In the US we're like a bunch of serfs toiling away in the fields, screaming to the serfs on the next field that our lord is smarter, more wealthy and more concerned with our welfare than their lord.
They’ve had a long career, albeit with a 28-year break in the middle. The track featured here was from the first album in their latest phase. Peter Hammill (singer, lyricist, guitars and piano) has released 50+ albums and is something of an invisible national treasure over here. Bowie was a fan. I’m not surprised Reynolds is too, given they’re King Crimson contemporaries and Fripp and Hammill have worked together. And Hammill likes writing science-themed stuff.
In off-topic and happier news, pre-orders for the new AR novel have appeared on Amazon and Waterstones' websites, with a synopsis and a mid-September publication date. 🙂 Is this accurate? The title also appears to have changed.
In Redemption Ark. The Hell-class weapons weren't weaker than originally believed; it is just that against the Inhibitors, they were as effective as daggers against a shadow because of the nature of inhibitor technology. Yet, used against anything else, they truly lived up to their hell-class name. Is this correct?
Hello David, I think that's a fair interpretation but please bear in mind I wrote RA the better part of a quarter of a century ago, so the details are far from fresh in my mind.
Thank you for responding! I completely understand. It’s fascinating how the world you created, put to paper all those years ago, continues to unfold in the minds of your fans. Does it ever feel strange to be the ‘father’ of these stories—watching them be scrutinized, discussed, and theorized upon, as if the universe of Revelation Space had no gaps in its lore or history, almost as if it were a real place?
Hi David, I didn't dare hope that the RS universe would be anything that interested anyone but me, and maybe a handful of other weirdos if I was lucky, so I count myself extraordinarily fortunate that the books and stories still generate discussion and questions this many years on. On one level, my response to these sort of enquiries is that I don't, and never wanted to have, all the answers for myself, but on the other hand, I don't want to sound flippant or ungrateful for the attention. I know what it's like to be on the "fan" side of the fence; it was being a monster fan of the Known Space universe that made me start thinking up a future history in the first place, and later on I was similarly besotted with the Shaper-Mechanist stories. I certainly would have been happy to consume more of those stories if you had offered them to me in 1982 or 1986 respectively, but having been on the "creator" side of the fence as well, I think I recognise that there's a value in leaving the reader wanting more, both in terms of the imaginative space between the stories, and in not fulfilling the answers to all the mysteries (even if I could).
The fate of all mankind - I fear - is in the hands of fools.
ReplyDeleteCool track, first time I've heard of these guys.
ReplyDeleteIn the US we're like a bunch of serfs toiling away in the fields, screaming to the serfs on the next field that our lord is smarter, more wealthy and more concerned with our welfare than their lord.
They’ve had a long career, albeit with a 28-year break in the middle. The track featured here was from the first album in their latest phase. Peter Hammill (singer, lyricist, guitars and piano) has released 50+ albums and is something of an invisible national treasure over here. Bowie was a fan. I’m not surprised Reynolds is too, given they’re King Crimson contemporaries and Fripp and Hammill have worked together. And Hammill likes writing science-themed stuff.
DeletePeter Hamill was the first artist Reynolds saw live, too, albeit in a solo support slot. Cardiff Top Rank, March 1983.
DeleteIn off-topic and happier news, pre-orders for the new AR novel have appeared on Amazon and Waterstones' websites, with a synopsis and a mid-September publication date. 🙂
ReplyDeleteIs this accurate? The title also appears to have changed.
The title listing's wrong. It's Halcyon Years, not Days. I've been trying to correct this for months.
DeleteIn Redemption Ark. The Hell-class weapons weren't weaker than originally believed; it is just that against the Inhibitors, they were as effective as daggers against a shadow because of the nature of inhibitor technology. Yet, used against anything else, they truly lived up to their hell-class name. Is this correct?
ReplyDeleteHello David, I think that's a fair interpretation but please bear in mind I wrote RA the better part of a quarter of a century ago, so the details are far from fresh in my mind.
DeleteThank you for responding! I completely understand. It’s fascinating how the world you created, put to paper all those years ago, continues to unfold in the minds of your fans. Does it ever feel strange to be the ‘father’ of these stories—watching them be scrutinized, discussed, and theorized upon, as if the universe of Revelation Space had no gaps in its lore or history, almost as if it were a real place?
DeleteHi David, I didn't dare hope that the RS universe would be anything that interested anyone but me, and maybe a handful of other weirdos if I was lucky, so I count myself extraordinarily fortunate that the books and stories still generate discussion and questions this many years on. On one level, my response to these sort of enquiries is that I don't, and never wanted to have, all the answers for myself, but on the other hand, I don't want to sound flippant or ungrateful for the attention. I know what it's like to be on the "fan" side of the fence; it was being a monster fan of the Known Space universe that made me start thinking up a future history in the first place, and later on I was similarly besotted with the Shaper-Mechanist stories. I certainly would have been happy to consume more of those stories if you had offered them to me in 1982 or 1986 respectively, but having been on the "creator" side of the fence as well, I think I recognise that there's a value in leaving the reader wanting more, both in terms of the imaginative space between the stories, and in not fulfilling the answers to all the mysteries (even if I could).
Delete