Joyeux

Musketeer Space #0.5

by Tansy Rayner Roberts

It's festival time on Paris a seven day whirl of drunken bets, poor decision-making, religious contemplation and tinsel. But mostly, poor decision-making.

Porthos and Athos aren't going to sleep together, no matter what Aramis says. Aramis isn't going to marry her girlfriend, Minister Chevreuse, which probably means they're breaking up. Athos is not prepared to be visited by the ghost of his dead husband. Oh, and the Duchess of Buckingham is totally not going to hook up with the Prince Consort thereby causing an interplanetary diplomatic disaster... right?

When a group of "festive terrorists" start inflicting traditions from a very different midwinter festival on the space station via nano-virus, the Musketeers and the Red Guard are expected to work together to protect Paris Satellite. This isn't going to end well.

Joyeux is the prequel novella to Musketeer Space, an epic gender-swapped space opera retelling of The Three Musketeers.

Genres: Science Fiction

116 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 26, 2016

About the author

Tansy Rayner Roberts is a fantasy and science fiction author who lives in southern Tasmania, somewhere between the tall mountain with snow on it, and the beach that points towards Antarctica.

Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.

You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

[left to right: Aramis, Porthos, and Athos]

This was a really fun story and a great addition to the Musketeer Space universe. I personally think it's better to read it after the main book [after all, that's how it was published], but also I understand that the main book is very long and this is technically a prequel so you could read it first to get a feel for the universe and it isn't really going to spoil you for anything. I really liked this story and it's nice to get some more background on the *three* musketeers, but D'Artagnan has always kind of been my favorite [even though they are literally all my favorite and I will change my mind every 30 seconds, as is my right] so the group definitely does feel incomplete in a small way without her. Still, super fun and I like the detail that the author has put into making up the different future holidays and traditions.

[Llinos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was DELIGHTFUL. Laugh-out-loud funny in some places, punch-you-in-the-feels in others, pacy but with lots of space to enjoy the characters, and full of Christmassy vibes, intrigue, awkward sexual tension and shenanigans.

See the full review at Starship Library.

[Ju Transcendancing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saved this novella to read during the holiday season specifically so I could enjoy it's festival gaiety at the same time that I was. I loved this adventure, it was short and sweet and I loved getting a sense of how the musketeers became so close. As in, even in this prequel story it's well established that they are close and operate closely as a unit, but it also gives depth to that closeness and further layers the intimacy between them with the unexpected sharing of secrets.

Again, I loved that it was plotty, but still character driven - emotionally rewarding and entertaining. I loved the politics and the romance as always, and having this end just before the events of Musketeer Space felt awesome. This was a quick and joyful read, including all the best bits I enjoy about the holiday season and making fun of all the things that can be so annoying about this time of year. I adored it! You can read this as a standalone novella without having read Musketeer Space I think, but I also think that having read both that there's definitely extra to be gained being familiar with both.  

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short prequel to Musketeer Space, a Three Musketeers retelling set in space with a mostly gender-swapped crew of characters.

In this novella we get introduced to the 3 musketeers themselves, as they face chaos during one of the most important celebrations of the Paris Satellite space station. Action and fun guaranteed.
I'm looking forward to reading the actual retelling of the Dumas novel. It's bound to be a lark.

[Anna Hepworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

disclaimer: I have not read Musketeer Space (yet) and so I have no idea whether I'm missing anything here.

I kind of like the conceit, which is that across the course of the seven days of the Joyeux festival, a sequence of mostly harmless events are happening that reflect the days of a different festival. This allows for a lot of really interesting world-building, and the odd reference to theological philosophy.

As a sequence of inter-related set pieces, this works really well. As an integrated story, with any amount of consideration to the political and policing subtleties of a sequence of events that start by being described as 'festive terrorism'? Let alone addressing the religious fundamentalism that drives parts of the plot? It completely failed for me. It was too light-hearted about a sequence of potentially disastrous events, and the further I got through, the less I felt that the story was addressing the 'who' or even the 'why' of what was going on. Plus, a completely bizarre set of romantic pairings that kept me wondering about what the author's conception of these characters was, because I certainly couldn't get a handle on them at all.

Oh, and the solution was too pat, too telegraphed.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh this novella is a witty, sharp-edged treat for any fans of the original Three Musketeers (or French history from around that time), and I loved every moment of it. Set before the events of (a retelling of The [gender-flipped] Three Musketeers IN SPAAAAACE) Musketeer Space, it sets up the space opera worldbuilding, political machinations, and character dynamics perfectly in a story that works beautifully on its own - but left me really desperate to read the full novel that follows! Definitely recommended.

[Neguta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Musketeers. With different genders. Fun in space.

For a free story is remarkable good. There is a lot of humour in the book. It's well written, the backstory of it falls together easily. Overall, I really enjoyed it, author has a way with words.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing... I'll have to pick up Musketeer Space now. Especially with that ending!

I will admit I have not read The Three Musketeers but may take a crack at it, since I enjoyed Joyeux so much.

[Pers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little read.

[Fred Langridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely prequel to the delicious Musketeer Space.

[Drew Shiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peculiar - I’m never quite sure which Musketeer is which - but genderbent Musketeers in Space was a good start, and it’s carried off very well.

[~Anita~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read this first, it foreshadows the behaviour of the three musketeers. It still doesn’t show what the Prince and the Duchess of Buckingham did in public that was so scandalous.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun prequel to the main story which gives excellent context and answers so questions.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun holiday novella

[Mark Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're reading along with Musketeer Space, the novella adds some great depth to some of the main characters and fills in some interesting backstory. If you've been thinking of investing in this interesting experiment in serial novel writing, Seven Days of Joyeux is an excellent way of trying before you commit to a whole novel.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is all SO MUCH FUN!

[Angela Maher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sci-fi tale with a distinctly Christmas feeling. It is a different celebration set far away in space and time, and yet immediately familiar. A unique and entertaining story.