Songmaster
SongmasterOrson Scott Card
Buy on Amazon

Songmaster (1980)

Orson Scott Card

Others: Positive

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 Anssett'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.

ISBN:
9780786135097
Length:
338 pages

Genres: science fiction

Lists: …

Similar books

1 of 6
  • Ender's Game

    Orson Scott Card

    1985 · 324 pages · 17 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with the Formics, an insectoid alien species they dub the "buggers". In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, are trained from a very young age by putting them through increasingly difficult games, including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed. The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. The novel was published on January 15, 1985. Later, by elaborating on characters and plotlines depicted in the novel, Card was able to write additional books in the Ender's Game series. Card also released an updated version of Ender's Game in 1991, changing some political facts to reflect the times more accurately (e.g., to include the recent collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War). The novel has been translated into 34 languages. Reception of the book has been mostly positive. It has become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps. Ender's Game was recognized as "best novel" by the 1985 Nebula Award[3] and the 1986 Hugo Award[4] in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Its four sequels—Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991), Children of the Mind (1996), and Ender in Exile (2008)—follow Ender's subsequent travels to many different worlds in the galaxy. In addition, the later novella A War of Gifts (2007) and novel Ender's Shadow (1999), plus other novels in the Shadow saga, take place during the same time period as the original.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    75%
    On 2 of the same lists
    13%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    12%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Galactic pot-healer

    Philip K. Dick

    1969 · 177 pages · 2 reviews

    Others: Positive

    Galactic Pot-Healer is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1969. The novel deals with a number of philosophical and political issues such as repressive societies, fatalism, and the search for meaning in life. Dick also wrote a children's book set in the same universe, Nick and the Glimmung, in 1966. It was published posthumously in 1988. The story concerns a man who thanklessly heals pots in a totalitarian future Earth, only to be summoned by a godlike alien known as Glimmung, who has recruited him as part of a multispecies specialist team sent to "Plowman's Planet" (or Sirius Five) for a mystical quest, which is to raise the sunken cathedral of Heldscalla from a surreal alien ocean.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    75%
    Similar descriptions
    13%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    12%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • A Canticle for Leibowitz

    Walter M. Miller Jr.

    1959 · 320 pages · 4 reviews

    Others: Mixed

    Highly unusual After the Holocaust novel. In the far future, 20th century texts are preserved in a monastery, as "sacred books". The monks preserve for centuries what little science there is, and have saved the science texts and blueprints from destruction many times, also making beautifully illuminated copies. As the story opens to a world run on a basically fuedal lines, science is again becoming fashionable, as a hobby of rich men, at perhaps 18th or early 19th century level of comprehesion. A local lord, interested in science, comes to the monastery. What happens after that is an exquisitely told tale, stunning and extremely moving, totally different from any other After the Holocaust story

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    78%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    13%
    On 2 of the same lists
    9%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Blood Music

    Greg Bear

    1985 · 262 pages · 7 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    In the tradition of the greatest cyberpunk novels, Blood Music explores the imminent destruction of mankind and the fear of mass destruction by technological advancements. The novel follows present-day events in which the fears concerning the nuclear annihilation of the world subsided after the Cold War and the fear of chemical warfare spilled over into the empty void it left behind. An amazing breakthrough in genetic engineering made by Vergil Ulam is considered too dangerous for further research, but rather than destroy his work, he injects himself with his creation and walks out of his lab, unaware of just how his actions will change the world. Author Greg Bear’s treatment of the traditional tale of scientific hubris is both suspenseful and a compelling portrait of a new intelligence emerging amongst us, irrevocably changing our world.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    80%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    13%
    Similar descriptions
    7%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • A Clockwork Orange

    Anthony Burgess

    1962 · 188 pages · 8 reviews

    Others: Overwhelmingly positive

    A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novel by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Nadsat", which takes its name from the Russian suffix that is equivalent to '-teen' in English. According to Burgess, it was a jeu d'esprit written in just three weeks. In 2005, A Clockwork Orange was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The original manuscript of the book has been kept at McMaster University's William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada since the institution purchased the documents in 1971. It is considered one of the most influential dystopian books.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    79%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    13%
    On 2 of the same lists
    8%
    Personalize your recommendations
  • Girlfriend in a coma

    Douglas Coupland

    1998 · 284 pages · 1 review

    Others: Positive

    A New Age novel on a Vancouver woman who falls into a coma which lasts nearly two decades. The novel traces the impact on her family, especially on her boyfriend and a daughter she gave birth to just before the coma. By the author of Life after God.

    Why?

    What made the match, strongest first

    Also science fiction
    79%
    Media Death Cult loved both
    13%
    Similar descriptions
    8%
    Personalize your recommendations

Reviews1