På English
Publicerades 1 november 2018
Space Opera is a 2018 science fiction novel by Catherynne Valente, about a galactic version of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was first published by Saga Press.
In space everyone can hear you sing.
A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.
Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high …
Space Opera is a 2018 science fiction novel by Catherynne Valente, about a galactic version of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was first published by Saga Press.
In space everyone can hear you sing.
A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.
Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.
This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny - they must sing.
A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London - Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes - have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.
What do you get if you cross Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Eurovision? And if you're a fan of audiobooks, the narrator gets to do some good ones.
What do you get if you cross Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Eurovision? And if you're a fan of audiobooks, the narrator gets to do some good ones.
Ah yes, the old "If I had a rock band" novel. Lots of novelists have tried, and most have failed. The tricky thing about writing a good rock'n'roll novel is that most novelists are shit musicians, and their fictional hits very rarely sound like something anyone would ever want to listen to.
So hey, write about the Eurovision where a song being euphorically shit is part of the draw.
Disclaimer: I loathe the Eurovision Song Contest. And yet I love this story of mankind being forced to participate in an intergalactic song contest to prove that we're sentient (and not a threat to intergalactic peace). Valente shamelessly pilfers her tone from Douglas Adams (and admits as much in the afterw... sorry, liner notes), but suffuses the whole novel with her own ideas: overstuffing it with all the glitter, glam, and just plain gleeful silliness you'd expect of a tale of …
Ah yes, the old "If I had a rock band" novel. Lots of novelists have tried, and most have failed. The tricky thing about writing a good rock'n'roll novel is that most novelists are shit musicians, and their fictional hits very rarely sound like something anyone would ever want to listen to.
So hey, write about the Eurovision where a song being euphorically shit is part of the draw.
Disclaimer: I loathe the Eurovision Song Contest. And yet I love this story of mankind being forced to participate in an intergalactic song contest to prove that we're sentient (and not a threat to intergalactic peace). Valente shamelessly pilfers her tone from Douglas Adams (and admits as much in the afterw... sorry, liner notes), but suffuses the whole novel with her own ideas: overstuffing it with all the glitter, glam, and just plain gleeful silliness you'd expect of a tale of a has-been glam rock band forced to get back together to compete in the silliest competition you could imagine, where the underlying darkness of devastating war and encroaching fascism can only be met with mirror balls, sequined gowns, and sexually ambiguous pop music.
Life is beautiful. And life is stupid.
I'll be damned if she almost makes me appreciate the ESC unironically. Almost.
