Songmaster

Last updated
Songmaster
OrsonScottCard Songmaster Cover S.jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author Orson Scott Card
Cover artistLucinda Cowell
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Dial Press
Publication date
1980
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages338
ISBN 0-8037-7711-6
OCLC 6015866
813/.54
LC Class PS3553.A655 S66

Songmaster (1980) is a science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card. The story of the Songmaster occurs in a future human empire, and follows Ansset, a beautiful young boy whose perfect singing voice has the power of amplifying people's emotions, making him both a potential healer and destroyer. He is trained in the art of singing so beautifully that his songs can express ideas and emotions more truthfully than words. This novel was based on Card's short stories "Mikal's Songbird" and "Songhouse".

Contents

Origins

The novel originated from a novelette, "Mikal's Songbird", which appeared in Analog Science Fiction in May 1978. The story concerns a young boy whose perfect singing voice had the power to amplify people's emotions. It is reprinted in Card's short story collection Maps in a Mirror . In addition to serving as the seed from which the novel was written, the original story is incorporated (with minor alterations) as the second section of the novel. Card published a prequel to "Mikal's Songbird," entitled "Songhouse" in the September 1979 issue of Analog, which explored Ansset's training by Esste before being turned over to Mikal.

Plot summary

The empire of Songmaster is a place of treachery, resembling that of ancient Rome and the Galactic Empire of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. The book is morally ambivalent. True love, both heterosexual and homosexual, are major themes as are loyalty and honor. Fraud, kidnapping, assassination, murder are also prevalent and each of them is shown in more than one light. As with many of Card's works, this story is more about the interplay of people, and their moral issues, than it is about technology, although the Empire clearly has advanced technology.

The Songbird

The core of the story is the idea that young boys and girls are selected and acquired at a very early age on account of their singing abilities. The children are taken away from normal life and trained to sing. They are given drugs that delay puberty for five years. The drugs also make them sterile. A few specially talented singers are designated as Songbirds, "Songbirds are given only to those who can truly appreciate them. We invite people to accept them. We do not take applications." Songbirds are sold to worthy wealthy clients and stay with them till their fifteenth birthday when they return to the Songhouse. Singers who fail to make the grade do not necessarily have fulfilling lives even though the Songhouse takes care of their material needs.

Ansset is seen as special and taken under the wing of Esste, a senior Songmaster. She takes him out into the real world, but only for a few days, a man remarking of the boy, "If he's willing to take off his clothes, he can make a fortune." Because of his talent, he is sent to the Emperor Mikal himself to sing. When he is aged 9, Riktors Ashen collects Ansset from the Songhouse and is captivated by his beauty, "the kind of face that melted men's hearts as readily as women's. More readily."

The theme of man/boy love

Ansset first experiences unwanted sexual attention in the form of a palace guard who searches him in preparation for his first meeting with Mikal. The guard suffers a steep price for lingering just a little too long, a harsh punishment swiftly dealt by Mikal on Ansset's word. Very soon after his induction into the palace and into Mikal's life, rumors circulate that surely, such a beautiful boy would have shared the emperor's bed. On a student group visitation to the palace, however, Kya-Kya, a former member of the Songhouse, silently debunks such rumors:

"They all wondered, of course, if a boy of such great beauty had found his way into Mikal's bed. Kya-Kya knew better. The Songhouse would never tolerate it. They would never send a Songbird to someone who would try such a thing." pg 130

A Songbird is only gifted to a person who has been judged to possess a soul capable of fully appreciating such beauty. A man or woman who would wish such great harm as sexual abuse would never be considered as a candidate for a Songbird. Ansset is loved by Mikal and loves him back, but neither Mikal, nor his successor Riktors, wish to have a sexual relationship with the boy.

Kya-Kya (Kyaren) is a girl a few years older than Ansset who leaves the Songhouse and works her way up to a senior position on Earth. Eventually she ends up working for Ansset when he is fifteen (though he still has the body of a 10-year-old). Kyaran has a boyfriend called Josif who is, in his own words, sixty two percent homosexual and the rest heterosexual. Josif was loved by a slightly older boy when he himself was a "shy child of unusual beauty".

Josif falls in love with Ansset the first time he meets him. He tries to avoid seeing the boy again, but this is impossible. As he slowly starts to mature, growing 17 centimetres, Ansset starts to seek out Josif's company more and more. Josif and Kyaren have a baby boy by now, but Ansset begins to realise that Josif is sexually attracted to him, as many people have been before. He recognises however, that Josif's love is different from the lust he has seen so often. Ansset starts to feel new longings. He knows that the drugs cause problems for Songbirds, particularly boys, but he has lost his songs and wants to know what happens next. Ansset eventually offers himself to the young man, saying, "I know what you want, and I'm willing". Josif lovingly brings the boy to his first climax. As Ansset experiences his first ever orgasm, he experiences enormous pain. The Songhouse drugs have almost killed him and he is forever impotent. Josif runs to find help and is captured by security forces, who take him to the palace at Susquehanna where Riktors has him drugged and castrated for his relations with Ansset. He then commits suicide by stuffing a bed sheet down his throat.

Conclusion

After many further developments, Ansset is back at the Songhouse, where he spends the remainder of his life.

Author's commentary

Card, a Mormon and social conservative who has written a number of essays condemning homosexuality, responded to conservative criticism of his novel in an article "The Hypocrites of Homosexuality". He wrote:

What the novel offers is a treatment of characters who share, between them, a forbidden act that took place because of hunger on one side, compassion on the other, and genuine love and friendship on both parts. I was not trying to show that homosexuality was "beautiful" or "natural" -- in fact, sex of any kind is likely to be "beautiful" only to the participants, and it is hard to make a case for the naturalness of such an obviously counter-evolutionary trend as same-sex mating. Those issues were irrelevant. The friendship between Ansset and Josif was the beautiful and natural thing, even if it eventually led them on a mutually self-destructive path.

Literary significance and criticism

The fantasy writer Alma Alexander characterized Songmaster as "Quite possibly Card's best published work, ever." [1] The publisher characterised the story as "...a haunting story of power and love—the tale of the man who would destroy everything he loves to preserve humanity's peace, and the boy who might just sing the world away". [2]

Awards and nominations

As with some other Card novels ( Ender's Game , for example), this book started out as a shorter story "Mikal's Songbird", which was a Nebula Award finalist in 1978 and a Hugo finalist in 1979, both in the "novelette" category. [3] [4] Songmaster received the Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award 1981.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George R. R. Martin</span> American writer and TV producer (born 1948)

George Raymond Richard Martin, also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer, and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series, and contributed worldbuilding for the 2022 The Game Award for Game of the Year winner Elden Ring.

<i>Love in a Cold Climate</i> 1949 novel by Nancy Mitford

Love in a Cold Climate is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1949. The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936).

<i>Symposium</i> (Plato) Philosophical text by Plato

The Symposium is a philosophical text by Plato, dated c. 385–370 BC. It depicts a friendly contest of extemporaneous speeches given by a group of notable men attending a banquet. The men include the philosopher Socrates, the general and political figure Alcibiades, and the comic playwright Aristophanes. The speeches are to be given in praise of Eros, the god of love and desire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality in Japan</span> History of gay and lesbian relationships in Japan

Records of men who have sex with men in Japan date back to ancient times. Western scholars have identified these as evidence of homosexuality in Japan. Though these relations had existed in Japan for millennia, they became most apparent to scholars during the Tokugawa period. Historical practices identified by scholars as homosexual include shudō (衆道), wakashudō (若衆道) and nanshoku (男色).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gambril Nicholson</span> English poet and educator (1866 - 1931)

John Gambril (Francis) Nicholson (1866–1931) was an English school teacher, poet, and amateur photographer. He was one of the Uranians, a clandestine group of British men who wrote poetry idealizing the beauty and love of adolescent boys. As a school master at various boarding schools in England and Wales, Nicholson formed "passionate friendships" with some of his students, and dedicated much of his poetry to favoured students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eromenos</span> Subordinate partner in homosexual relationship

In ancient Greece, an eromenos was the younger and passive partner in a male homosexual relationship. The partner of an eromenos was the erastes, the older and active partner. The eromenos was often depicted as beautiful, beardless and more youthful-looking than the erastes.

<i>The Line of Beauty</i> 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst

The Line of Beauty is a 2004 Man Booker Prize-winning novel by Alan Hollinghurst.

<i>The Swimming-Pool Library</i> 1988 novel by Alan Hollinghurst

The Swimming-Pool Library is a 1988 novel by Alan Hollinghurst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homosexuality in ancient Greece</span> Homosexuality in ancient Greek society

In classical antiquity, writers such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Athenaeus and many others explored aspects of homosexuality in Greek society. The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece amongst elite circles was between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty. Certain city-states allowed it while others were ambiguous or prohibited it. Though sexual relationships between adult men did exist, it is possible at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role according to Kenneth Dover, though this has been questioned by recent scholars. It is unclear how such relations between same-sex partners were regarded in the general society, especially for women, but examples do exist as far back as the time of Sappho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pederasty in ancient Greece</span> Social institution of ancient Greece

Pederasty in ancient Greece was a socially acknowledged romantic relationship between an older male and a younger male usually in his teens. It was characteristic of the Archaic and Classical periods. The influence of pederasty on Greek culture of these periods was so prevalent that it has been called "the principal cultural model for free relationships between citizens."

<i>A Boys Own Story</i> 1982 novel

A Boy's Own Story is a 1982 semi-autobiographical novel by Edmund White.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orson Scott Card</span> American science fiction novelist (born 1951)

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).

Gregory Heath is a British poet, short story writer and novelist. Born in a Derbyshire hamlet, Woodhouses, in 1967, he is the author of the novels The Entire Animal, published by The Waywiser Press, and Thoughts of Maria, published by Open Books. He is widely published in the small press, his poetry, short stories and essays having appeared in magazines such as Aesthetica, Anon, Litro and Popshot. Staple have published him on a number of occasions and featured him in their Alt-gen collection showcasing the best small press writers of the previous decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal relationships of Alexander the Great</span>

The historical and literary tradition describes several of Alexander's relations, some of which are the subject of question among modern historians.

<i>Grief</i> (novel) Novel

Grief is a novel by American author Andrew Holleran, published in 2006. The novel takes place in Washington D.C., following the personal journey of a middle-aged, gay man dealing with the death of his mother. The novel received the 2007 Stonewall Book Award.

<i>Savage Season</i> 1990 crime novel by Joe R. Lansdale

Savage Season is a 1990 crime novel by American author Joe R. Lansdale. It is the first in a series of books and stories written by Lansdale featuring the characters Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. The novel was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Best (Mystery) Novel of 1990.

<i>Wakashū</i> Historical Japanese term for adolescent boys

Wakashū is a historical Japanese term indicating an adolescent boy, used particularly during the Edo period (1603–1867). Wakashū status was indicated by haircut.

<i>How Beautiful the Ordinary</i> 2009 anthology of LGBT short stories by Michael Cart

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity is an anthology of LGBTQ short stories for young adults edited by American author Michael Cart. It was first published in 2009. The anthology contains an introduction by Cart, 11 short stories, and one novella by acclaimed lesbian and gay authors.

<i>Hamlets Father</i> 2008 novella by Orson Scott Card

Hamlet's Father is a 2008 novella by Orson Scott Card, which retells William Shakespeare's Hamlet in modernist prose, and which makes several changes to the characters' motivations and backstory. It has drawn substantial criticism for its portrayal of King Hamlet as a pedophile who molested Laertes, Horatio, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the implication that this in turn made them homosexuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nino Cesarini</span>

Antonio Cesarini, better known by the diminutive name Nino, was a model for several artists, such as the photographer Wilhelm von Plüschow, painters Paul Hoecker and Umberto Brunelleschi and sculptor Francesco Jerace during his youth. In his adulthood he modelled for Vincenzo Gemito, who presented him as a prototype of homoerotic masculine beauty. He was also known for his relationship with Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen. His life was novelized by the French writer Roger Peyrefitte in his work The Exile of Capri in 1959.

References

  1. Alma A. Hromic, from a review at sfsite.com
  2. quoting Tom Doherty Associates copy
  3. "1979 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. "sfadb: Nebula Awards 1979". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.