I like living in the future. — Sub-Inspector Ferron in Elizabeth Bear’s In the House of Aryaman, A Lonely Signal Burns story
Iain here. Just give me a second to set aside the copy of Elizabeth Bear’s In the House of Aryaman, A Lonely Signal Burns story I’m reading, one of two that involving Sub-Inspector Ferron, the other being “A Blessing of Unicorns”. We’ve been talking about the winter afternoon that she carefully tended a pot of turkey stock that many hours later would become one of the most tasty turkey veggie soups ever encountered by anyone ‘ere.
So several years ago I got to interview her about all things culinary that interested her, ranging from her ideal picnic basket, what makes a great winter hearty meal and even the perfect brownie.
Now let’s get to this edition.
I think that her White Space series is without doubt her finest one to date, so let’s have Gary talk about them.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth’s three SF books set in the White Space universe she’s created. It’s named after the only vaguely explained “space folding” effect by which people of all kinds, not just humans, traverse this far future galaxy. The stories told in the three books — Ancestral Night, Machine, and The Folded Sky, — are not related at all except by being set in roughly the same time span. What they share is that, though they’re definitely space operas with faster than light ships and exciting space battles and exploding stars, they’re much more focused on the inner space of their protagonists, all of whom are incidentally on the gender queer spectrum.
‘Ancestral Night is the tale of Haimey Dz, a nominally lesbian engineer on a little salvage tug whose ship mind is named Singer and which is piloted by her friend Connla Kurucz,’ Gary notes. ‘On this salvage run, they’re way out in one of the far arms of the galaxy investigating an anomaly that turns out to be a highly valuable artifact as well as a horrendous crime scene. They’re almost immediately attacked by someone, probably pirates who also seem to be interested in the artifact. And, needless to say, adventures ensue.’ Along with the adventures, Haimey deals with internal struggles as well. ‘We spend a great deal more time inside Haimey’s head as she grapples with her past and the lies she has believed about it, and tries to come to terms with who she is and is not.’
‘The story of Machine is several things — including murder mystery, police procedural, and utopian/dystopian novel – wrapped up in a space opera,’ Gary says. ‘Our protagonist this time is Brookllyn Jens, usually just called Llyn. She’s a doctor and rescue specialist on a fast ambulance ship. And a former cop. Llyn has a genetic condition that causes severe generalized neuralgia so she uses a sophisticated, not quite sentient exoskeletal body suit to help her get around and manage the constant pain.’ It’s an adventure mystery involving an ancient ship full of corpsicles and a self-replicating machine that could threaten the entire galactic civilization known as the Synarche. ‘But as with Haimey Dz in Ancestral Night, it’s Llyn and her character’s growth arc that Bear uses to tease out some of the more elaborate and deep questions that face the Synarche and our own reality-based human society. ‘
‘Is it just me, or is Elizabeth Bear’s third entry in her White Space series actually a cozy mystery?’ Gary asks rhetorically in his review of The Folded Sky. ‘One that just happens to be wrapped up in a dramatic and far-ranging space opera?’ He goes on to explain: ‘Dr. Sunya Song is an expert at teasing information out of ancient archives. She has travelled long and far to an exotic location to do just that, surviving an attack by pirates along the way, only to discover that her wife and their two children have unexpectedly arrived before her, as a surprise. Sunya is very surprised and actually quite dismayed, because they came on a ship piloted by a treacherous former lover and professional rival, who seems bent on both undermining Sunya professionally and stealing the affections of her teenage daughter. Then someone poisons a member of their expedition, Sunya is attacked and injured, and their host asks her to do some sleuthing to try and discover who is behind the attacks. Oh, the pirates are still circling, and the dilapidated habitation where they’re staying also seems to be haunted!’
Gary here with new music. I’ve been savoring an album of Balkan vocal polyphony, Neha!’s Svetu. The six women of Neha! plus their choral director present traditional music in new ways, always giving context and commentary that helps square the old lyrics with modern values. ‘Beautiful traditional songs presented in creative arrangements, stunning performances by singers and musicians, and a generous booklet with notes about each song and an introduction to each singer — Neha!’s Svetu is a must have for anyone who enjoys Central European polyphonic singing, or really world music of any kind.’
I greatly enjoyed Counting Sunsets, the new album from SUSS, the New York trio that practically invented the genre known to its devotees as Ambient Americana. ‘Counting Sunsets‘ is maybe their most focused recording yet, 10 tracks that are relatively short for the genre, almost all well under five minutes, exploring related yet subtly different moods. And it’s very relatable — everyone’s seen and marveled at a sunset, right?’
And I rejoiced at the forthcoming release of the latest from the Norwegian jazz fusion power trio Bushman’s Revenge. ‘Sometimes when I’m stressed I look to a pensive piano trio to calm myself. At other times, I want a wall of noise, driven by passion but not taking itself too seriously. That’s exactly the role Bushman’s Revenge has played for me these past few wild and crazy years. That’s what makes Ah, Les Vaches! and others of their oeuvre so indespensible.’
From the Archives, since we’re talking about Balkan music … one of my favorites ever is Ion Petre Stoican’s Sounds From A Bygone Age, Vol. 1. ‘This is fiery, joyous music obviously played by true professionals. The album is dominated by the rapid hora and sirba styles, with some forays into slower pieces now and again. On a typical track, the melody will first be played on cymbalom, or occasionally clarinet or accordion, with Stoican taking over on his violin by the second verse.’
And Judith reviewed a rare disc of Balkan music, tambura virtuoso Adam Good’s Dances Of Macedonia and the Balkans. ‘Without loud attention grabbing gaidas, clarinets, and accordions, this quick dance music may seem more exotic and introspective than some Balkan music; certainly without the gimmicks, this album is much less imposing than modern Balkan music often is! But Good is good at what he does, playing quick dance tunes on tambura with an intricate style — the music goes well with wine.’
Sometime ago, Elizabeth narrated a story of hers for a podcast, ‘The Chains That You Refuse.’ she gave us permission to use it, so here it is; do enjoy!
What’s New for the 24th of May: Gary’s Review of Elizabeth Bear’s White Space novels, iain’s review of the Lonely Signal Burns novellas by her, she reading her own story, ‘The Chains That You Refuse’, and I see Gary has some tasty music reviews fir us as well
Iain here. Just give me a second to set aside the copy of Elizabeth Bear’s In the House of Aryaman, A Lonely Signal Burns story I’m reading, one of two that involving Sub-Inspector Ferron, the other being “A Blessing of Unicorns”. We’ve been talking about the winter afternoon that she carefully tended a pot of turkey stock that many hours later would become one of the most tasty turkey veggie soups ever encountered by anyone ‘ere.
So several years ago I got to interview her about all things culinary that interested her, ranging from her ideal picnic basket, what makes a great winter hearty meal and even the perfect brownie.
Now let’s get to this edition.
I think that her White Space series is without doubt her finest one to date, so let’s have Gary talk about them.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth’s three SF books set in the White Space universe she’s created. It’s named after the only vaguely explained “space folding” effect by which people of all kinds, not just humans, traverse this far future galaxy. The stories told in the three books — Ancestral Night, Machine, and The Folded Sky, — are not related at all except by being set in roughly the same time span. What they share is that, though they’re definitely space operas with faster than light ships and exciting space battles and exploding stars, they’re much more focused on the inner space of their protagonists, all of whom are incidentally on the gender queer spectrum.
‘Ancestral Night is the tale of Haimey Dz, a nominally lesbian engineer on a little salvage tug whose ship mind is named Singer and which is piloted by her friend Connla Kurucz,’ Gary notes. ‘On this salvage run, they’re way out in one of the far arms of the galaxy investigating an anomaly that turns out to be a highly valuable artifact as well as a horrendous crime scene. They’re almost immediately attacked by someone, probably pirates who also seem to be interested in the artifact. And, needless to say, adventures ensue.’ Along with the adventures, Haimey deals with internal struggles as well. ‘We spend a great deal more time inside Haimey’s head as she grapples with her past and the lies she has believed about it, and tries to come to terms with who she is and is not.’
‘The story of Machine is several things — including murder mystery, police procedural, and utopian/dystopian novel – wrapped up in a space opera,’ Gary says. ‘Our protagonist this time is Brookllyn Jens, usually just called Llyn. She’s a doctor and rescue specialist on a fast ambulance ship. And a former cop. Llyn has a genetic condition that causes severe generalized neuralgia so she uses a sophisticated, not quite sentient exoskeletal body suit to help her get around and manage the constant pain.’ It’s an adventure mystery involving an ancient ship full of corpsicles and a self-replicating machine that could threaten the entire galactic civilization known as the Synarche. ‘But as with Haimey Dz in Ancestral Night, it’s Llyn and her character’s growth arc that Bear uses to tease out some of the more elaborate and deep questions that face the Synarche and our own reality-based human society. ‘
‘Is it just me, or is Elizabeth Bear’s third entry in her White Space series actually a cozy mystery?’ Gary asks rhetorically in his review of The Folded Sky. ‘One that just happens to be wrapped up in a dramatic and far-ranging space opera?’ He goes on to explain: ‘Dr. Sunya Song is an expert at teasing information out of ancient archives. She has travelled long and far to an exotic location to do just that, surviving an attack by pirates along the way, only to discover that her wife and their two children have unexpectedly arrived before her, as a surprise. Sunya is very surprised and actually quite dismayed, because they came on a ship piloted by a treacherous former lover and professional rival, who seems bent on both undermining Sunya professionally and stealing the affections of her teenage daughter. Then someone poisons a member of their expedition, Sunya is attacked and injured, and their host asks her to do some sleuthing to try and discover who is behind the attacks. Oh, the pirates are still circling, and the dilapidated habitation where they’re staying also seems to be haunted!’
Gary here with new music. I’ve been savoring an album of Balkan vocal polyphony, Neha!’s Svetu. The six women of Neha! plus their choral director present traditional music in new ways, always giving context and commentary that helps square the old lyrics with modern values. ‘Beautiful traditional songs presented in creative arrangements, stunning performances by singers and musicians, and a generous booklet with notes about each song and an introduction to each singer — Neha!’s Svetu is a must have for anyone who enjoys Central European polyphonic singing, or really world music of any kind.’
I greatly enjoyed Counting Sunsets, the new album from SUSS, the New York trio that practically invented the genre known to its devotees as Ambient Americana. ‘Counting Sunsets‘ is maybe their most focused recording yet, 10 tracks that are relatively short for the genre, almost all well under five minutes, exploring related yet subtly different moods. And it’s very relatable — everyone’s seen and marveled at a sunset, right?’
And I rejoiced at the forthcoming release of the latest from the Norwegian jazz fusion power trio Bushman’s Revenge. ‘Sometimes when I’m stressed I look to a pensive piano trio to calm myself. At other times, I want a wall of noise, driven by passion but not taking itself too seriously. That’s exactly the role Bushman’s Revenge has played for me these past few wild and crazy years. That’s what makes Ah, Les Vaches! and others of their oeuvre so indespensible.’
From the Archives, since we’re talking about Balkan music … one of my favorites ever is Ion Petre Stoican’s Sounds From A Bygone Age, Vol. 1. ‘This is fiery, joyous music obviously played by true professionals. The album is dominated by the rapid hora and sirba styles, with some forays into slower pieces now and again. On a typical track, the melody will first be played on cymbalom, or occasionally clarinet or accordion, with Stoican taking over on his violin by the second verse.’
And Judith reviewed a rare disc of Balkan music, tambura virtuoso Adam Good’s Dances Of Macedonia and the Balkans. ‘Without loud attention grabbing gaidas, clarinets, and accordions, this quick dance music may seem more exotic and introspective than some Balkan music; certainly without the gimmicks, this album is much less imposing than modern Balkan music often is! But Good is good at what he does, playing quick dance tunes on tambura with an intricate style — the music goes well with wine.’
Sometime ago, Elizabeth narrated a story of hers for a podcast, ‘The Chains That You Refuse.’ she gave us permission to use it, so here it is; do enjoy!
About Iain Nicholas Mackenzie
I'm the Librarian for the Kinrowan Estate. I do love fresh brewed teas, curling, English mysteries and will often be playing Scandinavian or Celtic music here in the Library here in Kinrowan Hall if the Neverending Session is elsewhere. I'm a violinist too, so you'll me playing in various contradance band such as Chasing Fireflies and Mouse in the Cupboard as well as backing my wife Catherine up on yearly Christmas season tours in the Nordic countries.