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Title: Pavane by Keith Roberts ISBN: 0-345-44091-9 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 27 February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.24 (25 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the Best of Modern Books in Alternative History!
Comment: Of all the alternative histories I have ever read, 'Pavane' proves for me the ultimate best, a glorious work of art. In fact, it was one of the first novels I'd read that got me hooked on to the subject of AH! A powerful drama enshrouding the reader like an inquisitor's cloak, it draws them into a dark, curious world of steam engines, medieval castles, and semaphore towers. All this, because Queen Elizabeth I was assassinated in 1588. The Spanish Armada then invaded, aiding the Catholics in an inevitable civil war, and subdued the warlike nation, restoring it to Papist rule. A superb 'what if' premise that re-creates England - a country rebelling and yearning for freedom, science and scholarship. His three stories wonderfully describe life within England's society, the various characters, their differing backgrounds, dreams and failings, their skills tested to the limit as they defy the mighty Roman Church, where others endeavour to uphold it. In particular, I enjoyed 'The Signaller' story, and imagined life within the strict Guild. Roberts is a master storyteller and inventor of great literature. I daresay he ranks amongst those such as Dickens and Shakespeare. My other favourites included the slowly changing 'Brother John', and the open hostility displayed by the aristocracy at 'Corfe Gate'. 'Coda' is a great conclusion fully realized, and provokes the thought that times change for the better. However, as other readers have commented, I almost desire in visiting this world, wanting to see it for myself - although for what reason I cannot guess. The other thing about alternative history is that it inspires you about your own world's past, and how lucky we are not to be living under an unforgiving regime. Indeed, had it not been for Henry VIII's marital problems in the first place...But Roberts dark age, pre-industrial scenario provides an excellent thesis on 'what if' England had been subjugated to Spanish Conquest. However, I only hope that somebody, someday, produces a film of this brilliant book! If not, then Radio is surely a bountiful consolation...'radio'? Oh, sorry, I meant 'semaphore'.
Rating: 4
Summary: To Be or Not To Be...
Comment: That is the question alternate history novels ask, when a single event can make all the difference. "Pavane" is the sort of book I imagine John Christopher would like. He once said he preferred the past to the future, which is why a couple of his juvenile-oriented stories have been set in post-technological futures; societies that are oppressed and primitive, as seen in the medieval "Prince in Waiting"(1970), where knowledge of science and machinery is punishable by death. However, where "The Prince in Waiting" is post-apocalyptic in its setting, "Pavane" describes a world shaped by a crucial incident that alters the course of history - namely, the assassination of Elizabeth I in 1588.
In "Pavane" we see a 20th century England ruled by the Catholic Church. Heresy is punished by draconian methods. While technological progress is largely held in check, minor innovations are grudgingly accepted. Electricity, television and computers are unheard of. One compensation (perhaps the only compensation) of this alternate world is that there is no industrial pollution.
"Pavane" reminds us of how much we take for granted. In the Western world that we know, people live in relative comfort, thanks to the benefits of modern medicine, education, mass production and democracy. Many people benefit from science. It improves our standard of living, allowing people to live lives of leisure, dignity and intellectual stimulation. The Church in "Pavane" is determined to avert this, for reasons that don't become clear until the very end of the novel.
The part of the book I enjoyed most was "Brother John". I think this might be because I'm studying art myself. I've seen how tiring it is when lithography students grind away at a slab of stone. Because Keith Roberts is also an illustrator, the writing style is highly visual. Roberts has created a very convincing scenario in "Pavane". This is the first alternate history novel I have read. I also plan to read Ward Moore's "Bring the Jubilee", which is supposed to be in the same class as "Pavane". Both these books are in the SF Masterworks series, which I'm currently collecting.
Rating: 5
Summary: Haunting alternate history
Comment: This is simply a beautiful work; another gem from Gollancz' Masterworks series, although one which reads more like fantasy or historical fiction than SF.
The novel is told through a series of six 'Measures', vignettes of story and mood focusing on a different character each time. While each works separately, taken together they form a tapestry linking thematic and narrative concerns - producing, ultimately, a beautifully-conceived and wonderfully effective tale of twentieth century England stifled by an all-powerful, anti-progress Catholic Church.
The alternate England is a triumph of understated, economical world-building (something that many of today's fantasy novels could learn from, perhaps). It is filled with enduring images - the Signallers' towers, the steam engines, the land held in winter's icy grasp - made all the more striking and memorable because we are shown them through the eyes of convincing and distinctive characters.
My only criticism would be of the 'Coda', which feels superfluous, and far too neat. Otherwise, this is a moving story of a transforming world, all the more effective for being incompletely explained.
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