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The Singer
It's 2010, and science has yet to discover how to harness electrical power. The music industry is everything you'd expect: ruthless, conceited, avaricious, shallow—save for only one difference: there is no way to amplify the human voice. Doctor John Doe has discovered a revolutionary new process to transform aspiring musicians into Singers. But at what cost?
ebook
First published May 19, 2012
10 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Law
13 books13 followersAfter trying her hand at gainful employment at places such as Oxford Botanic Garden, the Museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers Museum, Jessica Law now writes freelance popular science articles, plays mandolin for the madcap folk collective The Mechanisms, and pens her own sinister folk ditties which can be found at www.jessicalaw.bandcamp.com. Jessica’s debut children’s book, A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea, was published in 2013 by Barefoot Books, and her first novel, Jack the Re-animator, was published independently in 2015 (soon to be reprinted by Knightwatch Press). A darkly humorous Dieselpunk novella, The Singer, is also available in Amazon eBook format.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 23, 2014
This review could be short. It could read something like this: "I like this novella very much and am going to read it again someday."
Because I do like it. It is very good. It is a familiar story from the music industry, the rise and fall of a seriously popular singer or band. Anyone remotely interested in music has heard many such stories, but maybe not quite in this way. The story is set in an alternative 2010 where electricity hasn't been invented yet. This obviously makes stadium concerts a problem, but a problem that has been solved technologically.
The world Jessica Law has created for this story works for me. It feels real enough, even though the technology that is at the heart of it, is far from our reality. It is interesting what she done with steampunkers in this world. The story is at once tragic and funny, often at the same time. The narrative is an first person account, alternating between the singer and his groupie turned girlfriend. I like the way this is set up because I feel like I can get into the characters heads and see why they do what they do. What is more they sound true. All in all a good science fiction novella, quick read, but interesting and fun.
It is not perfect. It has some minor, and I do mean minor, proof reading problems. Commas and dots in the wrong places and the occasional word misspelt. Not enough to bug me. My main problem is that I can't get it in dead tree form. There are some books which I like to have on my shelves and this is one of them.
Because I do like it. It is very good. It is a familiar story from the music industry, the rise and fall of a seriously popular singer or band. Anyone remotely interested in music has heard many such stories, but maybe not quite in this way. The story is set in an alternative 2010 where electricity hasn't been invented yet. This obviously makes stadium concerts a problem, but a problem that has been solved technologically.
The world Jessica Law has created for this story works for me. It feels real enough, even though the technology that is at the heart of it, is far from our reality. It is interesting what she done with steampunkers in this world. The story is at once tragic and funny, often at the same time. The narrative is an first person account, alternating between the singer and his groupie turned girlfriend. I like the way this is set up because I feel like I can get into the characters heads and see why they do what they do. What is more they sound true. All in all a good science fiction novella, quick read, but interesting and fun.
It is not perfect. It has some minor, and I do mean minor, proof reading problems. Commas and dots in the wrong places and the occasional word misspelt. Not enough to bug me. My main problem is that I can't get it in dead tree form. There are some books which I like to have on my shelves and this is one of them.
March 20, 2015
OK, I admit it, I'm my own number 1 fan.
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." - Oscar Wilde
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." - Oscar Wilde
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews