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This December 2006, the Science Fiction board's Group Read, in association with our friends at the Alternate Reality Web Zine, is the classic British sf novel Pavane. Probably the best-loved book by the underrated late author Keith Roberts, Pavane was originally published as a series of linked stories. The whole, however, is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
"A real, detailed, self-contained world, affecting and convincing", is how The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction described it. "PAVANE has the suggestive power science fiction so often lacks; the most important points in the book are not the most important points of the plot, and at its best, the novel has that lyrical meaning that is so easy to feel and so hard to explain." Galaxy Magazine called it "A tapesty of a book; a marvel of story-telling", Science Fiction Review said "Brilliant...fiction so convincing that it becomes reality for the reader. I simply cannot imagine anyone finishing this book without lingering over the last few pages, unwilling to let it end." But perhaps Brian Aldiss should have the last word: he called it "A rare and beautiful novel."
Set in a very different 20th Century England, almost 400 years after the Spanish Conquest, this is a book that deserves to be a lot better known than it is now. You may jump into the group read any time during the month - just visit the Keith Roberts topic in our Author Central forum and post away! So, come with us into a different world, find and read the novel, and join the discussion!
"A real, detailed, self-contained world, affecting and convincing", is how The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction described it. "PAVANE has the suggestive power science fiction so often lacks; the most important points in the book are not the most important points of the plot, and at its best, the novel has that lyrical meaning that is so easy to feel and so hard to explain." Galaxy Magazine called it "A tapesty of a book; a marvel of story-telling", Science Fiction Review said "Brilliant...fiction so convincing that it becomes reality for the reader. I simply cannot imagine anyone finishing this book without lingering over the last few pages, unwilling to let it end." But perhaps Brian Aldiss should have the last word: he called it "A rare and beautiful novel."
Set in a very different 20th Century England, almost 400 years after the Spanish Conquest, this is a book that deserves to be a lot better known than it is now. You may jump into the group read any time during the month - just visit the Keith Roberts topic in our Author Central forum and post away! So, come with us into a different world, find and read the novel, and join the discussion!