card's earlier work, "Ender's Game" especially, but I don't believe that he would write this book today. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesBastei Science Fiction-Special (24018) Gallimard, Folio SF (66) Présence du futur (337) Science Fiction Book Club (3397) — 1 more ハヤカワ文庫 SF (550) Is an expanded version ofHas as a commentary on the text
Fiction.
Science Fiction & Fantasy.
HTML: Kidnapped at an early age, Ansset has been raised in isolation at a mystical retreat called the Songhouse. His life is filled with music, and having only songs for companions, he develops a voice that is unlike any other. But Ansset's voice is both a blessing and a curse??for it reflects all the hopes and fears of his audience, and, by magnifying their emotions, can be used either to heal or to destroy. When it is discovered that his is the voice that the Emperor has waited decades for, Ansset is summoned to the Imperial Palace on Old Earth. Many fates rest in Ansset's hands, and his songs will soon be put to the test: either to salve the troubled conscience of a conqueror or drive him, and the universe, into mad chaos. Songmaster is a haunting story of power and love??the tale of a man who would destroy everything he loves to preserve humanity's peace, and a boy who might just sing the world away No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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