Dreaming Metal

Dreamships #2

by Melissa Scott

When entertainer and illusionist Celinde Fortune takes her act to Persephone, a planet racked by class struggle, and combines two computer chips that seem to simulate artificial intelligence, she finds her life threatened by the planet's radicals. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Cyberpunk, Science Fiction Fantasy, LGBT, Queer, Space Opera

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Scott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett.

Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.

She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.

In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.

Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.

Reviews

[Just_ann_now · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tautly written, well-characterized, fabulous worldbuilding, extremely topical. If she had written this last year, instead of twenty years ago, she'd be racking up the awards. Life is unfair!

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
If I were breaking up with this book, I would say, "It's not you, it's me." I don't think I was intelligent enough to understand what was going on in this novel. There were so many technologies, ethnic groups, etc. that were never fully explained. I don't think I have the right kind of brain for world-building of that type. For example, there were two extremist groups, one called Realpeace and the other Dreampeace. Those sound so similar to me I didn't even realize there were two until halfway through the book. Then it started to make a lot more sense! : ) Maybe if I had read the companion novel first it would have helped. Although I was confused a lot of the time, I also had a strong sense of what I thought was going to happen. Then that thing did happen, and that was it it, the end, so I felt like I was waiting for more. Dreaming Metal was told by three different narrators. I think I also made a false assumption that because the book was a Lambda winner, it would showcase some same-sex relationships, but there were just brief mentions or minor characters, which is totally fine but I had wrong expectations. Certain incidents that happened in the book really did have me on the edge of my seat, though. I also very much enjoyed reading about Fanning Jones' band Fire/Work, and I think you have to be a really great writer to make an imaginary band's music so fascinating. For all my complaints, this book made me think (even if a lot of those thoughts were "huh?") and I think it deserves high marks.

[Gavin Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so this is the second science fiction book that I have read recently and failed to realise that it was part two of a series until I rated it on here. Weird. Despite not having read Dreamships, I still enjoyed Dreaming Metal and I don't think I missed any crucial elements of the story. In any case, it is fairly easy to imagine which parts of the second novel reference the first. The narrative of Dreaming Metal is told through the point of view of three different characters and the chapters shift between them alternately. I found this slightly disruptive to the narrative flow in the first half, particularly because there seemed to be little difference in the characters' perspectives, save for their physical locations, despite the apparent contrast between Fortune, Fanning, and Jian. In the second half, events begin to align more closely and the pace settles into a more enjoyable rhythm. I particularly enjoyed the use of music as a motif throughout the novel. Music is repeatedly shown to be capable of uniting and dividing and the book's best scene describes an act of musical composition that is all the more remarkable considering we can only imagine the resulting melodies. This is the kind of science fiction that I would like to see turned into a film. In essence, it is a story that could happen any time in human history, but it just happens to take place in the future.

[Az Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful expansion of the world created in Dreamships, exploring how people live in tumultuous times, finding community and art in the face of terrorism. It's interesting to read this 1997 book now in 2022 and see how prescient it was in many areas, or how little has changed in some.

This book does follow a common part of Melissa Scott's writing, where you're thrown headfirst into a setting/world so different from our own and need to piece the language and culture together yourself. It does make the first 10% a bit difficult but as you break through that you're suddenly engaged in this completely different world and I feel it works effectively over the long run.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this novel. The characters are highly original and interesting, from the three main point-of-view characters to the members of Fanning’s band, the workers at Fortune’s theater, and the members of Jian’s piloting team. There are low-key same-sex relationships, nicely presented as completely normal, which I love. The various caste and political troubles can of course be used to reflect on some of the issues of today–and in the case of AI rights, a topic which we’re presumably going to have to address eventually!

The worldbuilding is vivid and fascinating. I love the atmosphere of the Empire, the theater-like place where Fortune and Fanning both perform. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Fanning’s music–the emotions of it were conveyed so well that it didn’t matter that I have no knowledge of music. I could still get the point. I found the details of Fortune’s illusions to be fascinating as well. Scott clearly has real talent for description. By the time the plot really picks up I felt comfortable in the environment of the world, which can sometimes be a little dicey when you get tossed head-first into the worldbuilding.

This is a powerful and beautiful story, with delightful characters, exploring a fascinating subject. I look forward to reading more by Melissa Scott.


Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/04/r...

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

** Addendum ** After reading Dreamships, I wish that I'd read these in the correct order. It wouldn't have made me get more out of this book, but I think that it would have made Dreamships more enjoyable. Dreamships goes into more detail about the social structure and let me understand some things better (e.g. why there are so many deaf folks, where Realpeace came from), which is nice, but I liked Dreaming Metal more and think that it was slightly better written, which made it kind of hard to adjust and get into Dreamships at first. ** /Addendum **

This easily rounds up to five stars for me. I got it as a part of a Story Bundle collection and put off reading it despite the fact that it sounded interesting because it was a sequel and I didn't have the first book yet. I conveniently forgot about that when I picked it up a few days ago and realized my mistake fairly quickly. I think that I would have benefited from reading Dreamships first because the events in it are referenced a lot but, honestly, I loved this book and don't regret sticking with it. I'm hoping that it won't color my reading of the first book, but I'm kind of ok with it if it does.

What I love about Scott's writing is that her worlds have art in them and more cultures and languages than the plots require. Things like sexuality and disability are just part of the casual descriptions of who people are and rarely have anything more to do with who they are or their role in the story than the color of their hair. This was no exception to that, with a vibrant world and a story set in the performance arts, with main characters including a musician and a stage magician. The descriptions of their respective artistic works were wonderful and the characters themselves were interesting. Some of the secondary characters felt a bit like flat stock, but there was so much else that carried this story forward that it barely registered with me.

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that certainly took a turn. Not me crying over sentient robots in fiction AGAIN. She just wants to play music 🥺

Dreamships and Dreaming Metal Review

5/5 stars

This will be a spoiler free review. Onto the review!

I read this duology to fill one of the prompts on the r/fantasy bingo for 2024 (which went through the end of March, so you can see how behind I am on reviews oh no) and also because I had read and enjoyed The Master of Samar by the same author in 2023. If you’re curious to see what this author does with fantasy, I highly recommend giving The Master of Samar a try. It’s about this guy who inherits a mansion from his family in a Venetian inspired city, which may or may not be cursed. I loved that book.

So of course when I saw that I needed a book published in the 90s by an author who had something published in the last five years, I wanted to give her older sci-fi series a try. And I ended up loving these two books.

The first book follows Jian, a spaceship pilot. She and her two best friends get hired to help this woman navigate her brother’s ship to another planet to find her brother who went missing. At first, they’re skeptical about taking the job, because the ship was custom built, and they don’t know if it’s safe. They’re especially nervous about the AI system that would help them fly the ship, due to it being highly modified. Any mistakes in the code could cause them to crash into something.

They eventually do decide to take the job, mostly because the pay is really good. Once they’re on the ship, they realize just how much of this ship and its AI was custom made by this lady’s brother. The AI doesn’t just do its job. It follows everybody around, chatting as if it were a normal human. And there are a bunch of weird maze-like rooms on the ship that have been handcrafted by an artist. It unnerves Jian a little bit, because she’s used to ships just being machines for transport, not artistic statements.

There’s some talk about how back on their home planet, these people who belong to a political movement called Dreampeace are trying to get rights for AI, because they believe that someday a fully sentient AI will be created. But this group is at odds with the Coolie people who are a specific race of people that don’t have as many rights as everyone else. Coolie people are often deaf, and are often othered by non-Coolie people because of their differences. So it comes as a shock to them that the Dreampeace movement is trying to get AI rights when not even all humans have rights.

The super advanced AI on the custom ship almost feels like sentient AI to Jian, but she doesn’t want to get involved in all the drama and politics. The more she learns about the guy who made it and the ship, the more she thinks that their return home (potentially with him in tow) might cause huge issues on their home planet. Jian doesn’t know what this woman’s plans are once she finds her brother, nor does she know what the brother wants, since he was presumed dead for many years.

The first half of the first book is set on the ship, as they travel to retrieve the brother. The second half is back on their home planet, dealing with the fallout. Book two follows both Jian and two new characters as they navigate the political turmoil that started in the first book. The two new characters are a member of a new Coolie band that’s struggling to write their first full length album, and a woman who performs stage magic. I liked the perspectives that the new characters brought to the story, especially since Jian doesn’t want to have anything to do with politics. I especially liked having a Coolie perspective, because it really made that aspect of the story stand out as compared to the first book.

It was kind of weird seeing the old fashioned version of AI that people thought would be possible, where a computer would be able to gain sentience. Now that we have seen what AI actually looks like, what its limitations are, and what sorts of problems it can create, this almost felt like a fantasy we’ll never be able to achieve. Honestly, I would prefer sentient AI over the version of AI we’re getting in the real world right now, but there’s not much anyone can do about that.

One of my favorite things about this series is how much the author recognizes that we as readers really want to feel like we completely understand what the characters are experiencing on a sensory level. In the first book, we get to see Jian connect herself to the ship’s navigation system and experience what that’s like for her. And in the second book, we get to see the two creative characters working on their craft in real time.

I feel like that sort of sensory detail is something we’ve lost a little bit in fiction recently, likely because we aren’t experiencing things in that way as much as people were 30 years ago due to the rise of the internet. Rather than going outside and experiencing the world through our five senses, we’re instead going online and seeing the world that way. Writers today often talk about how easy it is to write pages and pages of dialogue, but the in-between details take far longer to figure out how to articulate on paper. Bring back writing sensory details into fiction! I’m so sick of reading books that feel like I’m reading a script for a play. If I want that, I’ll go watch a play at the theater, where they have elaborate costumes, sets, and music to make me feel engaged.

If you are looking for a great sci-fi series that will make you nostalgic for the big sci-fi and cyberpunk classics of the 80s and 90s, this is a great series to try. I honestly sort of feel like this is a better version of the kind of sci-fi tech integration with the human body than when I tried to read the original Ghost in the Shell manga a little while ago. Once I get around to reviewing that, you’ll immediately understand. Long story short, I may have potentially left an angry rant of a goodreads review because of one particular author’s note that made me dnf the entire thing. It was…bad. Extremely awful. So instead of reading that piece of garbage, read this duology instead! It’s so good! I loved these two books very much.

Have a nice day/night everyone!

[K.V. Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreaming Metal starts more slowly than Dreamships, of which it is a continuation, and gathers force as it unfolds. The focus on artists/performers brings a different perspective to the technology of the world, and to the subject of artificial intelligence, which I very much enjoyed. The suspense, the background of politics and terrorism, the story of people trying to carry on with their lives and work in this ongoing situation, is really well done. In the end, I liked Dreaming Metal, and the new central characters who emerge from it, especially Fanning, even more than Dreamships. They're best read together.

[Charl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! I was riveted all the way through.

Seriously, this is a MAJOR spoiler — do NOT read it if you haven't read the story: I was mad as hell when I thought Celeste was going to be lost in the fire! That's how much the author made me care about the AI.

Interesting characters, a fascinating story, and a major dramatic climax, all set in a plausible futuristic setting. I strongly recommend it.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this I a used book shelf and it sounded up my alley - I was so right. I love how little happens, how the tech and the talk about tech is so big and grandiose but in the end a choice is made and the revolutionary discovery is hidden. I also reacted to that it was performers, musicians and artists as the subject and it never felt pandering. I kept thinking that if it was published now it would hit so hard. It's a good one.

[Kat Heatherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

like Dreamships, this one is slow to get rolling, but then gathers so much momentum so fast, you can't put it down. I loved the AI story from the perspective of theatre people, the odd bends that make this sequel run so much more smoothly than Dreamships, and I also love Reverdy's role in the story, the fact of her presence. Haunting and exhilarating.

[Paul Calhoun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see reviews saying it's a slow start, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. In fact, it's hard for me to review this because I think of them as two different books. The first half is a slow political drama which I never really got into while the second half is a faster, more interesting look at art and the impact of art on society.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this. I don't know if it's because it's a sequel or if the first one was like this, but there was a lot going on in the world that was never directly explained, only inferred. It was like she dumped you in the deep end of the pool expecting you to swim or drown, and I rather liked it. YMMV.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this even more than Dreamships. The focus on entertainers (a performing magician and a struggling band) was fun, a little less dry than the preceding book. I’d definitely read more books in this setting. (By the way Scott is really good at communicating the background details, without any massive exposition dumps.)

[Griffin Files · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a few chapters to get into this one but once I did I loved it

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed a first-in-the-series, here, which is a bit frustrating; I'm usually pretty good about not doing that. Anyway, if it's going to bug you like it annoys me, go read Dreamships first. This one will wait.
Scott likes tackling hard topics, and here she's asking - when does intelligence become intelligence? When can, in crude terms, a computer be regarded as a being in its own right? Does there have to be a deliberate effort on the part of humans for it to happen, or could it develop accidentally? And when we finally find that silicone intelligence shares the same space as us... what will be our reaction? Because we have such a good track record of dealing with humans with different perspectives from our own, let alone an entirely different type of intelligence. Scott presents some intriguing suggestions to these questions - and a few answers, but nothing completely definitive. It's nicely tantalising, in a lot of ways.

I generally love Scott's worlds, and this is no different. Humanity has spread to several planets; this story is set on Persephone. For all that there's some seriously upgraded tech, and that it's set an unknown distance into the future, it still feels recognisably human. Like, after initial freak-out-edness, it seems like I could probably live on Persephone. This is probably helped by the fact that the story revolves around people whose own lives revolve around that rather ubiquitous human characteristic, a love of music. Initial events are spurred on by the death of much-loved music star, and one of the main characters has a souped-up illusions show at one of the 'Empires' - which I think are basically futuristic theatres, catering to a variety of entertainments, from rock music to vaudeville (or their futuristic equivalents). I love this idea that the human desire to be entertained, on the one hand, and the equally pressing desire to express oneself in public somehow, will continue into the future - it's something that doesn't get enough airplay in SF I think.

Another aspect of the world-building that I really appreciated is that it's clearly not a monoculture. I think this is the one main area where not having read Dreamships was a problem (aside from a couple of plot points that I managed to catch up on); the use of 'coolie' and 'yanqui' and other terms clearly referring to ethnic background didn't always make sense to me - or, where I could but out the basic meaning (like with those two), it sometimes took me a while to figure out all the subtleties, like whose allegiances lay where and who felt which grievances. Nonetheless - this is a future that is not overwhelmingly white, where cultures have continued to develop and take on bits and pieces of older traditions and moosh them together, and where people can live on the same planet and not be identical. Also, where a common expletive is "Elvis Christ".
The plot? Assassinations, destruction of property, intrigue, romance - all revolving around that idea of artificial intelligence, how it might come about, what should be done about it if it does, whether machines taking over from humanity in any area is a good thing, and all of those good things.

Scott writes beautifully. She switches between characters effortlessly and gives each a distinct voice. She matches a great plot with hard questions and does wonderful service to both. It's not quite as cyberpunk as, say, Trouble and Her Friends, but it's wonderful science fiction.

[Isirla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better review to come lol
I really enjoyed this story!! I preferred the pacing in this book more than the previous book but the first book is needed to really appreciate its sequel!!

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Melissa Scott's "Dreamships." It mostly functions as a standalone novel, with different (although somewhat overlapping) main characters and a separate (although linked) story, but I would still recommend reading Dreamships first, just because the world that Scott creates here is complex, full of different political and racial factions, which are easier to keep track of if you read them in order (which I didn't).
The planet here is an industrial colony, built underground on a rather inhospitable planet. Society is highly stratified, with often-deaf, Asian-descended "coolies" at the bottom - and dissatisfied with their legal rights. Also active is a group agitating for the rights of machine intelligences - even though such a thing hasn't been proven to exist. The coolies are against any "rights" being given to machines that would be greater than their rights - and riots and violence are simmering, and sometimes boiling over. Struggling to work and live in this situation is Celinde, a performance artist who does a stage show involving robotic "karakuri." But when she buys a new computer to help run her show, the computer intelligence seems to her to be genuinely intelligent. And shady - and possibly powerful - elements seem to be after it. Celinde's position is complicated by the fact that she quickly grows to like this possible AI, and doesn't want to give it up to anyone.
Scott does an excellent job of mixing philosophical debate on the nature of sentience with action-filled, tense sequences and a well-realized, unique and believable world. Excellent.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this, I had this feeling of gratitude, like, Scott really gets it. The book came out in the 90s and it's about a band and a stage magician and how domestic, nationalist terrorism is messing with them and making every artistic decision a political one. It seems like it is even more right on right now then it was back then. I also appreciate it that although almost all of the main characters are either female or gay, the book itself isn't about that. It's the future, and nobody really cares about your gender or who you fall in love with... unless you are crossing ethnic-boundaries which map largely on to class divisions. I mean, can you be more right up that alley than that? So cool to have an SF novel with political intrigue but all the main characters are performers, not spies or whatever. Compare this kind of thing with Ken MacLeod where everyone is not only a political player but also a man... I mean, I love MacLeod's stuff, I'm just saying... anywayz... as every day there seems to be some terrorist thing in the newsfeeds, if not on my continent than not that far away... a book about ordinary people who just wish it would all stop is refreshing.

[JW · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I love in a story is a setting you can tell the storyteller really put some thought into making unique and real. Which is the reason I stopped watching the new Battlestar Galactica. Melissa Scott has done that and the results are incredible. There’s established ethnic and political and artistic histories and conflicts that are not only detailed and completely natural but actually impact that characters and story.

Speaking of which, fortunately, the story is good, too. I think it’s a stand alone sequel and I missed the first one, which sucks, but the world Scott has created is so compelling I think I’m going to read it even though I know how it ends.

Roughly the story is about the conflicts surrounding the possibility of a true sentient artificial intelligence (think Cybernetic Samurai vs. “computer” from Star Trek) arising. It’s rich, it’s detailed and very, very compelling. And it’s a multi-POV story a la GRR Martin, with some changes in person (first to third) between POVs, which is interesting once you realize it.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really must add a review to this book because I have reread it repeatedly.Admittedly I do this with somewhat questionable fiction, but in this case I understood some of the underlying issues which snare me about Celeste. In the novel we meet a magician who is not only the usual union of two parents, but also a surgical "save" of conjoined twins. She makes her art out of the multiplicity of selves with machines, an interesting and political choice on a mining planet where people are often cyborgs due to mining and terrorism. The planet is also divided between Celtic settlers and the "coolies", with a genetic propensity to deafness in addition to industrial deafness. Glaring in the fact of our assumptions are the deaf musicians who use technology or sign to comprehend what is deeper than auditory perception in a culture of musical and other forms of resistance. The shining moment, (SPOILER ALERT)is the acquisition of a computer to handle her act, a composite of several computers that does something which defines the difference between artificial and human intelligence, which has to do with altruism and history. Can't imagine why I love this book so.

[Victoria Gaile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better on second read. Although in theory it stands alone, it really makes much more sense when read with knowledge of what happened five years beforehand, in Dreamships: those events cast a long shadow over the individuals and societies in this story. The main characters in that book are secondary or background characters in this one.

Two of the viewpoint characters in this book are performers: Fortune is an illusionist -- not the fantasy-magic kind, the smoke and mirrors kind; and Fanning is the fx guy in a band, which I appreciate more now that I am a slightly more educated observer of music videos and have learned to see more of what's in them. Music is important to the story; music as art, and music as emotional expression.

There's also politics and tech, of course, and it's got a very cyberpunk feel (though without the incredibly dark "gritty underbelly" ambiance that seems to characterize most of that subgenre these days).

It's a good read. But read the first one first.

[Chris Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. The setting and plot are wonderful. I might have wanted a bit more history, but not bad in that department. The reader kind of knows where the story is going early on, but getting there is nail-biting fun.
Only two things about this novel bothered me, and these are "personal preference" things, so if you read this and think "meh" this novel was written more for you than me. First there are multiple POV's (not a bad thing) but some are written first person, while others are third person. I understand this is rising in popularity, but I personally don't care for it. I'm sure the author had a perfectly good reason for doing it...though I'm not sure what it was. Second, I wanted more. The setting is rich and well done, and the characters are good, but I wanted more of everything... I had to read this in small stints because i got a little frustrated at times that I was given no information about the "big picture" of things.
All in all, a great read, recommended to anyone who likes the "strange hard SF" vibe.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This early in the year, I already have a candidate for Favorite Sci Fi Read. Melissa Scott's greatest skill is showcased in this book - portraying the creative process. The viewpoint characters are Fortune, a stage magician; Fanning, a band member; and Jian, a pilot who was traumatized by a near-AI a few years before DREAMING METAL begins. Their planet is in the grip of a terrorist movement, but Fortune and Fanning are focused on expanding their abilities in spite of the chaos around them. Now Fortune thinks she has discovered a true artificial intelligence, at a time when the politics surrounding AIs could get them all killed.

It took me a little while to get into this, because Fortune and Fanning are cousins and their voices start out sounding a lot alike. Just pay attention to the name at the beginning of the section. Then you can immerse yourself in the world-building and the life-building.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and it's prequel, Dreamships, have a very interesting approach to the connected qustions of ill-distributed human rights and the possibility of artificial intelligences.

[Niall519 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual and surprising. I never expected to read a book neatly combining the life of musicians and stage magicians, and the development of AI before. Full points to the author for trying that, and for pulling it off.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the planet Persephone, an illusionist whose special effects are worked through an intelligent computer finds herself targeted by violent forces opposed to machine intelligence. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.

[Offbalance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few cyberpunk authors ever captured the potential for machines (AI or otherwise) to create things that are beautiful as well as Scott did in this book. One of her best, without question.

[Aeolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favorite book. I've read it over and over again.

[Riversue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Melissa Scott ever. Grabs you and pulls you in right to the last page. Profound insight into the meaning of being human.